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Nicholas E Powell

Nick is a Geologist at the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center.  He works in the Bascom 40Ar/39Ar Dating Lab and assists in Blue Ridge/Piedmont mapping research.

I joined the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center in Fall of 2022 as a Geologist working in the Bascom 40Ar/39Ar Dating (BARD) Lab.  Prior to this, I received a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from Appalachian State University in 2019, and a Master of Science degree in geological sciences from University of Kentucky in 2021.  My research has/is focused largely on combining petrologic and geochemical observations with geo- and thermochronology to understand the timing and conditions of Appalachian orogenesis.  

Professional Experience

  • 2022 – Present, Geologist, USGS, Reston, VA

  • 2021 – 2022, Microscopy Lab Technician, Corning, Inc., Concord, NC

Education and Certifications

  • M.S Geological Sciences, University of Kentucky, 2021 (Advisor: Ryan Thigpen)

  • B.S. Geology, Appalachian State University, 2019 (Senior Thesis Advisors: Jamie Levine, Gabriele Casale)

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • 2016 – Present, Geological Society of America

  • 2017 – Present, Mineralogical Society of America

  • 2022 – Present, Geological Society of Washington

Honors and Awards

  • 2020, Pirtle Fellowship, University of Kentucky

  • 2018, Mark DeBroder Memorial Scholarship, Appalachian State University

  • 2017, MSA Undergraduate Prize, Mineralogical Society of America

Abstracts and Presentations

  • Powell, Nicholas E., Thigpen, J. Ryan, Moecher, David P., Stowell, Harold H., Spencer, Brandon, Merschat, Arthur, Kylander-Clark, Andrew R. C. (2023). Did the Brevard fault zone control Neoacadian channel and escape flow in the southern Appalachian Inner Piedmont? Evidence from monazite U-Pb geochronology and REE geochemistry. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 52(6).

Science and Products

Defining the timing, extent, and conditions of Paleozoic metamorphism in the southern Appalachian Blue Ridge terranes of Tennessee, North Carolina, and northern Georgia

The tectonometamorphic evolution of the southern Appalachians, which results from multiple Paleozoic orogenies (Taconic, Neoacadian, and Alleghanian), has lacked a consensus interpretation regarding its thermal-metamorphic history. The Blue Ridge terranes have remained the focus of the debate, with the interpreted timing of regional Barrovian metamorphism and associated deformation ranging from ea
Authors
J. Ryan Thigpen, David P. Moecher, Harold H. Stowell, Arthur J. Merschat, Robert D. Hatcher, Nicholas Edwin Powell, Brandon M. Spencer, Calvin A. Mako, Elizabeth M. Bollen, Andrew R C Kylander-Clark
By
Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Swanger, William R., Thigpen, J. Ryan, Goldsby, Ryan C., Preece, Madison B., Powell, Nicholas E., Spencer, Brandon M., Helfrich, Autumn L. (2023). Understanding deformation band formation across a range of length scales in the Paradox Basin, Utah. Journal of Structural Geology, 166, 104775.
McGlue, Michael M., Dilworth, John R., Johnson, Hillary L., Whitehead, Samuel J., Thigpen, J. Ryan, Yeager, Kevin M., Woolery, Edward W., Brown, Summer J., Johnson, Sarah E., Cearley, Cooper S., Clark, Gillian M., Dixon, T. Spencer, Goldsby, Ryan C., Helfrich, Autumn L., Hodelka, Bailee N., Lo, Edward L., Domingos-Luz, Leandro, Powell, Nicholas E., Rasbold, Giliane G., Swanger, William R. (2023). Effect of Dam Emplacement and Water Level Changes on Sublacustrine Geomorphology and Recent Sedimentation in Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming, United States). Earth Science, Systems and Society, 3, 10066.

**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.

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Science and Products

  • Publications

    Defining the timing, extent, and conditions of Paleozoic metamorphism in the southern Appalachian Blue Ridge terranes of Tennessee, North Carolina, and northern Georgia

    The tectonometamorphic evolution of the southern Appalachians, which results from multiple Paleozoic orogenies (Taconic, Neoacadian, and Alleghanian), has lacked a consensus interpretation regarding its thermal-metamorphic history. The Blue Ridge terranes have remained the focus of the debate, with the interpreted timing of regional Barrovian metamorphism and associated deformation ranging from ea
    Authors
    J. Ryan Thigpen, David P. Moecher, Harold H. Stowell, Arthur J. Merschat, Robert D. Hatcher, Nicholas Edwin Powell, Brandon M. Spencer, Calvin A. Mako, Elizabeth M. Bollen, Andrew R C Kylander-Clark
    By
    Florence Bascom Geoscience Center

    Non-USGS Publications**

    Swanger, William R., Thigpen, J. Ryan, Goldsby, Ryan C., Preece, Madison B., Powell, Nicholas E., Spencer, Brandon M., Helfrich, Autumn L. (2023). Understanding deformation band formation across a range of length scales in the Paradox Basin, Utah. Journal of Structural Geology, 166, 104775.
    McGlue, Michael M., Dilworth, John R., Johnson, Hillary L., Whitehead, Samuel J., Thigpen, J. Ryan, Yeager, Kevin M., Woolery, Edward W., Brown, Summer J., Johnson, Sarah E., Cearley, Cooper S., Clark, Gillian M., Dixon, T. Spencer, Goldsby, Ryan C., Helfrich, Autumn L., Hodelka, Bailee N., Lo, Edward L., Domingos-Luz, Leandro, Powell, Nicholas E., Rasbold, Giliane G., Swanger, William R. (2023). Effect of Dam Emplacement and Water Level Changes on Sublacustrine Geomorphology and Recent Sedimentation in Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park (Wyoming, United States). Earth Science, Systems and Society, 3, 10066.

    **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.

  • Multimedia
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*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government