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Lyndsay B Ball

Lyndsay is a Research Geophysicist at the Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center in Denver, Colorado.

Her research explores hydrogeologic systems and subsurface processes using integrated hydrological and geophysical approaches, with an emphasis on electrical, electromagnetic, and airborne geophysical methods.  Her current projects focus on the characterization of groundwater salinity and geologic controls on groundwater flow in mountain and intermountain settings. 

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D., Geological Sciences, University of Colorado at Boulder, 2012 

  • B.S., Environmental Science (soils concentration), Virginia Tech, 2003 

Science and Products

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Map of Crested Butte Low-Level Flight Study Area

Metal Transport in Mineralized Mountain Watersheds

The central objective of this project is to develop a greater understanding of deep bedrock groundwater circulation and its contribution to surface water metal loads in mineralized mountain blocks composed of sedimentary rocks. This work is being performed in cooperation with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as part of a broader research program aimed at understanding processes controlling...
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Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
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Metal Transport in Mineralized Mountain Watersheds

The central objective of this project is to develop a greater understanding of deep bedrock groundwater circulation and its contribution to surface water metal loads in mineralized mountain blocks composed of sedimentary rocks. This work is being performed in cooperation with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory as part of a broader research program aimed at understanding processes controlling...
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helicopter with survey equipment

Geophysical mapping of produced water in near-surface environments

This task within the Oil and Gas Waters Project focuses on the development of oil and gas resources results in substantial volumes of produced water. Particularly when produced from deep geologic formations, these waters can exhibit elevated salinity in comparison to shallow groundwater at the same location. Knowing the spatial and temporal occurrence of high salinity produced water in groundwater...
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Energy Resources Program, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
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Geophysical mapping of produced water in near-surface environments

This task within the Oil and Gas Waters Project focuses on the development of oil and gas resources results in substantial volumes of produced water. Particularly when produced from deep geologic formations, these waters can exhibit elevated salinity in comparison to shallow groundwater at the same location. Knowing the spatial and temporal occurrence of high salinity produced water in groundwater...
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East Poplar oil well

Delineation of Brine Contamination in and near the East Poplar Oil Field, Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Northeastern Montana

Brine is a byproduct of crude oil production. Handling and disposal of brine during the last 50 years in the East Poplar oil field has resulted in contamination of not only the shallow Quaternary aquifers, but also the Poplar River. Previous investigations have documented and partially delineated the extent of brine contamination in the East Poplar oil field during the early 1990s. In the 10 years...
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Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center
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Delineation of Brine Contamination in and near the East Poplar Oil Field, Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Northeastern Montana

Brine is a byproduct of crude oil production. Handling and disposal of brine during the last 50 years in the East Poplar oil field has resulted in contamination of not only the shallow Quaternary aquifers, but also the Poplar River. Previous investigations have documented and partially delineated the extent of brine contamination in the East Poplar oil field during the early 1990s. In the 10 years...
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Filter Total Items: 16

Produced water disposal at percolation and evaporation ponds in and near oil fields in the southwestern San Joaquin Valley, California

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the California State Water Resources Control Board compiled and analyzed data on water production and produced water disposal on land at oil and gas fields in the southwestern San Joaquin Vallley, Kern County, California. Data were compiled from information in state and local agencies’ databases and cover a period of record ranging from the ear
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California Water Science Center

Surface electrical resistivity tomography, magnetic, and gravity surveys in Redwell Basin and the greater East River watershed near Crested Butte, Colorado, 2017

Surface electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), time-domain electromagnetics (TEM), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), magnetics, and gravity data were acquired in 2016, 2017 and 2018 in the greater East River Watershed near Crested Butte Colorado with a focused effort in Redwell Basin. Five ERT profiles were acquired within Redwell Basin and Brush Creek to map geologic structure at depths up to 4
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Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Geological, geochemical, and geophysical data from the Lost Hills and Belridge oil fields

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the California State Water Resources Control Board compiled and analyzed data for mapping groundwater salinity and characterizing aquifer systems in and near selected oil and gas fields in California. Data for the Lost Hills, North Belridge, and South Belridge oil fields include production and injection volumes, oil show data, formation pressur
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California Water Science Center

Airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey data, southeastern San Joaquin Valley near Cawelo, California, 2016

Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) and magnetic survey data were collected during October 2016 over a total distance of 262 line kilometers in the southeastern San Joaquin Valley near Cawelo, California. These data were collected in support of groundwater salinity mapping and hydrogeologic framework development as part of the U.S. Geological Survey California Oil, Gas, and Groundwater program and the
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Airborne Geophysical Survey Inventory of the Conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico (ver. 4.0, April 2023)

This data release is a compilation of the locations of airborne geophysical surveys in the United States. The inventory documents public airborne geophysical surveys primarily flown by or contracted by the USGS from 1943 to present. In addition, surveys from the State of Alaska, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS): Airborne GeophysWeb, the Bureau
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Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI)

Ground-based transient electromagnetic data and resistivity models at selected sites of the California Central Coast and San Joaquin Valley 2019

Ground-based transient electromagnetic (TEM) data were acquired by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at 16 locations of California’s southwestern San Joaquin Valley and Central Coast regions to define the electrical resistivity structure of hydrogeologic materials. Data were acquired using the ABEM WalkTEM system (Guideline Geo Ab, Sundbyberg, Sweden). TEM data were processed and numerically inver
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California Water Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Airborne electromagnetic, magnetic, and radiometric survey, upper East River and surrounding watersheds near Crested Butte, Colorado, 2017

This data release consists of 1,984 line-kilometers of airborne electromagnetic (AEM), magnetic data and radiometric data collected from October to November 2017 in the upper East River and surrounding watersheds in central Colorado. The U.S. Geological Survey contracted Geotech Ltd. to acquire these data as part of regional investigations into the geologic structure and hydrologic framework of th
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Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Supporting groundwater salinity data used for salinity mapping adjacent to the Lost Hills and Belridge oil fields, Kern County, California

This dataset contains summarized historical groundwater salinity observations from wells near the Lost Hills and Belridge oil fields in the southwestern San Joaquin Valley, Kern County, California. Total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration, electrical fluid conductivity (EC), and well construction information were aggregated from public data sources and local water management agencies. Trends in
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey, southwestern San Joaquin Valley near Lost Hills, California, 2016

Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) and magnetic survey data were collected during October 2016 along 1,443 line kilometers in the southwestern San Joaquin Valley near Lost Hills, California. These data were collected in support of groundwater salinity mapping and hydrogeologic framework development as part of the U.S. Geological Survey California Oil, Gas, and Groundwater program and the California St
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Hydrologic and geophysical data from high-elevation boreholes in Redwell Basin near Crested Butte, Colorado

Four boreholes (MW1, MW1UZ, MW2, MW2.1) were drilled in the fall of 2017 and summer of 2018 in upper Redwell Basin, a headwater catchment underlain by hydrothermally altered sedimentary rock in the Elk Mountains near the town of Crested Butte, Colorado. The boreholes were continuously cored using a wireline HQ-sized coring system and sample a combination of Quaternary-aged surficial colluvium and
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Ground conductivity measurements at selected National Wildlife Refuges, Montana and North Dakota, 2017-2018

Shallow subsurface electrical conductivity was mapped at selected U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service managed lands in northeast Montana and northwest North Dakota using the DUALEM421 electromagnetic sensor (Dualem, Inc., ON, Canada) in the winters of 2017 and 2018. Data were acquired by towing the DUALEM421 sensor on a sled behind an all-terrain vehicle or snow machine, with the sensor at a nominal he
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Environmental tracer data from surface water and groundwater samples collected in Redwell Basin near Crested Butte, Colorado, 2017-2019

This dataset contains environmental tracer data from surface water and groundwater samples collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in Redwell Basin, an alpine watershed in the Elk Mountains near the town of Crested Butte, Colorado. The basin is underlain by interbedded shale and sandstone that have been variably hydrothermally altered and silicified by local magmatic intrusions. Samples were colle
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Mineral Resources Program, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center
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Filter Total Items: 36

Airborne electromagnetic survey results near the Poso Creek oil field, San Joaquin Valley, California, fall 2016

An airborne electromagnetic survey west of the Poso Creek oil field, located in the southeastern San Joaquin Valley, California, was flown in October 2016 to improve understanding of the hydrogeologic setting and the distribution of groundwater salinity in the area. The airborne electromagnetic data were used to develop resistivity models of the subsurface, where the mean depth of investigation is
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Katrina D. Zamudio, Lyndsay B. Ball, Michael J. Stephens
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Incorporating uncertainty into groundwater salinity mapping using AEM data

Airborne electromagnetic surveys provide spatially extensive resistivity information that can be useful for groundwater salinity mapping; however, the transformation from geophysical data to salinity interpretations carries uncertainty. We compare two quantitative approaches to salinity mapping recently applied to address water resource management objectives: the location of the depth to the fresh
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Lyndsay B. Ball, Burke J. Minsley
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Direct observation of the depth of active groundwater circulation in an alpine watershed

The depth of active groundwater circulation is a fundamental control on stream flows and chemistry in mountain watersheds, yet it remains challenging to characterize and is rarely well constrained. We collected hydraulic conductivity, hydraulic head, temperature, chemical, noble gas, and 3H/3He groundwater age data from discrete levels in two boreholes 46 and 81 m deep in an alpine watershed, in c
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Andrew H. Manning, Lyndsay B. Ball, Richard Wanty, Kenneth H. Williams
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

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 Hualapai Indian Reservation and surrounding areas wa
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Lyndsay B. Ball
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

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.
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Jon P. Mason, Jacob E. Knight, Lyndsay B. Ball, Jeffrey R. Kennedy, Donald J. Bills, Jamie P. Macy
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Water Resources Mission Area, Arizona Water Science Center

Probabilistic categorical groundwater salinity mapping from airborne electromagnetic data adjacent to California’s Lost Hills and Belridge oil fields

Growing water stress has led to emerging interest in protecting fresh and brackish groundwater as a potential supplement to water supplies and raised questions about factors that could affect the future quality of fresh and brackish aquifers. Limited well infrastructure, particularly in regions where elevated salinity has led to limited historical groundwater development, hinders traditional mappi
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Lyndsay B. Ball, Tracy Davis, Burke J. Minsley, Janice M. Gillespie, Matthew K. Landon
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

High-resolution mapping of the freshwater-brine interface using deterministic and Bayesian inversion of airborne electromagnetic data at Paradox Valley, USA

Salt loads in the Colorado River Basin are a primary water quality concern. Natural groundwater brine discharge to the Dolores River where it passes through the collapsed salt anticline of the Paradox Valley in western Colorado is a significant source of salt to the Colorado River. An airborne electromagnetic survey of Paradox Valley has provided insights into the 3D distribution of brine in the
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Lyndsay B. Ball, Paul A. Bedrosian, Burke J. Minsley
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Groundwater salinity and the effects of produced water disposal in the Lost Hills-Belridge oilfields, Kern County, California

Increased oil and gas production in many areas has led to concerns over the effects these activities may be having on nearby groundwater quality. In this study we determine the lateral and vertical extent of groundwater with less than 10,000 milligrams per liter (mg/l) total dissolved solids (TDS) near the Lost Hills-Belridge oilfields in northwestern Kern County, California and document evidence
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Janice M. Gillespie, Tracy Davis, Michael J. Stephens, Lyndsay B. Ball, Matthew K. Landon
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Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center

Airborne geophysical characterizationof geologic structure in a mountain headwater system, upper East River, Colorado

Geologic controls on groundwater flow, particularly in tectonically and topographically complex mountainous terrain, can be difficult to quantify without a detailed understanding of the regional subsurface geologic structure. This structure can influence the magnitude of groundwater flow through the mountain block, which in turn impacts groundwater composition and the flux of metals and nutrients
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Burke J. Minsley, Lyndsay B. Ball
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Monitoring brine contamination using time-lapse airborne electromagnetic surveys, East Poplar Oil Field, Montana

Integrated geophysical and water-quality studies have been used to delineate areas of saline groundwater in shallow unconfined aquifers underlying the East Poplar oil field in northeastern Montana. In 2004, a RESOLVE survey was conducted over the oil field to identify high conductivity areas potentially associated with brine contamination and to map the shale unit comprising the base of aquifer. I
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Lyndsay Ball, Maria Deszcz-Pan, Joanna Thamke, Bruce Smith
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Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center, Wyoming-Montana Water Science Center

Mapping protected groundwater adjacent to oil and gas fields, San Joaquin Valley, California

Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) surveys are a major component of a regional study of groundwater quality adjacent to oil and gas fields in the San Joaquin Valley of California, USA. AEM resistivity models are being used to delineate groundwater salinity in an effort to locate groundwater adjacent to oil and gas fields that could have future beneficial use. AEM models are also being used to improve
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Lyndsay B. Ball, Janice M. Gillespie, Burke Minsley, Tracy Davis, Matthew K. Landon
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California Water Science Center, Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center

Water-resources and land-surface deformation evaluation studies at Fort Irwin National Training Center, Mojave Desert, California

The U.S. Army Fort Irwin National Training Center (NTC), in the Mojave Desert, obtains all of its potable water supply from three groundwater basins (Irwin, Langford, and Bicycle) within the NTC boundaries (fig. 1; California Department of Water Resources, 2003). Because of increasing water demands at the NTC, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army, completed several
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Jill N. Densmore, Justine E. Dishart, David M. Miller, David C. Buesch, Lyndsay B. Ball, Paul A. Bedrosian, Linda R. Woolfenden, Geoffrey Cromwell, Matthew K. Burgess, Joseph Nawikas, David O'Leary, Adam Kjos, Michelle Sneed, Justin T. Brandt
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Water Resources Mission Area, California Water Science Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
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Media Alert: The USGS Announces Low-Level Helicopter Flights in Nevada and Oregon

Editor: In the public interest and in accordance with the Federal Aviation Administration regulations, the USGS is announcing this low-level airborne...

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Media Alert: The USGS Announces Low-Level Helicopter Flights in Nevada

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology are partnering to image geology using airborne geophysical...

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Media Alert: Low-Level Helicopter Flights to Image 3-Dimensional Geology in Nevada and California

Scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology are partnering to image geology using airborne geophysical...

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Low-flying helicopter to survey the Coalinga and Pyramid Hills areas for groundwater research

Note to Editors: In the public interest and in accordance with FAA regulations, the USGS is announcing this low-level airborne project. Your...

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Low-flying Helicopter Surveying Groundwater and Geology in the Poplar River Valley Area, Montana

Citizens should not be alarmed if they see a low-flying helicopter towing a large wire-loop contraption hanging from a cable in the Poplar, Montana...

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