Marieke Dechesne
I am a geologist in the Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center at the USGS. I am trained in stratigraphy and sedimentology and my current research focuses on basin analysis, paleogeography and the interaction between tectonic signals, sedimentation and climate.
n the past several years I have worked on the Laramide synorogenic basin fill of the Denver Basin with both the Denver Museum of Nature & Science and the Colorado Geological Survey, before moving focus to the 'back-side' of the Front Range where I now study the axial Colorado Headwaters Basin (North Park-Middle Park), the Hanna Basin and South Park for the USGS Cenozoic Evolution of the Southern Rocky Mountains project. From these basin fill sequences I am trying to reconstruct uplift history and the overall paleogeographic evolution in this region. I am incorporating as many parameters as possible, like outcrop observations, subsurface data (well-logs and seismic), fossil information, paleobotany, palynology, radiometric dating, etc. to develop a rigid 3D- (4D?) stratigraphic framework that reveals clues about timing of uplift, sediment accumulation rates, paleo-environments and paleogeography.
Professional Experience
Geologist, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, USGS (2014 - present)
Contractor and consultant for the USGS, Colorado Geological Survey, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, and Heath Hydrology Inc. (2005 - 2014)
LecturerAdjunct Professor, Colorado School of Mines and University of Colorado, Boulder (2005-2007, part-time)
GIS Support Analyst, ESRI Netherlands (1999 - 2000)
Research Associate for the Slope and Basin Consortium, Colorado School of Mines (1997-1998 and 2001-2005)
Research Associate for the Genetic Stratigraphy Research Group, Colorado School of Mines (1995-1997)
Education and Certifications
Doktoraal examen geologie (msc equivalent), Utrecht University, the Netherlands (1995)
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 17
South Park, Colorado: The interplay of tectonics and sedimentation creates one of Colorado’s crown jewels South Park, Colorado: The interplay of tectonics and sedimentation creates one of Colorado’s crown jewels
Recent mapping efforts and hydrocarbon exploration in the South Park Basin have brought to light the magnitude in complexity of a structural basin already recognized for its unique sedimentary and tectonic setting. This fi eld trip to one of Colorado’s scenic gems will examine how Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic strata record the tectonic signatures of at least three orogenic episodes...
Authors
Peter E Barkmann, Edward J Sterne, Marieke Dechesne, Karen J. Houck
Stratigraphic architecture of a fluvial-lacustrine basin-fill succession at Desolation Canyon, Uinta Basin, Utah: Reference to Walthers’ Law and implications for the petroleum industry Stratigraphic architecture of a fluvial-lacustrine basin-fill succession at Desolation Canyon, Uinta Basin, Utah: Reference to Walthers’ Law and implications for the petroleum industry
A continuous window into the fluvial-lacustrine basin-fill succession of the Uinta Basin is exposed along a 48-mile (77-kilometer) transect up the modern Green River from Three Fords to Sand Wash in Desolation Canyon, Utah. In ascending order the stratigraphic units are: 1) Flagstaff Limestone, 2) lower Wasatch member of the Wasatch Formation, 3) middle Wasatch member of the Wasatch...
Authors
Grace L. Ford, David R. Pyles, Marieke Dechesne
Laramide basin CSI: Comprehensive stratigraphic investigations of Paleogene sediments in the Colorado Headwaters Basin, north-central Colorado Laramide basin CSI: Comprehensive stratigraphic investigations of Paleogene sediments in the Colorado Headwaters Basin, north-central Colorado
The Paleogene sedimentary deposits of the Colorado Headwaters Basin provide a detailed proxy record of regional deformation and basin subsidence during the Laramide orogeny in north-central Colorado and southern Wyoming. This field trip presents extensive evidence from sedimentology, stratigraphy, structure, palynology, and isotope geochronology that shows a complex history that is...
Authors
Marieke Dechesne, James C. Cole, James H. Trexler, Patricia Cashman, Christopher D Peterson
Stratigraphic models for deep-water sedimentary systems Stratigraphic models for deep-water sedimentary systems
Stratigraphic models predict sedimentary architecture. Prediction requires understanding systems across a sufficient range of scales. To be predictive a model must address the interaction of multiple process-response relationships. For deep-water systems these processes include (1) subaqueous flow initiation and transformation, (2) linkages between channel, levee and lobe processes, and...
Authors
Michael H. Gardner, James M. Borer, Brian W. Romans, Noelia Baptista, Erik K. Kling, Diah Hanggoro, Jesse J. Melick, Roger M. Wagerle, Marieke Dechesne, Mary M. Carr, Robert Amerman, Safian Atan
Bedrock aquifers and population growth in the Denver Basin, Colorado, USA Bedrock aquifers and population growth in the Denver Basin, Colorado, USA
The Denver Basin bedrock aquifer system consists of Tertiary and Cretaceous age sedimentary rocks known as the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe and Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers. The number of bedrock wells has increased from 12,000 in 1985 to over 33,700 in 2001 and the withdrawal of groundwater has caused water level declines in excess of 75 meters. Water level declines now range from 3 to 12...
Authors
J.E. Moore, R.G. Raynolds, M. Dechesne
Non-USGS Publications**
Dechesne, Marieke , Cole, J.C., Trexler, J.H. Jr., Cashman, P.H., and Peterson, C.D., 2013, Laramide basin CSI: Comprehensive stratigraphic investigations of Paleogene sediments in the Colorado Headwaters Basin, north-central Colorado: GSA Field Guides, 2013, 33, p. 139-163, doi:10.1130/2013.0033(04)
Dechesne, M., Raynolds, R.G., Barkmann, P.E., Johnson, K.R., 2011, Denver Basin Geologic Maps: Bedrock Geology, Structure and Isopach Maps of the Upper Cretaceous through Paleogene Strata between Greeley and Colorado Springs, Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey, 1:250,000, 15 maps, 3 cross sections. ISBN 978-1-884216-57-2.
Barkmann, P.E., Dechesne, Marieke, Wickham, M.E., Carlson, Jill, Formolo, Scott, and Oerter, Erik, 2011, Cross-Sections of the Freshwater Bearing Strata of the Denver Basin between Greeley and Colorado Springs, Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey, 1:250,000, 2 plates, 15 cross-sections, 1 CD-ROM.
Gardner, M.H., Borer, J.M., Romans, B.W., Baptista, Noelia, Kling, E.K., Hanggoro, Diah, Melick, J.J., Wagerle, R.M., Dechesne, Marieke, Carr, M.M., Amerman, Robert, and Atan, Safian, 2011, Stratigraphic Models for Deep-Water Sedimentary Systems, in Answering the Challenges of Production from Deep-Water Reservoirs: Analogues and Case Histories to aid a New Generation: 28th Annual. GCSSEPM Foundation Annual Bob F. Perkins Research Conference Proceedings, v. 28.2008. p. 77-175.
Wilson, G. P., Dechesne, M., and Anderson, I.R., 2010, New latest Cretaceous mammals from northeastern Colorado with biochronologic and biogeographic implications: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30(2):499-520.
Raynolds, R.G, Johnson, K.R, Ellis, B., Dechesne, M, and Miller, I., 2007, History along Colorado’s Front Range: Salvaging geologic data in the suburbs and sharing it with the citizens: GSA Today, vol. 17, no. 12, p. 4-10.
Dechesne, M., 2005, Generalized geologic and paleogeographic maps of the Denver Basin: Denver Museum of Nature & Science Technical Report 2005-16, 14 pp., 8 maps.
Gardner, M.H., Borer, J.M., Melick, J.J., Mavilla, N., Dechesne, M., and Wagerle, R.N., 2003, Stratigraphic process-response model for submarine channels and related features from studies of the Permian Brushy Canyon outcrops, West Texas: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 20.
**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
Filter Total Items: 17
South Park, Colorado: The interplay of tectonics and sedimentation creates one of Colorado’s crown jewels South Park, Colorado: The interplay of tectonics and sedimentation creates one of Colorado’s crown jewels
Recent mapping efforts and hydrocarbon exploration in the South Park Basin have brought to light the magnitude in complexity of a structural basin already recognized for its unique sedimentary and tectonic setting. This fi eld trip to one of Colorado’s scenic gems will examine how Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic strata record the tectonic signatures of at least three orogenic episodes...
Authors
Peter E Barkmann, Edward J Sterne, Marieke Dechesne, Karen J. Houck
Stratigraphic architecture of a fluvial-lacustrine basin-fill succession at Desolation Canyon, Uinta Basin, Utah: Reference to Walthers’ Law and implications for the petroleum industry Stratigraphic architecture of a fluvial-lacustrine basin-fill succession at Desolation Canyon, Uinta Basin, Utah: Reference to Walthers’ Law and implications for the petroleum industry
A continuous window into the fluvial-lacustrine basin-fill succession of the Uinta Basin is exposed along a 48-mile (77-kilometer) transect up the modern Green River from Three Fords to Sand Wash in Desolation Canyon, Utah. In ascending order the stratigraphic units are: 1) Flagstaff Limestone, 2) lower Wasatch member of the Wasatch Formation, 3) middle Wasatch member of the Wasatch...
Authors
Grace L. Ford, David R. Pyles, Marieke Dechesne
Laramide basin CSI: Comprehensive stratigraphic investigations of Paleogene sediments in the Colorado Headwaters Basin, north-central Colorado Laramide basin CSI: Comprehensive stratigraphic investigations of Paleogene sediments in the Colorado Headwaters Basin, north-central Colorado
The Paleogene sedimentary deposits of the Colorado Headwaters Basin provide a detailed proxy record of regional deformation and basin subsidence during the Laramide orogeny in north-central Colorado and southern Wyoming. This field trip presents extensive evidence from sedimentology, stratigraphy, structure, palynology, and isotope geochronology that shows a complex history that is...
Authors
Marieke Dechesne, James C. Cole, James H. Trexler, Patricia Cashman, Christopher D Peterson
Stratigraphic models for deep-water sedimentary systems Stratigraphic models for deep-water sedimentary systems
Stratigraphic models predict sedimentary architecture. Prediction requires understanding systems across a sufficient range of scales. To be predictive a model must address the interaction of multiple process-response relationships. For deep-water systems these processes include (1) subaqueous flow initiation and transformation, (2) linkages between channel, levee and lobe processes, and...
Authors
Michael H. Gardner, James M. Borer, Brian W. Romans, Noelia Baptista, Erik K. Kling, Diah Hanggoro, Jesse J. Melick, Roger M. Wagerle, Marieke Dechesne, Mary M. Carr, Robert Amerman, Safian Atan
Bedrock aquifers and population growth in the Denver Basin, Colorado, USA Bedrock aquifers and population growth in the Denver Basin, Colorado, USA
The Denver Basin bedrock aquifer system consists of Tertiary and Cretaceous age sedimentary rocks known as the Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe and Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers. The number of bedrock wells has increased from 12,000 in 1985 to over 33,700 in 2001 and the withdrawal of groundwater has caused water level declines in excess of 75 meters. Water level declines now range from 3 to 12...
Authors
J.E. Moore, R.G. Raynolds, M. Dechesne
Non-USGS Publications**
Dechesne, Marieke , Cole, J.C., Trexler, J.H. Jr., Cashman, P.H., and Peterson, C.D., 2013, Laramide basin CSI: Comprehensive stratigraphic investigations of Paleogene sediments in the Colorado Headwaters Basin, north-central Colorado: GSA Field Guides, 2013, 33, p. 139-163, doi:10.1130/2013.0033(04)
Dechesne, M., Raynolds, R.G., Barkmann, P.E., Johnson, K.R., 2011, Denver Basin Geologic Maps: Bedrock Geology, Structure and Isopach Maps of the Upper Cretaceous through Paleogene Strata between Greeley and Colorado Springs, Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey, 1:250,000, 15 maps, 3 cross sections. ISBN 978-1-884216-57-2.
Barkmann, P.E., Dechesne, Marieke, Wickham, M.E., Carlson, Jill, Formolo, Scott, and Oerter, Erik, 2011, Cross-Sections of the Freshwater Bearing Strata of the Denver Basin between Greeley and Colorado Springs, Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey, 1:250,000, 2 plates, 15 cross-sections, 1 CD-ROM.
Gardner, M.H., Borer, J.M., Romans, B.W., Baptista, Noelia, Kling, E.K., Hanggoro, Diah, Melick, J.J., Wagerle, R.M., Dechesne, Marieke, Carr, M.M., Amerman, Robert, and Atan, Safian, 2011, Stratigraphic Models for Deep-Water Sedimentary Systems, in Answering the Challenges of Production from Deep-Water Reservoirs: Analogues and Case Histories to aid a New Generation: 28th Annual. GCSSEPM Foundation Annual Bob F. Perkins Research Conference Proceedings, v. 28.2008. p. 77-175.
Wilson, G. P., Dechesne, M., and Anderson, I.R., 2010, New latest Cretaceous mammals from northeastern Colorado with biochronologic and biogeographic implications: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 30(2):499-520.
Raynolds, R.G, Johnson, K.R, Ellis, B., Dechesne, M, and Miller, I., 2007, History along Colorado’s Front Range: Salvaging geologic data in the suburbs and sharing it with the citizens: GSA Today, vol. 17, no. 12, p. 4-10.
Dechesne, M., 2005, Generalized geologic and paleogeographic maps of the Denver Basin: Denver Museum of Nature & Science Technical Report 2005-16, 14 pp., 8 maps.
Gardner, M.H., Borer, J.M., Melick, J.J., Mavilla, N., Dechesne, M., and Wagerle, R.N., 2003, Stratigraphic process-response model for submarine channels and related features from studies of the Permian Brushy Canyon outcrops, West Texas: Marine and Petroleum Geology, v. 20.
**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.