Richard Stanley is a scientist emeritus with the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center in Menlo Park CA. Richard conducts geological field studies and subsurface investigations in California and Alaska to understand geologic history, seismic hazards, and energy resources.
Professional Experience
1984–present, Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park CA
1983–1984, Lecturer, California State University, Fresno CA
1979–1981, Lecturer, University of California, Santa Cruz CA
1975–1977, Exploration Geologist, Pennzoil Producing Company, Houston TX
Education and Certifications
PhD, Earth Sciences, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz, 1984
MA, Geology, Rice Univ., 1976
BA, Biology, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz, 1973
BS, Earth Sciences, Univ. of California, Santa Cruz, 1973
Science and Products
Onshore and offshore geologic map of the Coal Oil Point area, southern California
Geologic maps that span the shoreline and include both onshore and offshore areas are potentially valuable tools that can lead to a more in depth understanding of coastal environments. Such maps can contribute to the understanding of shoreline change, geologic hazards, both offshore and along-shore sediment and pollutant transport. They are also useful in assessing geologic and biologic resources.
Onshore and offshore geologic map of the Coal Oil Point area, southern California
Geologic maps that span the shoreline and include both onshore and offshore areas are potentially valuable tools that can lead to a more in depth understanding of coastal environments. Such maps can contribute to the understanding of shoreline change, geologic hazards, both offshore and along-shore sediment and pollutant transport. They are also useful in assessing geologic and biologic resources.
Geologic Map of the Santa Barbara Coastal Plain Area, Santa Barbara County, California
This report presents a newly revised and expanded digital geologic map of the Santa Barbara coastal plain area at a compilation scale of 1:24,000 (one inch on the map to 2,000 feet on the ground)1 and with a horizontal positional accuracy of at least 20 m. The map depicts the distribution of bedrock units and surficial deposits and associated deformation underlying and adjacent to the coastal plai
Maps showing sedimentary basins, surface thermal maturity, and indications of petroleum in the Central Alaska Province
This publication includes two maps (at 1:2,500,000 scale) and a pamphlet that describe sedimentary basins, surface thermal maturity, and 95 reported occurrences of petroleum in natural seeps, wells, and rock outcrops in central Alaska.
No commercial petroleum production has been obtained from central Alaska, in contrast to the prolific deposits of oil and gas that have been found and developed
Geologic and isostatic gravity map of the Nenana basin area, central Alaska
The Nenana Basin area is a prospective petroleum province in central Alaska, and this geologic and isostatic gravity map is part of a petroleum resource assessment of the area.The geology was compiled from published sources as shown on the index map (map sheet). Map units are organized and presented according to the scheme of lithotectonic terranes proposed by Jones and others (1987) and Silberlin
Filter Total Items: 73
Three-dimensional shape and structure of the Susitna basin, south-central Alaska, from geophysical data
We use gravity, magnetic, seismic reflection, well, and outcrop data to determine the three-dimensional shape and structural features of south-central Alaska’s Susitna basin. This basin is located within the Aleutian-Alaskan convergent margin region and is expected to show effects of regional subduction zone processes. Aeromagnetic data, when filtered to highlight anomalies associated with sources
Authors
Anjana K. Shah, Jeffrey Phillips, Kristen A. Lewis, Richard G. Stanley, Peter J. Haeussler, Christopher J. Potter
Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Susitna Basin, southern Alaska, 2017
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Susitna Basin of southern Alaska. Using a geology-based methodology, the USGS estimates that mean undiscovered volumes of about 2 million barrels of oil and nearly 1.7 trillion cubic feet of gas may be found in this area.
Authors
Richard G. Stanley, Christopher J. Potter, Kristen A. Lewis, Paul G. Lillis, Anjana K. Shah, Peter J. Haeussler, Jeffrey D. Phillips, Zenon C. Valin, Christopher J. Schenk, Timothy R. Klett, Michael E. Brownfield, Ronald M. Drake, Thomas M. Finn, Seth S. Haines, Debra K. Higley, David W. Houseknecht, Phuong A. Le, Kristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Stanley T. Paxton, Ofori N. Pearson, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Cheryl A. Woodall, Margarita V. Zyrianova
Secular changes in Cenozoic arc magmatism recorded by trends in forearc-basin sandstone composition, Cook Inlet, southern Alaska
A robust set of modal composition data (238 samples) for Eocene to Pliocene sandstone from the Cook Inlet forearc basin of southern Alaska reveals strong temporal trends in composition, particularly in the abundance of volcanic lithic grains. Field and petrographic point-count data from the northwestern side of the basin indicate that the middle Eocene West Foreland Formation was strongly influenc
Authors
Kenneth P. Helmold, Marwan A. Wartes, Robert J. Gillis, David L. LePain, Trystan M. Herriott, Richard G. Stanley, Michael D. Wilson
Evaluation of hypotheses for right-lateral displacement of Neogene strata along the San Andreas Fault between Parkfield and Maricopa, California
We used geological field studies and diatom biostratigraphy to test a published hypothesis that Neogene marine siliceous strata in the Maricopa and Parkfield areas, located on opposite sides of the San Andreas Fault, were formerly contiguous and then were displaced by about 80–130 kilometers (km) of right-lateral slip along the fault. In the Maricopa area on the northeast side of the San Andreas F
Authors
Richard G. Stanley, John A. Barron, Charles L. Powell
Geology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Yukon Flats Basin Province, 2008
The hydrocarbon potential of the Yukon Flats Basin Province in Central Alaska was assessed in 2004 as part of an update to the National Oil and Gas Assessment. Three assessment units (AUs) were identified and assessed using a methodology somewhat different than that of the 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA). An important difference in the methodology of the two assessments is that the 20
Authors
Kenneth J. Bird, Richard G. Stanley
Reconnaissance sedimentology of selected tertiary exposures in the upland region bordering the Yukon Flats basin, east-central Alaska
This report summarizes reconnaissance sedimentologic and stratigraphic observations made during six days of helicopter-supported fieldwork in 2002 on Tertiary sedimentary rocks exposed in the upland region around the flanks of the Yukon Flats basin in east-central Alaska (fig. 1). This project was a cooperative effort between the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) and the U
Authors
David L. LePain, Richard G. Stanley
The Peters Hills basin, a Neogene wedge-top basin on the Broad Pass thrust fault, south-central Alaska
The Neogene Peters Hills basin is a small terrestrial basin that formed along the south flank of the Alaska Range during a time in which there was regional shortening. The formation of the Peters Hills basin is consistent with it being a wedge-top basin that formed on top of the active southeast-vergent Broad Pass thrust fault. Movement along this thrust raised a ridge of Jurassic and Cretaceous m
Authors
Peter J. Haeussler, Richard W. Saltus, Richard G. Stanley, Natalia Ruppert, Kristen Lewis, Susan M. Karl, Adrian M. Bender
Sedimentary petrology and reservoir quality of the Middle Jurassic Red Glacier Formation, Cook Inlet forearc basin: Initial impressions
The Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys and Division of Oil & Gas are currently conducting a study of the hydrocarbon potential of Cook Inlet forearc basin (Gillis, 2013, 2014; LePain and others, 2013; Wartes, 2015; Herriott, 2016 [this volume]). The Middle Jurassic Tuxedni Group is recognized as a major source of oil in Tertiary reservoirs (Magoon, 1994), although the potential for Tuxed
Authors
K. P. Helmold, D. L. LePain, Richard G. Stanley
Reconnaissance stratigraphy of the Red Glacier Formation (Middle Jurassic) near Hungryman Creek, Cook Inlet basin, Alaska
Geochemical data suggest the source of oil in upper Cook Inlet fields is Middle Jurassic organic-rich shales in the Tuxedni Group (Magoon and Anders, 1992; Lillis and Stanley, 2011; LePain and others, 2012, 2013). Of the six formations in the group (Detterman, 1963), the basal Red Glacier Formation is the only unit that includes fine-grained rocks in outcrop that appear to be organic-rich (fig. 3-
Authors
D. L. LePain, Richard G. Stanley, K. P. Helmold
Nonmarine facies in the Late Triassic(?) to Early Jurassic Horn Mountain Tuff member of the Talkeetna Formation, Horn Mountain, lower Cook Inlet basin, Alaska
The Talkeetna Formation is a prominent lithostratigraphic unit in south-central Alaska. In the Iniskin–Tuxedni area, Detterman and Hartsock (1966) divided the formation into three mappable units including, from oldest to youngest, the Marsh Creek Breccia, the Portage Creek Agglomerate, and the Horn Mountain Tuff Members. The Horn Mountain Tuff Member was thought to include rocks deposited in a non
Authors
D. L. LePain, Richard G. Stanley, K. P. Helmold
Late Oligocene to present contractional structure in and around the Susitna basin, Alaska—Geophysical evidence and geological implications
The Cenozoic Susitna basin lies within an enigmatic lowland surrounded by the Central Alaska Range, Western Alaska Range (including the Tordrillo Mountains), and Talkeetna Mountains in south-central Alaska. Some previous interpretations show normal faults as the defining structures of the basin (e.g., Kirschner, 1994). However, analysis of new and existing geophysical data shows predominantly (Lat
Authors
Richard W. Saltus, Richard G. Stanley, Peter J. Haeussler, James V. Jones, Christopher J. Potter, Kristen A. Lewis
The Point Sal–Point Piedras Blancas correlation and the problem of slip on the San Gregorio–Hosgri fault, central California Coast Ranges
Existing models for large-magnitude, right-lateral slip on the San Gregorio–Hosgri fault system imply much more deformation of the onshore block in the Santa Maria basin than is supported by geologic data. This problem is resolved by a model in which dextral slip on this fault system increases gradually from 0–10 km near Point Arguello to ∼150 km at Cape San Martin, but such a model requires aband
Authors
Joseph Colgan, Richard G. Stanley
Non-USGS Publications**
Garrison, R.E., Stanley, R.G., and Horan, L.J., 1979, Middle Miocene sedimentation on the southwestern edge of the Lockwood High, Monterey County, California, in Graham, S.A., ed., Tertiary and Quaternary geology of the Salinas Valley and Santa Lucia Range, Monterey County, California: Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists (SEPM), Pacific Section, Pacific Coast Paleogeography Field Guide 4, p. 51–65.
Stanley, R.G., 1981, Middle Jurassic shoaling of the Central High Atlas sea near Rich, Morocco: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 51, no. 3, p. 895–907.
Stanley, R.G., 1982, Rocks and landforms, chap. 2, in Warrick, S.F., ed., The natural history of the U.C. Santa Cruz campus: Santa Cruz, University of California, Environmental Field Program Publication No. 11, p. 35–103.
Stanley, R.G., and McCaffrey, Robert, 1983, Extent and offset history of the Ben Lomond fault, Santa Cruz County, California, in Andersen, D.W., and Rymer, M.J., eds., Tectonics and sedimentation along faults of the San Andreas system: Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Pacific Section, Publication 30, p. 79–90.
**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
- Maps
Onshore and offshore geologic map of the Coal Oil Point area, southern California
Geologic maps that span the shoreline and include both onshore and offshore areas are potentially valuable tools that can lead to a more in depth understanding of coastal environments. Such maps can contribute to the understanding of shoreline change, geologic hazards, both offshore and along-shore sediment and pollutant transport. They are also useful in assessing geologic and biologic resources.Onshore and offshore geologic map of the Coal Oil Point area, southern California
Geologic maps that span the shoreline and include both onshore and offshore areas are potentially valuable tools that can lead to a more in depth understanding of coastal environments. Such maps can contribute to the understanding of shoreline change, geologic hazards, both offshore and along-shore sediment and pollutant transport. They are also useful in assessing geologic and biologic resources.Geologic Map of the Santa Barbara Coastal Plain Area, Santa Barbara County, California
This report presents a newly revised and expanded digital geologic map of the Santa Barbara coastal plain area at a compilation scale of 1:24,000 (one inch on the map to 2,000 feet on the ground)1 and with a horizontal positional accuracy of at least 20 m. The map depicts the distribution of bedrock units and surficial deposits and associated deformation underlying and adjacent to the coastal plaiMaps showing sedimentary basins, surface thermal maturity, and indications of petroleum in the Central Alaska Province
This publication includes two maps (at 1:2,500,000 scale) and a pamphlet that describe sedimentary basins, surface thermal maturity, and 95 reported occurrences of petroleum in natural seeps, wells, and rock outcrops in central Alaska. No commercial petroleum production has been obtained from central Alaska, in contrast to the prolific deposits of oil and gas that have been found and developedGeologic and isostatic gravity map of the Nenana basin area, central Alaska
The Nenana Basin area is a prospective petroleum province in central Alaska, and this geologic and isostatic gravity map is part of a petroleum resource assessment of the area.The geology was compiled from published sources as shown on the index map (map sheet). Map units are organized and presented according to the scheme of lithotectonic terranes proposed by Jones and others (1987) and Silberlin - Publications
Filter Total Items: 73
Three-dimensional shape and structure of the Susitna basin, south-central Alaska, from geophysical data
We use gravity, magnetic, seismic reflection, well, and outcrop data to determine the three-dimensional shape and structural features of south-central Alaska’s Susitna basin. This basin is located within the Aleutian-Alaskan convergent margin region and is expected to show effects of regional subduction zone processes. Aeromagnetic data, when filtered to highlight anomalies associated with sourcesAuthorsAnjana K. Shah, Jeffrey Phillips, Kristen A. Lewis, Richard G. Stanley, Peter J. Haeussler, Christopher J. PotterAssessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Susitna Basin, southern Alaska, 2017
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) recently completed an assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources in the Susitna Basin of southern Alaska. Using a geology-based methodology, the USGS estimates that mean undiscovered volumes of about 2 million barrels of oil and nearly 1.7 trillion cubic feet of gas may be found in this area.AuthorsRichard G. Stanley, Christopher J. Potter, Kristen A. Lewis, Paul G. Lillis, Anjana K. Shah, Peter J. Haeussler, Jeffrey D. Phillips, Zenon C. Valin, Christopher J. Schenk, Timothy R. Klett, Michael E. Brownfield, Ronald M. Drake, Thomas M. Finn, Seth S. Haines, Debra K. Higley, David W. Houseknecht, Phuong A. Le, Kristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Stanley T. Paxton, Ofori N. Pearson, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Cheryl A. Woodall, Margarita V. ZyrianovaSecular changes in Cenozoic arc magmatism recorded by trends in forearc-basin sandstone composition, Cook Inlet, southern Alaska
A robust set of modal composition data (238 samples) for Eocene to Pliocene sandstone from the Cook Inlet forearc basin of southern Alaska reveals strong temporal trends in composition, particularly in the abundance of volcanic lithic grains. Field and petrographic point-count data from the northwestern side of the basin indicate that the middle Eocene West Foreland Formation was strongly influencAuthorsKenneth P. Helmold, Marwan A. Wartes, Robert J. Gillis, David L. LePain, Trystan M. Herriott, Richard G. Stanley, Michael D. WilsonEvaluation of hypotheses for right-lateral displacement of Neogene strata along the San Andreas Fault between Parkfield and Maricopa, California
We used geological field studies and diatom biostratigraphy to test a published hypothesis that Neogene marine siliceous strata in the Maricopa and Parkfield areas, located on opposite sides of the San Andreas Fault, were formerly contiguous and then were displaced by about 80–130 kilometers (km) of right-lateral slip along the fault. In the Maricopa area on the northeast side of the San Andreas FAuthorsRichard G. Stanley, John A. Barron, Charles L. PowellGeology and assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources of the Yukon Flats Basin Province, 2008
The hydrocarbon potential of the Yukon Flats Basin Province in Central Alaska was assessed in 2004 as part of an update to the National Oil and Gas Assessment. Three assessment units (AUs) were identified and assessed using a methodology somewhat different than that of the 2008 Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal (CARA). An important difference in the methodology of the two assessments is that the 20AuthorsKenneth J. Bird, Richard G. StanleyReconnaissance sedimentology of selected tertiary exposures in the upland region bordering the Yukon Flats basin, east-central Alaska
This report summarizes reconnaissance sedimentologic and stratigraphic observations made during six days of helicopter-supported fieldwork in 2002 on Tertiary sedimentary rocks exposed in the upland region around the flanks of the Yukon Flats basin in east-central Alaska (fig. 1). This project was a cooperative effort between the Alaska Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) and the UAuthorsDavid L. LePain, Richard G. StanleyThe Peters Hills basin, a Neogene wedge-top basin on the Broad Pass thrust fault, south-central Alaska
The Neogene Peters Hills basin is a small terrestrial basin that formed along the south flank of the Alaska Range during a time in which there was regional shortening. The formation of the Peters Hills basin is consistent with it being a wedge-top basin that formed on top of the active southeast-vergent Broad Pass thrust fault. Movement along this thrust raised a ridge of Jurassic and Cretaceous mAuthorsPeter J. Haeussler, Richard W. Saltus, Richard G. Stanley, Natalia Ruppert, Kristen Lewis, Susan M. Karl, Adrian M. BenderSedimentary petrology and reservoir quality of the Middle Jurassic Red Glacier Formation, Cook Inlet forearc basin: Initial impressions
The Division of Geological & Geophysical Surveys and Division of Oil & Gas are currently conducting a study of the hydrocarbon potential of Cook Inlet forearc basin (Gillis, 2013, 2014; LePain and others, 2013; Wartes, 2015; Herriott, 2016 [this volume]). The Middle Jurassic Tuxedni Group is recognized as a major source of oil in Tertiary reservoirs (Magoon, 1994), although the potential for TuxedAuthorsK. P. Helmold, D. L. LePain, Richard G. StanleyReconnaissance stratigraphy of the Red Glacier Formation (Middle Jurassic) near Hungryman Creek, Cook Inlet basin, Alaska
Geochemical data suggest the source of oil in upper Cook Inlet fields is Middle Jurassic organic-rich shales in the Tuxedni Group (Magoon and Anders, 1992; Lillis and Stanley, 2011; LePain and others, 2012, 2013). Of the six formations in the group (Detterman, 1963), the basal Red Glacier Formation is the only unit that includes fine-grained rocks in outcrop that appear to be organic-rich (fig. 3-AuthorsD. L. LePain, Richard G. Stanley, K. P. HelmoldNonmarine facies in the Late Triassic(?) to Early Jurassic Horn Mountain Tuff member of the Talkeetna Formation, Horn Mountain, lower Cook Inlet basin, Alaska
The Talkeetna Formation is a prominent lithostratigraphic unit in south-central Alaska. In the Iniskin–Tuxedni area, Detterman and Hartsock (1966) divided the formation into three mappable units including, from oldest to youngest, the Marsh Creek Breccia, the Portage Creek Agglomerate, and the Horn Mountain Tuff Members. The Horn Mountain Tuff Member was thought to include rocks deposited in a nonAuthorsD. L. LePain, Richard G. Stanley, K. P. HelmoldLate Oligocene to present contractional structure in and around the Susitna basin, Alaska—Geophysical evidence and geological implications
The Cenozoic Susitna basin lies within an enigmatic lowland surrounded by the Central Alaska Range, Western Alaska Range (including the Tordrillo Mountains), and Talkeetna Mountains in south-central Alaska. Some previous interpretations show normal faults as the defining structures of the basin (e.g., Kirschner, 1994). However, analysis of new and existing geophysical data shows predominantly (LatAuthorsRichard W. Saltus, Richard G. Stanley, Peter J. Haeussler, James V. Jones, Christopher J. Potter, Kristen A. LewisThe Point Sal–Point Piedras Blancas correlation and the problem of slip on the San Gregorio–Hosgri fault, central California Coast Ranges
Existing models for large-magnitude, right-lateral slip on the San Gregorio–Hosgri fault system imply much more deformation of the onshore block in the Santa Maria basin than is supported by geologic data. This problem is resolved by a model in which dextral slip on this fault system increases gradually from 0–10 km near Point Arguello to ∼150 km at Cape San Martin, but such a model requires abandAuthorsJoseph Colgan, Richard G. StanleyNon-USGS Publications**
Garrison, R.E., Stanley, R.G., and Horan, L.J., 1979, Middle Miocene sedimentation on the southwestern edge of the Lockwood High, Monterey County, California, in Graham, S.A., ed., Tertiary and Quaternary geology of the Salinas Valley and Santa Lucia Range, Monterey County, California: Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists (SEPM), Pacific Section, Pacific Coast Paleogeography Field Guide 4, p. 51–65.
Stanley, R.G., 1981, Middle Jurassic shoaling of the Central High Atlas sea near Rich, Morocco: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 51, no. 3, p. 895–907.Stanley, R.G., 1982, Rocks and landforms, chap. 2, in Warrick, S.F., ed., The natural history of the U.C. Santa Cruz campus: Santa Cruz, University of California, Environmental Field Program Publication No. 11, p. 35–103.Stanley, R.G., and McCaffrey, Robert, 1983, Extent and offset history of the Ben Lomond fault, Santa Cruz County, California, in Andersen, D.W., and Rymer, M.J., eds., Tectonics and sedimentation along faults of the San Andreas system: Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Pacific Section, Publication 30, p. 79–90.**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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