Kathryn Watts
Kathryn is a Research Geologist with the GMEG Science Center in Spokane, WA. Her research is focused on the formation of economically valuable mineral resources. Kathryn's areas of expertise include - igneous petrology, volcanology, geochemistry, isotope geochemistry, geochronology, and economic geology.
Current USGS Research Projects
- 2023-Present: Granite-related (Li-Sn-Ta) and Lacustrine Evaporite-related (Li) Mineral Systems Assessment
- 2022-Present: Multidisciplinary Investigations of REE Mineralization at Mountain Pass and in the Southeast Mojave Desert, California
Former USGS Research Projects
- 2019-2023: Lithium from Source to Sink: Genesis and Evolution of Li Brines and Clays
- 2019-2023: Systems Approach to Critical Minerals Inventory, Research, and Assessment
- 2019-2022: REE Resources in the Southeast Mojave Desert, California
- 2019-2020: Mineral Resource Assessment Training (Tungsten)
- 2016-2018: Geophysical, Geologic, and Geochemical Investigations of REE Deposits in the Southeast Mojave Desert, Including Music Valley, Thor, and Mountain Pass
- 2015-2018: Magmas to Metals: Melt Inclusion Insights into the Formation of Critical Element-Bearing Ore Deposits
- 2013-2018: Geologic Framework of the Northern Great Basin
- 2012-2016: Formation and Eruption of Large Silicic Magma Chambers and Their Potential Genetic Relationship to Carlin-Type Gold Deposits in the Northern Great Basin (Mendenhall Postdoctoral Research Fellowship)
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Geological Sciences, University of Oregon, 2011
B.S., Geology, Louisiana State University, 2006
Science and Products
Geological mapping coordinates, and zircon geochemistry, geochronology and isotope geochemistry data, Bobcat Hills, California Geological mapping coordinates, and zircon geochemistry, geochronology and isotope geochemistry data, Bobcat Hills, California
This dataset contains geologic mapping coordinates, and geochemical, geochronologic, and isotopic data collected for shonkinite dikes and zircons from Bobcat Hills, California, USA. See accompanying G-Cubed publication described in the "Larger Work" section of this metadata file for a detailed description of this dataset.
Geochemistry, geochronology, and isotope geochemistry data for rocks and zircons from Mountain Pass, California Geochemistry, geochronology, and isotope geochemistry data for rocks and zircons from Mountain Pass, California
This dataset contains geochemical, geochronologic, and isotopic data collected for rocks and zircons from Mountain Pass, California, USA. See accompanying Economic Geology publication described in the "Larger Work" section of this metadata file for a detailed description of this dataset.
Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California - Geodatabase Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California - Geodatabase
A mineral resource assessment for tungsten, a critical mineral commodity (see 'Related External Resources' section below) for the United States, was carried out by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for a portion of the Great Basin region, in western Nevada and eastern California, between latitudes 36N and 42N and longitudes 116W and 120W. This study (Lederer and others, in review)...
Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California - Simulation results Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California - Simulation results
The dataset consists of the input data, parameters, and results output from mineral resource assessment calculations.
Geochemistry, geochronology, and isotope geochemistry data for zircons and zircon-hosted melt and mineral inclusions in the St. Francois Mountains terrane, Missouri Geochemistry, geochronology, and isotope geochemistry data for zircons and zircon-hosted melt and mineral inclusions in the St. Francois Mountains terrane, Missouri
This dataset contains geochemical, geochronologic, and isotopic data collected for zircons and zircon-hosted melt and mineral inclusions in the St. Francois Mountains terrane, southeast Missouri, USA.
Filter Total Items: 21
Mafic alkaline magmatism and rare earth element mineralization in the Mojave Desert, California: The Bobcat Hills connection to Mountain Pass Mafic alkaline magmatism and rare earth element mineralization in the Mojave Desert, California: The Bobcat Hills connection to Mountain Pass
Occurrences of alkaline and carbonatite rocks with high concentrations of rare earth elements (REE) are a defining feature of Precambrian geology in the Mojave Desert of southeastern California. The most economically important occurrence is the carbonatite stock at Mountain Pass, which constitutes the largest REE deposit in the United States. A central scientific goal is to understand...
Authors
Kathryn E. Watts, David M. Miller, David A. Ponce
Timing of rhyolite intrusion and Carlin-type gold mineralization at the Cortez Hills Carlin-type deposit, Nevada, USA Timing of rhyolite intrusion and Carlin-type gold mineralization at the Cortez Hills Carlin-type deposit, Nevada, USA
Carlin-type gold deposits (CTDs) of Nevada are the largest producers of gold in the United States, a leader in world gold production. Although much has been resolved about the characteristics and origin of CTDs in Nevada, major questions remain, especially about (1) the role of magmatism, whether only a source of heat or also metals, (2) whether CTDs only formed in the Eocene, and (3)...
Authors
Christopher D. Henry, David A. John, Robert W. Leonardson, William T McIntosh, Matt T. Heizler, Joseph P. Colgan, Kathryn E. Watts
Temporal and petrogenetic links between Mesoproterozoic alkaline and carbonatite magmas at Mountain Pass, California Temporal and petrogenetic links between Mesoproterozoic alkaline and carbonatite magmas at Mountain Pass, California
Mountain Pass is the site of the most economically important rare earth element (REE) deposit in the United States. Mesoproterozoic alkaline intrusions are spatiotemporally associated with a composite carbonatite stock that hosts REE ore. Understanding the genesis of the alkaline and carbonatite magmas is an essential scientific goal for a society in which critical minerals are in high...
Authors
Kathryn E. Watts, Gordon B. Haxel, David M. Miller
Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California
A new quantitative mineral resource assessment for tungsten, a critical mineral commodity with highly concentrated production and a moderate risk of global supply disruption, was conducted for the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California. This assessment was part of a larger effort focusing on three regions in the United States and represents the first study of...
Authors
Graham W. Lederer, Federico Solano, Joshua Aaron Coyan, Kevin Denton, Kathryn E. Watts, Celestine N. Mercer, Damon Bickerstaff, Matthew Granitto
Why did Great Basin Eocene magmatism generate Carlin-type gold deposits when extensive Jurassic to Middle Miocene magmatism did not? Lessons from the Cortez Region, Northern Nevada, USA Why did Great Basin Eocene magmatism generate Carlin-type gold deposits when extensive Jurassic to Middle Miocene magmatism did not? Lessons from the Cortez Region, Northern Nevada, USA
No abstract available.
Authors
Christopher D. Henry, David A. John, Matt T. Heizler, Robert W. Leonardson, Joseph P. Colgan, Kathryn E. Watts, Michael W. Ressel, Brian L. Cousens
Zircon-hosted melt inclusion record of silicic magmatism in the Mesoproterozoic St. Francois Mountains terrane, Missouri: Origin of the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite rare earth element deposit and implications for regional crustal pathways of mineralizatio Zircon-hosted melt inclusion record of silicic magmatism in the Mesoproterozoic St. Francois Mountains terrane, Missouri: Origin of the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite rare earth element deposit and implications for regional crustal pathways of mineralizatio
Voluminous silicic magmatism was coeval with iron ore mineralization in the St. Francois Mountains terrane in southeast Missouri, part of the broader Mesoproterozoic Granite-Rhyolite province along the eastern margin of Laurentia. Some of the iron deposits contain extraordinary endowments of critical elements, such as the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite (IOA) deposit, which has an average...
Authors
Kathryn E. Watts, Celestine N. Mercer
Non-USGS Publications**
Watts, K.E., Bindeman, I.N., and Schmitt, A.K., 2012. Crystal-scale anatomy of a dying supervolcano: An isotope and geochronology study of individual phenocrysts from voluminous rhyolites of the Yellowstone caldera. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, v. 164, p. 45-67.
Watts, K.E., Bindeman, I.N., and Schmitt, A.K., 2011. Large-volume rhyolite genesis in caldera complexes of the Snake River Plain: Insights from the Kilgore Tuff of the Heise volcanic field, Idaho, with comparison to Yellowstone and Bruneau-Jarbidge rhyolites. Journal of Petrology, v. 52, p. 857-890.
Watts, K.E., Leeman, W.P., Bindeman, I.N., and Larson, P.B., 2010. Supereruptions of the Snake River Plain: Two-stage derivation of low-δ18O rhyolites from normal-δ18O crust as constrained by Archean xenoliths. Geology, v. 38, p. 503-506.
Bindeman, I.N., Leonov, V.L., Ponomareva, V.V., Watts, K.E., Shipley, N.K., Perepelov, A.B., Bazanova, L.I., Jicha, B.R., Singer, B.S., Schmitt, A.K., Portnyagin, M.V., and Chen, C.H., 2010. Large-volume silicic volcanism in Kamchatka: Ar-Ar and U-Pb ages, isotopic, and geochemical characteristics of major pre-Holocene caldera-forming eruptions. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 189, p. 57-80.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Geological mapping coordinates, and zircon geochemistry, geochronology and isotope geochemistry data, Bobcat Hills, California Geological mapping coordinates, and zircon geochemistry, geochronology and isotope geochemistry data, Bobcat Hills, California
This dataset contains geologic mapping coordinates, and geochemical, geochronologic, and isotopic data collected for shonkinite dikes and zircons from Bobcat Hills, California, USA. See accompanying G-Cubed publication described in the "Larger Work" section of this metadata file for a detailed description of this dataset.
Geochemistry, geochronology, and isotope geochemistry data for rocks and zircons from Mountain Pass, California Geochemistry, geochronology, and isotope geochemistry data for rocks and zircons from Mountain Pass, California
This dataset contains geochemical, geochronologic, and isotopic data collected for rocks and zircons from Mountain Pass, California, USA. See accompanying Economic Geology publication described in the "Larger Work" section of this metadata file for a detailed description of this dataset.
Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California - Geodatabase Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California - Geodatabase
A mineral resource assessment for tungsten, a critical mineral commodity (see 'Related External Resources' section below) for the United States, was carried out by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for a portion of the Great Basin region, in western Nevada and eastern California, between latitudes 36N and 42N and longitudes 116W and 120W. This study (Lederer and others, in review)...
Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California - Simulation results Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California - Simulation results
The dataset consists of the input data, parameters, and results output from mineral resource assessment calculations.
Geochemistry, geochronology, and isotope geochemistry data for zircons and zircon-hosted melt and mineral inclusions in the St. Francois Mountains terrane, Missouri Geochemistry, geochronology, and isotope geochemistry data for zircons and zircon-hosted melt and mineral inclusions in the St. Francois Mountains terrane, Missouri
This dataset contains geochemical, geochronologic, and isotopic data collected for zircons and zircon-hosted melt and mineral inclusions in the St. Francois Mountains terrane, southeast Missouri, USA.
Filter Total Items: 21
Mafic alkaline magmatism and rare earth element mineralization in the Mojave Desert, California: The Bobcat Hills connection to Mountain Pass Mafic alkaline magmatism and rare earth element mineralization in the Mojave Desert, California: The Bobcat Hills connection to Mountain Pass
Occurrences of alkaline and carbonatite rocks with high concentrations of rare earth elements (REE) are a defining feature of Precambrian geology in the Mojave Desert of southeastern California. The most economically important occurrence is the carbonatite stock at Mountain Pass, which constitutes the largest REE deposit in the United States. A central scientific goal is to understand...
Authors
Kathryn E. Watts, David M. Miller, David A. Ponce
Timing of rhyolite intrusion and Carlin-type gold mineralization at the Cortez Hills Carlin-type deposit, Nevada, USA Timing of rhyolite intrusion and Carlin-type gold mineralization at the Cortez Hills Carlin-type deposit, Nevada, USA
Carlin-type gold deposits (CTDs) of Nevada are the largest producers of gold in the United States, a leader in world gold production. Although much has been resolved about the characteristics and origin of CTDs in Nevada, major questions remain, especially about (1) the role of magmatism, whether only a source of heat or also metals, (2) whether CTDs only formed in the Eocene, and (3)...
Authors
Christopher D. Henry, David A. John, Robert W. Leonardson, William T McIntosh, Matt T. Heizler, Joseph P. Colgan, Kathryn E. Watts
Temporal and petrogenetic links between Mesoproterozoic alkaline and carbonatite magmas at Mountain Pass, California Temporal and petrogenetic links between Mesoproterozoic alkaline and carbonatite magmas at Mountain Pass, California
Mountain Pass is the site of the most economically important rare earth element (REE) deposit in the United States. Mesoproterozoic alkaline intrusions are spatiotemporally associated with a composite carbonatite stock that hosts REE ore. Understanding the genesis of the alkaline and carbonatite magmas is an essential scientific goal for a society in which critical minerals are in high...
Authors
Kathryn E. Watts, Gordon B. Haxel, David M. Miller
Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California Tungsten skarn mineral resource assessment of the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California
A new quantitative mineral resource assessment for tungsten, a critical mineral commodity with highly concentrated production and a moderate risk of global supply disruption, was conducted for the Great Basin region of western Nevada and eastern California. This assessment was part of a larger effort focusing on three regions in the United States and represents the first study of...
Authors
Graham W. Lederer, Federico Solano, Joshua Aaron Coyan, Kevin Denton, Kathryn E. Watts, Celestine N. Mercer, Damon Bickerstaff, Matthew Granitto
Why did Great Basin Eocene magmatism generate Carlin-type gold deposits when extensive Jurassic to Middle Miocene magmatism did not? Lessons from the Cortez Region, Northern Nevada, USA Why did Great Basin Eocene magmatism generate Carlin-type gold deposits when extensive Jurassic to Middle Miocene magmatism did not? Lessons from the Cortez Region, Northern Nevada, USA
No abstract available.
Authors
Christopher D. Henry, David A. John, Matt T. Heizler, Robert W. Leonardson, Joseph P. Colgan, Kathryn E. Watts, Michael W. Ressel, Brian L. Cousens
Zircon-hosted melt inclusion record of silicic magmatism in the Mesoproterozoic St. Francois Mountains terrane, Missouri: Origin of the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite rare earth element deposit and implications for regional crustal pathways of mineralizatio Zircon-hosted melt inclusion record of silicic magmatism in the Mesoproterozoic St. Francois Mountains terrane, Missouri: Origin of the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite rare earth element deposit and implications for regional crustal pathways of mineralizatio
Voluminous silicic magmatism was coeval with iron ore mineralization in the St. Francois Mountains terrane in southeast Missouri, part of the broader Mesoproterozoic Granite-Rhyolite province along the eastern margin of Laurentia. Some of the iron deposits contain extraordinary endowments of critical elements, such as the Pea Ridge iron oxide-apatite (IOA) deposit, which has an average...
Authors
Kathryn E. Watts, Celestine N. Mercer
Non-USGS Publications**
Watts, K.E., Bindeman, I.N., and Schmitt, A.K., 2012. Crystal-scale anatomy of a dying supervolcano: An isotope and geochronology study of individual phenocrysts from voluminous rhyolites of the Yellowstone caldera. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, v. 164, p. 45-67.
Watts, K.E., Bindeman, I.N., and Schmitt, A.K., 2011. Large-volume rhyolite genesis in caldera complexes of the Snake River Plain: Insights from the Kilgore Tuff of the Heise volcanic field, Idaho, with comparison to Yellowstone and Bruneau-Jarbidge rhyolites. Journal of Petrology, v. 52, p. 857-890.
Watts, K.E., Leeman, W.P., Bindeman, I.N., and Larson, P.B., 2010. Supereruptions of the Snake River Plain: Two-stage derivation of low-δ18O rhyolites from normal-δ18O crust as constrained by Archean xenoliths. Geology, v. 38, p. 503-506.
Bindeman, I.N., Leonov, V.L., Ponomareva, V.V., Watts, K.E., Shipley, N.K., Perepelov, A.B., Bazanova, L.I., Jicha, B.R., Singer, B.S., Schmitt, A.K., Portnyagin, M.V., and Chen, C.H., 2010. Large-volume silicic volcanism in Kamchatka: Ar-Ar and U-Pb ages, isotopic, and geochemical characteristics of major pre-Holocene caldera-forming eruptions. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, v. 189, p. 57-80.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.