Jonathan Saul Caine is a Research Geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey.
His work is focused on characterization of fault zones, fracture networks, and fluid flow in the Earth’s upper crust. He combines structural geology, hydrogeology, detailed field studies and geologic mapping to characterize fault zone architecture and permeability structure; fault rock textures, deformation mechanisms, and seismogenic signatures of faults and fault rocks; conduct direct fault rock dating; and fault and fracture network related fluid flow as it pertains to mineral deposits, hydrocarbon migration, earthquakes, groundwater supply, environmental geochemistry of hydrothermally altered and complexly deformed crystalline-rock aquifer systems, particularly in alpine watersheds. Caine also works closely with graduate students and colleagues at the University of Colorado (Boulder), Utah State University, Colorado State University, and the Colorado School of Mines. He received his B.A and M.A. in Geology from S.U.N.Y, New Paltz (1986 and 1991) and his Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Utah (1999) with concentration in Structural Geology and Hydrogeology. Caine's work has been conducted in the northeastern Appalachains, the Basin and Range, east Greenland, the southern Rocky Mountains, the Rio Grande rift, Alaska, and Yukon.
Science and Products
Data for Uranium-Lead Geochronology, Carbon and Sulfur Stable Isotopes, and Raman Spectroscopy from Graphite Creek, Alaska
This data release supports the paper titled, "Insights into the metamorphic history and origin of flake graphite mineralization at the Graphite Creek graphite deposit, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, USA", published in the journal Mineralium Deposita. The data release includes zircon and titanite U-Pb-Thisotope and age data, monazite U-Pb-Th isotope, trace element and age data, carbon and sulfur stablei
Denali Fault Zone Field, Microvein, and Microbeam Data, Kluane Ranges, Yukon, Canada
Detailed geologic mapping and sample collection was conducted in rare bedrock exposures of the Denali fault zone during the summer months of 2013, 2014, and 2015 by the U.S. Geological Survey. Data include measurements of structural geologic orientations and documentation of fault zone and host rock characteristics. Representative samples were selected for measurements of fault vein attributes and
Whole Rock Major and Trace Element Chemistry for Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks from the Yukon-Tanana Upland, Alaska
This data set consists of one table containing whole-rock geochemistry data for 753 igneous and metamorphic rocks from the Yukon-Tanana upland of eastern interior Alaska, collected between 2013 and 2019. All materials were analyzed by ALS Global, between 2014 and 2020, by a range of different techniques, so multiple unique entries for a given element relate to different analytical methods or prepa
Digital Data from Mineral Investigation of Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Study Area, Alamosa, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, and Saguache Counties, Colorado, USA
This Data Release provides tabular and geospatial data digitized by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from a U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBoM) report titled Mineral Investigation of Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Study Area, Alamosa, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, and Saguache Counties, Colorado. The original preliminary paper report, numbered Mineral Land Assessment 65-83 (MLA 65-83; Ellis and others, 1983)
U-Pb zircon data for: The Poncha Pass and Deadman Creek areas, northern Sangre de Cristo mountains of south-central Colorado
Geologic mapping, characterization of geologic structures, and sampling for geochronology was completed in two areas of the northwestern Sangre de Cristo mountains from 2011 through 2017. This data release provides the raw analytical data, metadata and sample information for 20 zircon U-Pb age analyses from laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS). The two areas inclu
Structural geologic orientation data for primarily Proterozoic aged rocks, eastern-central Rocky Mountain Front Range, Colorado
This data release consists of point data digitized from structural geologic orientation symbols consisting of mostly foliations and lineations. The data comes from primarily Proterozoic aged rocks in the eastern-central Rocky Mountain Front Range of Colorado. Compilation of the data is from twenty-three geologic maps published by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Colorado Geological Survey betwee
Data for a Comprehensive Survey of Fault Zones, Breccias, and Fractures in and Flanking the Eastern Espanola Basin, Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico
This release provides the data for a comprehensive survey of geologic structures in the eastern Espaola Basin of the Rio Grande rift, New Mexico. The release includes data and analyses from 53 individual fault zones and 22 other brittle structures, such as breccia zones, joints, and veins, investigated at a total of just over 100 sites. Structures were examined and compared from poorly lithified T
Geologic map of the Poncha Pass area, Chaffee, Fremont, and Saguache Counties, Colorado
This report presents a 1:24,000-scale geologic map, cross sections, and descriptive and interpretative text for the Poncha Pass area in central Colorado. The map area is irregular in shape, covering all of one 7 ½' quadrangle (Poncha Pass) and parts of five others (Mount Ouray, Maysville, Salida West, Salida East, and Wellsville). The map boundaries were drawn to cover all of the “Poncha mountain
Filter Total Items: 40
Insights into the metamorphic history and origin of flake graphite mineralization at the Graphite Creek graphite deposit, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, USA
Graphite Creek is an unusual flake graphite deposit located on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, USA. We present field observations, uranium-lead (U–Pb) monazite and titanite geochronology, carbon (C) and sulfur (S) stable isotope geochemistry, and graphite Raman spectroscopy data from this deposit that support a new model of flake graphite ore genesis in high-grade metamorphic environments. The Graph
Authors
George N. D. Case, Susan M. Karl, Sean P. Regan, Craig A. Johnson, Eric T Ellison, Jonathan Caine, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Laura Pianowski, Jeff A. Benowitz
Tectonics, fault zones, and topography in the Alaska-Canada Cordillera with a focus on the Alaska Range and Denali fault zone
Synergistic interactions between geologic structures and topography have long been recognized to reflect numerous Earth processes and rock properties over time. It was not until the advent of plate tectonics in the midtwentieth century that researchers began to view the nature of the northern Cordillera orogen as a quilt of foreign pieces of crust or “suspect terranes”. The Alaska Range shows comp
Authors
Jonathan Caine, Jeff A. Benowitz
From crystals to crustal-scale seismic anisotropy: Bridging the gap between rocks and seismic studies with digital geologic map data in Colorado
Deep continental crustal structures are enigmatic due to lack of direct exposures and limited tools to investigate them remotely. Seismic waves can sample these rocks, but most seismic methods focus on coarse crustal structures while laboratory measurements concentrate on crystal-scale rock properties, and little work has been conducted to bridge this interpretation gap. In some places, geologic m
Authors
Michael G. Frothingham, Kevin H. Mahan, Vera Schulte-Pelkum, Jonathan Caine, Frederick W. Vollmer
Dating fault damage along the eastern Denali fault zone with hematite (U-Th)/He thermochronometry
Unraveling complex slip histories in fault damage zones to understand relations among deformation, hydrothermal alteration, and surface uplift remains a challenge. The dextral eastern Denali fault zone (EDFZ; southwest Yukon, Canada) bounds the Kluane Ranges and hosts a variety of fault-related rocks, including hematite fault surfaces, which have been exhumed through the brittle regime over a prot
Authors
Robert G. McDermott, Alexis K. Ault, Jonathan Caine
Imaging the tectonic grain of the Northern Cordillera orogen using Transportable Array receiver functions
Azimuthal variations in receiver function conversions can image lithospheric structural contrasts and anisotropic fabrics that together compose tectonic grain. We apply this method to data from EarthScope Transportable Array in Alaska and additional stations across the northern Cordillera. The best‐resolved quantities are the strike and depth of dipping fabric contrasts or interfaces. We find a st
Authors
Vera Schulte-Pelkum, Jonathan Caine, James V. Jones, Thorsten W Becker
Exploring regional scale metamorphic fabrics in the Yukon Tanana terrane and environs using quantitative domain analyses
Metamorphic rock fabrics such as foliations and lineations provide a rock record of numerous deformational characteristics in the Earth’s crust. When spatial information is combined with fabric data collected at points on geologic maps, the nature and consistency of metamorphic fabrics can be explored through structural domain analysis. This is particularly useful in large regions where there is n
Authors
Jonathan Caine, James V. Jones
Fault fictions: Systematic biases in the conceptualization of fault-zone architecture
Mental models are a human's internal representation of the real world and have an important role in the way we understand and reason about uncertainties, explore potential options and make decisions. Mental models have not yet received much attention in geosciences, yet systematic biases can affect any geological investigation: from how the problem is conceived, through selection of appropriate hy
Authors
Zoe K Shipton, Jennifer J Roberts, Comrie Emma L, Yannick Kremer, Rebecca J Lunn, Jonathan Caine
Links between tectonics, magmatism, and mineralization in the formation of Late Cretaceous porphyry systems in the Yukon-Tanana upland, eastern Alaska, USA
Cretaceous-Paleocene porphyry Cu(±Mo±Au) occurrences are scattered throughout the Yukon-Tanana upland in eastern Alaska. Known occurrences in eastern Alaska are poorly characterized, despite a resurgence in exploration. Porphyry deposits in the upland are emplaced into structurally complex metamorphic rocks representing a variety of tectonic environments, resulting in diverse alteration and minera
Authors
Douglas C. Kreiner, James V. Jones, Erin Todd, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Jonathan Caine, Jeff Benowitz
Thermotectonic history of the Kluane Ranges and evolution of the eastern Denali Fault Zone in southwestern Yukon, Canada
Exhumation and landscape evolution along strike‐slip fault systems reflect tectonic processes that accommodate and partition deformation in orogenic settings. We present 17 new apatite (U‐Th)/He (He), zircon He, apatite fission‐track (FT), and zircon FT dates from the eastern Denali fault zone (EDFZ) that bounds the Kluane Ranges in Yukon, Canada. The dates elucidate patterns of deformation along
Authors
Robert G. McDermott, Alexis K. Ault, Jonathan S. Caine, Stuart N. Thomson
A comprehensive survey of faults, breccias, and fractures in and flanking the eastern Española Basin, Rio Grande rift, New Mexico
A comprehensive survey of geologic structures formed in the Earth’s brittle regime in the eastern Española Basin and flank of the Rio Grande rift, New Mexico, reveals a complex and protracted record of multiple tectonic events. Data and analyses from this representative rift flank-basin pair include measurements from 53 individual fault zones and 22 other brittle structures, such as breccia zones,
Authors
Jonathan S. Caine, Scott A. Minor, V. J. S. Grauch, James R. Budahn, Tucker T. Keren
Developing integrated methods to address complex resource and environmental issues
IntroductionThis circular provides an overview of selected activities that were conducted within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Integrated Methods Development Project, an interdisciplinary project designed to develop new tools and conduct innovative research requiring integration of geologic, geophysical, geochemical, and remote-sensing expertise. The project was supported by the USGS Mineral R
Evidence for outcrop-scale deformation band faults on Mars from Curiosity rover imagery
No abstract available.
Authors
Jonathan S. Caine, Ryan B. Anderson, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Glynis M. Parrett
Science and Products
- Data
Data for Uranium-Lead Geochronology, Carbon and Sulfur Stable Isotopes, and Raman Spectroscopy from Graphite Creek, Alaska
This data release supports the paper titled, "Insights into the metamorphic history and origin of flake graphite mineralization at the Graphite Creek graphite deposit, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, USA", published in the journal Mineralium Deposita. The data release includes zircon and titanite U-Pb-Thisotope and age data, monazite U-Pb-Th isotope, trace element and age data, carbon and sulfur stableiDenali Fault Zone Field, Microvein, and Microbeam Data, Kluane Ranges, Yukon, Canada
Detailed geologic mapping and sample collection was conducted in rare bedrock exposures of the Denali fault zone during the summer months of 2013, 2014, and 2015 by the U.S. Geological Survey. Data include measurements of structural geologic orientations and documentation of fault zone and host rock characteristics. Representative samples were selected for measurements of fault vein attributes andWhole Rock Major and Trace Element Chemistry for Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks from the Yukon-Tanana Upland, Alaska
This data set consists of one table containing whole-rock geochemistry data for 753 igneous and metamorphic rocks from the Yukon-Tanana upland of eastern interior Alaska, collected between 2013 and 2019. All materials were analyzed by ALS Global, between 2014 and 2020, by a range of different techniques, so multiple unique entries for a given element relate to different analytical methods or prepaDigital Data from Mineral Investigation of Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Study Area, Alamosa, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, and Saguache Counties, Colorado, USA
This Data Release provides tabular and geospatial data digitized by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) from a U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBoM) report titled Mineral Investigation of Sangre de Cristo Wilderness Study Area, Alamosa, Custer, Fremont, Huerfano, and Saguache Counties, Colorado. The original preliminary paper report, numbered Mineral Land Assessment 65-83 (MLA 65-83; Ellis and others, 1983)U-Pb zircon data for: The Poncha Pass and Deadman Creek areas, northern Sangre de Cristo mountains of south-central Colorado
Geologic mapping, characterization of geologic structures, and sampling for geochronology was completed in two areas of the northwestern Sangre de Cristo mountains from 2011 through 2017. This data release provides the raw analytical data, metadata and sample information for 20 zircon U-Pb age analyses from laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICPMS). The two areas incluStructural geologic orientation data for primarily Proterozoic aged rocks, eastern-central Rocky Mountain Front Range, Colorado
This data release consists of point data digitized from structural geologic orientation symbols consisting of mostly foliations and lineations. The data comes from primarily Proterozoic aged rocks in the eastern-central Rocky Mountain Front Range of Colorado. Compilation of the data is from twenty-three geologic maps published by the U.S. Geological Survey and the Colorado Geological Survey betweeData for a Comprehensive Survey of Fault Zones, Breccias, and Fractures in and Flanking the Eastern Espanola Basin, Rio Grande Rift, New Mexico
This release provides the data for a comprehensive survey of geologic structures in the eastern Espaola Basin of the Rio Grande rift, New Mexico. The release includes data and analyses from 53 individual fault zones and 22 other brittle structures, such as breccia zones, joints, and veins, investigated at a total of just over 100 sites. Structures were examined and compared from poorly lithified T - Maps
Geologic map of the Poncha Pass area, Chaffee, Fremont, and Saguache Counties, Colorado
This report presents a 1:24,000-scale geologic map, cross sections, and descriptive and interpretative text for the Poncha Pass area in central Colorado. The map area is irregular in shape, covering all of one 7 ½' quadrangle (Poncha Pass) and parts of five others (Mount Ouray, Maysville, Salida West, Salida East, and Wellsville). The map boundaries were drawn to cover all of the “Poncha mountain - Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 40
Insights into the metamorphic history and origin of flake graphite mineralization at the Graphite Creek graphite deposit, Seward Peninsula, Alaska, USA
Graphite Creek is an unusual flake graphite deposit located on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, USA. We present field observations, uranium-lead (U–Pb) monazite and titanite geochronology, carbon (C) and sulfur (S) stable isotope geochemistry, and graphite Raman spectroscopy data from this deposit that support a new model of flake graphite ore genesis in high-grade metamorphic environments. The GraphAuthorsGeorge N. D. Case, Susan M. Karl, Sean P. Regan, Craig A. Johnson, Eric T Ellison, Jonathan Caine, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Laura Pianowski, Jeff A. BenowitzTectonics, fault zones, and topography in the Alaska-Canada Cordillera with a focus on the Alaska Range and Denali fault zone
Synergistic interactions between geologic structures and topography have long been recognized to reflect numerous Earth processes and rock properties over time. It was not until the advent of plate tectonics in the midtwentieth century that researchers began to view the nature of the northern Cordillera orogen as a quilt of foreign pieces of crust or “suspect terranes”. The Alaska Range shows compAuthorsJonathan Caine, Jeff A. BenowitzFrom crystals to crustal-scale seismic anisotropy: Bridging the gap between rocks and seismic studies with digital geologic map data in Colorado
Deep continental crustal structures are enigmatic due to lack of direct exposures and limited tools to investigate them remotely. Seismic waves can sample these rocks, but most seismic methods focus on coarse crustal structures while laboratory measurements concentrate on crystal-scale rock properties, and little work has been conducted to bridge this interpretation gap. In some places, geologic mAuthorsMichael G. Frothingham, Kevin H. Mahan, Vera Schulte-Pelkum, Jonathan Caine, Frederick W. VollmerDating fault damage along the eastern Denali fault zone with hematite (U-Th)/He thermochronometry
Unraveling complex slip histories in fault damage zones to understand relations among deformation, hydrothermal alteration, and surface uplift remains a challenge. The dextral eastern Denali fault zone (EDFZ; southwest Yukon, Canada) bounds the Kluane Ranges and hosts a variety of fault-related rocks, including hematite fault surfaces, which have been exhumed through the brittle regime over a prot
AuthorsRobert G. McDermott, Alexis K. Ault, Jonathan CaineImaging the tectonic grain of the Northern Cordillera orogen using Transportable Array receiver functions
Azimuthal variations in receiver function conversions can image lithospheric structural contrasts and anisotropic fabrics that together compose tectonic grain. We apply this method to data from EarthScope Transportable Array in Alaska and additional stations across the northern Cordillera. The best‐resolved quantities are the strike and depth of dipping fabric contrasts or interfaces. We find a stAuthorsVera Schulte-Pelkum, Jonathan Caine, James V. Jones, Thorsten W BeckerExploring regional scale metamorphic fabrics in the Yukon Tanana terrane and environs using quantitative domain analyses
Metamorphic rock fabrics such as foliations and lineations provide a rock record of numerous deformational characteristics in the Earth’s crust. When spatial information is combined with fabric data collected at points on geologic maps, the nature and consistency of metamorphic fabrics can be explored through structural domain analysis. This is particularly useful in large regions where there is nAuthorsJonathan Caine, James V. JonesFault fictions: Systematic biases in the conceptualization of fault-zone architecture
Mental models are a human's internal representation of the real world and have an important role in the way we understand and reason about uncertainties, explore potential options and make decisions. Mental models have not yet received much attention in geosciences, yet systematic biases can affect any geological investigation: from how the problem is conceived, through selection of appropriate hyAuthorsZoe K Shipton, Jennifer J Roberts, Comrie Emma L, Yannick Kremer, Rebecca J Lunn, Jonathan CaineLinks between tectonics, magmatism, and mineralization in the formation of Late Cretaceous porphyry systems in the Yukon-Tanana upland, eastern Alaska, USA
Cretaceous-Paleocene porphyry Cu(±Mo±Au) occurrences are scattered throughout the Yukon-Tanana upland in eastern Alaska. Known occurrences in eastern Alaska are poorly characterized, despite a resurgence in exploration. Porphyry deposits in the upland are emplaced into structurally complex metamorphic rocks representing a variety of tectonic environments, resulting in diverse alteration and mineraAuthorsDouglas C. Kreiner, James V. Jones, Erin Todd, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma, Jonathan Caine, Jeff BenowitzThermotectonic history of the Kluane Ranges and evolution of the eastern Denali Fault Zone in southwestern Yukon, Canada
Exhumation and landscape evolution along strike‐slip fault systems reflect tectonic processes that accommodate and partition deformation in orogenic settings. We present 17 new apatite (U‐Th)/He (He), zircon He, apatite fission‐track (FT), and zircon FT dates from the eastern Denali fault zone (EDFZ) that bounds the Kluane Ranges in Yukon, Canada. The dates elucidate patterns of deformation along
AuthorsRobert G. McDermott, Alexis K. Ault, Jonathan S. Caine, Stuart N. ThomsonA comprehensive survey of faults, breccias, and fractures in and flanking the eastern Española Basin, Rio Grande rift, New Mexico
A comprehensive survey of geologic structures formed in the Earth’s brittle regime in the eastern Española Basin and flank of the Rio Grande rift, New Mexico, reveals a complex and protracted record of multiple tectonic events. Data and analyses from this representative rift flank-basin pair include measurements from 53 individual fault zones and 22 other brittle structures, such as breccia zones,AuthorsJonathan S. Caine, Scott A. Minor, V. J. S. Grauch, James R. Budahn, Tucker T. KerenDeveloping integrated methods to address complex resource and environmental issues
IntroductionThis circular provides an overview of selected activities that were conducted within the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Integrated Methods Development Project, an interdisciplinary project designed to develop new tools and conduct innovative research requiring integration of geologic, geophysical, geochemical, and remote-sensing expertise. The project was supported by the USGS Mineral REvidence for outcrop-scale deformation band faults on Mars from Curiosity rover imagery
No abstract available.AuthorsJonathan S. Caine, Ryan B. Anderson, Kenneth E. Herkenhoff, Glynis M. Parrett