Richard O Lease, Ph.D.
Richard Lease is a Research Geologist with the Alaska Science Center in Anchorage, AK
Richard conducts framework geology research on Alaska sedimentary basins, mountain belts, landscapes, and paleoclimate. His research typically utilizes the fields of stratigraphy, tectonics, geomorphology, and geochronology. His past research focused on tectonic-climatic-geodynamic interactions during growth of the Tibetan Plateau and Central Andes.
Professional Experience
2012 – Present Research Geologist, USGS Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska
2011 – 2012 Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Tuebingen, Germany
Education and Certifications
Ph.D. 2010 University of California, Santa Barbara, CA Geology
A.B. 2005 Princeton University, Princeton, NJ Geosciences
Science and Products
Zircon U-Pb, Organic Carbon Isotope, and Geochemistry Data from the Hue Shale and Canning Formation, Arctic Alaska, 2025 Zircon U-Pb, Organic Carbon Isotope, and Geochemistry Data from the Hue Shale and Canning Formation, Arctic Alaska, 2025
This dataset contains results from three stratigraphic sections of the Hue Shale located in and adjacent to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska. Sample heights were measured with a tape measure in continuous successions. Zircon grains from volcanic ashes were analyzed via laser ablation at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) using a Photon Machines...
Total organic carbon, programmed temperature pyrolysis, vitrinite reflectance, organic carbon isotopes, elemental, and spectral gamma-ray data from the Cretaceous Hue Shale (Jago River outcrop), Arctic Alaska, USA Total organic carbon, programmed temperature pyrolysis, vitrinite reflectance, organic carbon isotopes, elemental, and spectral gamma-ray data from the Cretaceous Hue Shale (Jago River outcrop), Arctic Alaska, USA
Chemostratigraphic signatures were recorded in a 113 m thick outcrop of late Albian to early Campanian (~103–82 Ma) Hue Shale exposed on the bank of the Jago River in the coastal plain (“1002 Area”) of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Alaska. Spectral gamma-ray (SGR) data was collected in situ across the Jago River section. A total of 250 samples consisting of predominantly...
Carbon Isotopes, Total Organic Carbon, Programmed Pyrolysis, Volcanic Zircon U-Pb, and Geochemistry Data from the Hue Shale, Arctic Alaska - 2024 Carbon Isotopes, Total Organic Carbon, Programmed Pyrolysis, Volcanic Zircon U-Pb, and Geochemistry Data from the Hue Shale, Arctic Alaska - 2024
This dataset contains results from a stratigraphic section of the Hue Shale located along the Jago River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge at 69.9099, -143.3947 (WGS84). Sample heights were measured with a tape measure in a continuous succession. Zircon grains from volcanic ashes were analyzed via laser ablation at either the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) or the...
Fission Track Data and Ages of Apatite and U-Pb Isotopic Data and Ages of Igneous and Detrital Zircon from Selected Rocks from the Lake Clark and Lake Iliamna Region of South-Central Alaska Fission Track Data and Ages of Apatite and U-Pb Isotopic Data and Ages of Igneous and Detrital Zircon from Selected Rocks from the Lake Clark and Lake Iliamna Region of South-Central Alaska
This data set contains fission track data and associated ages of apatite from igneous and sedimentary rocks, U-Pb isotopic data and associated ages of zircon from a subset of the igneous rock samples, and U-Pb isotopic data and associated ages of detrital zircon from a subset of the sedimentary rock samples. All samples were collected from the region surrounding Lake Clark and Lake...
Whole Rock Major and Trace Element Chemistry for Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks from the Yukon-Tanana Upland, Alaska Whole Rock Major and Trace Element Chemistry for Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks from the Yukon-Tanana Upland, Alaska
This dataset consists of one table containing whole-rock geochemistry data for 753 igneous and metamorphic rocks from the Yukon-Tanana upland of eastern interior Alaska, collected between 2013 and 2019. All materials were analyzed by ALS Global, between 2014 and 2020, by a range of different techniques, so multiple unique entries for a given element relate to different analytical methods...
Whole Rock Major and Trace Element Chemistry for Igneous Rocks from Tyonek, Lime Hills, Talkeetna, McGrath, and Lake Clark Quadrangles, Western Alaska Range, Alaska Whole Rock Major and Trace Element Chemistry for Igneous Rocks from Tyonek, Lime Hills, Talkeetna, McGrath, and Lake Clark Quadrangles, Western Alaska Range, Alaska
This data release contains whole rock major and trace element data for 69 igneous rock samples collected from the Western Alaska Range between 2011 and 2012. The Series field relates to chronological units discussed in Jones et al. (2021). Descriptions are from original collector notebooks and are provided here for informational purposes.
Filter Total Items: 32
Apatite geo-thermochronology and geochemistry constrain Oligocene-Miocene growth and geodynamics of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau Apatite geo-thermochronology and geochemistry constrain Oligocene-Miocene growth and geodynamics of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau
Understanding the geodynamics of plateau evolution requires examining the spatial and temporal aspects of mountain building in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, which are still under debate. Here we integrate apatite geo-thermochronological and geochemical data from the Oligocene-Miocene succession of the Xunhua Basin to elucidate the evolution of the regional topography. The results...
Authors
Chao Guo, Zhiyong Zhang, Richard O. Lease, Marco Malusa, David Chew, Haijian Lu, Lin Wu, Dunfeng Xiang, Nan Wang, Bernhard Grasemann, Wenjiao Xiao
Chemostratigraphy of the Cretaceous Hue Shale in Arctic Alaska: Exploring paleoceanographic controls on trace element enrichment, organic matter accumulation, and source-rock evolution Chemostratigraphy of the Cretaceous Hue Shale in Arctic Alaska: Exploring paleoceanographic controls on trace element enrichment, organic matter accumulation, and source-rock evolution
We document chemostratigraphy in an outcrop of late Albian to early Campanian (∼103–82 Ma) marine source rocks to better understand paleoenvironmental controls on trace element (TE) enrichment and organic matter accumulation in the distal Colville foreland basin of Arctic Alaska and how those drivers are linked to arc volcanism and successions of Cretaceous oceanographic and climatic
Authors
Palma J. Botterell, Margaret M. Sanders, David W. Houseknecht, Richard O. Lease, William A. Rouse, Katherine J. Whidden, Julie A. Dumoulin, Rebecca A. Smith, Christina A. DeVera, Brett J. Valentine
Arctic Alaska deepwater organic carbon burial and environmental changes during the late Albian–early Campanian (103–82 Ma) Arctic Alaska deepwater organic carbon burial and environmental changes during the late Albian–early Campanian (103–82 Ma)
The middle Cretaceous greenhouse period experienced profound environmental change including episodes of enhanced global burial of organic carbon marked by carbon isotopic excursions (CIEs). However, the role and response of polar regions like the newly formed, partially enclosed Arctic Ocean Basin during middle Cretaceous carbon burial remains enigmatic. We present the first Arctic...
Authors
Richard O. Lease, Katherine J. Whidden, Julie A. Dumoulin, David W. Houseknecht, Palma J. Botterell, Mark F. Dreier, Neil Patrick Griffis, Roland Mundil, Andrew R.C. Kylander-Clark, Margaret M. Sanders, John W. Counts, Jean Self-Trail, Jared T. Gooley, William A. Rouse, Rebecca A. Smith, Christina A. DeVera
Revised timing of rapid exhumation in the West Qinling: Implications for geodynamics of Oligocene-Miocene Tibetan plateau outward expansion Revised timing of rapid exhumation in the West Qinling: Implications for geodynamics of Oligocene-Miocene Tibetan plateau outward expansion
Two contrasting age models for initial mountain building in the northeastern (NE) Tibetan Plateau (Paleocene-early Eocene versus late Oligocene-early Miocene) have led to the debate on how the deformed continental lithosphere absorbs plate convergence in general. The initial compressional deformation in the West Qinling (WQL) of the NE Tibetan Plateau figures prominently in this ongoing...
Authors
Chaopeng Li, Dewen Zheng, Jingxing Yu, Richard O. Lease, Yizhou Wang, Jianzhang Pang, Ying Wang, Yuqi Hao, Yigang Xu
Boulders modulate hillslope-channel coupling in the northern Alaska Range Boulders modulate hillslope-channel coupling in the northern Alaska Range
Active orogens balance tectonic rock uplift with erosion, commonly via river incision coupled to landslide denudation of “threshold” hillslopes, but sediment’s role in this feedback is unclear. We report fluvial geometry, and sediment size, prevalence, and mobility across two ≤600-m-tall gneissic northern Alaska Range anticlines that sustain steep landslide-clad hillslopes but differ 10×...
Authors
Adrian Bender, Richard O. Lease
Fairweather transform boundary Oligocene to present orogenesis: Fairweather Range vertical extrusion and rotation of the Yakutat microplate at ca. 3 Ma Fairweather transform boundary Oligocene to present orogenesis: Fairweather Range vertical extrusion and rotation of the Yakutat microplate at ca. 3 Ma
Oblique-slip along transform fault boundaries is often partitioned between a strike-slip system and thrust faults that accommodate contraction. However, topography along the Yakutat-North American transform (Fairweather fault), is asymmetric with low-terrain above active thrusts on the western, Yakutat side of the transform and high topography on the continental side with peaks >4500 m...
Authors
Jeff Benowitz, Richard O. Lease, Peter J. Haeussler, Terry Pavlis, Michael Mann
Science and Products
Zircon U-Pb, Organic Carbon Isotope, and Geochemistry Data from the Hue Shale and Canning Formation, Arctic Alaska, 2025 Zircon U-Pb, Organic Carbon Isotope, and Geochemistry Data from the Hue Shale and Canning Formation, Arctic Alaska, 2025
This dataset contains results from three stratigraphic sections of the Hue Shale located in and adjacent to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeastern Alaska. Sample heights were measured with a tape measure in continuous successions. Zircon grains from volcanic ashes were analyzed via laser ablation at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) using a Photon Machines...
Total organic carbon, programmed temperature pyrolysis, vitrinite reflectance, organic carbon isotopes, elemental, and spectral gamma-ray data from the Cretaceous Hue Shale (Jago River outcrop), Arctic Alaska, USA Total organic carbon, programmed temperature pyrolysis, vitrinite reflectance, organic carbon isotopes, elemental, and spectral gamma-ray data from the Cretaceous Hue Shale (Jago River outcrop), Arctic Alaska, USA
Chemostratigraphic signatures were recorded in a 113 m thick outcrop of late Albian to early Campanian (~103–82 Ma) Hue Shale exposed on the bank of the Jago River in the coastal plain (“1002 Area”) of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Alaska. Spectral gamma-ray (SGR) data was collected in situ across the Jago River section. A total of 250 samples consisting of predominantly...
Carbon Isotopes, Total Organic Carbon, Programmed Pyrolysis, Volcanic Zircon U-Pb, and Geochemistry Data from the Hue Shale, Arctic Alaska - 2024 Carbon Isotopes, Total Organic Carbon, Programmed Pyrolysis, Volcanic Zircon U-Pb, and Geochemistry Data from the Hue Shale, Arctic Alaska - 2024
This dataset contains results from a stratigraphic section of the Hue Shale located along the Jago River in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge at 69.9099, -143.3947 (WGS84). Sample heights were measured with a tape measure in a continuous succession. Zircon grains from volcanic ashes were analyzed via laser ablation at either the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) or the...
Fission Track Data and Ages of Apatite and U-Pb Isotopic Data and Ages of Igneous and Detrital Zircon from Selected Rocks from the Lake Clark and Lake Iliamna Region of South-Central Alaska Fission Track Data and Ages of Apatite and U-Pb Isotopic Data and Ages of Igneous and Detrital Zircon from Selected Rocks from the Lake Clark and Lake Iliamna Region of South-Central Alaska
This data set contains fission track data and associated ages of apatite from igneous and sedimentary rocks, U-Pb isotopic data and associated ages of zircon from a subset of the igneous rock samples, and U-Pb isotopic data and associated ages of detrital zircon from a subset of the sedimentary rock samples. All samples were collected from the region surrounding Lake Clark and Lake...
Whole Rock Major and Trace Element Chemistry for Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks from the Yukon-Tanana Upland, Alaska Whole Rock Major and Trace Element Chemistry for Igneous and Metamorphic Rocks from the Yukon-Tanana Upland, Alaska
This dataset consists of one table containing whole-rock geochemistry data for 753 igneous and metamorphic rocks from the Yukon-Tanana upland of eastern interior Alaska, collected between 2013 and 2019. All materials were analyzed by ALS Global, between 2014 and 2020, by a range of different techniques, so multiple unique entries for a given element relate to different analytical methods...
Whole Rock Major and Trace Element Chemistry for Igneous Rocks from Tyonek, Lime Hills, Talkeetna, McGrath, and Lake Clark Quadrangles, Western Alaska Range, Alaska Whole Rock Major and Trace Element Chemistry for Igneous Rocks from Tyonek, Lime Hills, Talkeetna, McGrath, and Lake Clark Quadrangles, Western Alaska Range, Alaska
This data release contains whole rock major and trace element data for 69 igneous rock samples collected from the Western Alaska Range between 2011 and 2012. The Series field relates to chronological units discussed in Jones et al. (2021). Descriptions are from original collector notebooks and are provided here for informational purposes.
Filter Total Items: 32
Apatite geo-thermochronology and geochemistry constrain Oligocene-Miocene growth and geodynamics of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau Apatite geo-thermochronology and geochemistry constrain Oligocene-Miocene growth and geodynamics of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau
Understanding the geodynamics of plateau evolution requires examining the spatial and temporal aspects of mountain building in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, which are still under debate. Here we integrate apatite geo-thermochronological and geochemical data from the Oligocene-Miocene succession of the Xunhua Basin to elucidate the evolution of the regional topography. The results...
Authors
Chao Guo, Zhiyong Zhang, Richard O. Lease, Marco Malusa, David Chew, Haijian Lu, Lin Wu, Dunfeng Xiang, Nan Wang, Bernhard Grasemann, Wenjiao Xiao
Chemostratigraphy of the Cretaceous Hue Shale in Arctic Alaska: Exploring paleoceanographic controls on trace element enrichment, organic matter accumulation, and source-rock evolution Chemostratigraphy of the Cretaceous Hue Shale in Arctic Alaska: Exploring paleoceanographic controls on trace element enrichment, organic matter accumulation, and source-rock evolution
We document chemostratigraphy in an outcrop of late Albian to early Campanian (∼103–82 Ma) marine source rocks to better understand paleoenvironmental controls on trace element (TE) enrichment and organic matter accumulation in the distal Colville foreland basin of Arctic Alaska and how those drivers are linked to arc volcanism and successions of Cretaceous oceanographic and climatic
Authors
Palma J. Botterell, Margaret M. Sanders, David W. Houseknecht, Richard O. Lease, William A. Rouse, Katherine J. Whidden, Julie A. Dumoulin, Rebecca A. Smith, Christina A. DeVera, Brett J. Valentine
Arctic Alaska deepwater organic carbon burial and environmental changes during the late Albian–early Campanian (103–82 Ma) Arctic Alaska deepwater organic carbon burial and environmental changes during the late Albian–early Campanian (103–82 Ma)
The middle Cretaceous greenhouse period experienced profound environmental change including episodes of enhanced global burial of organic carbon marked by carbon isotopic excursions (CIEs). However, the role and response of polar regions like the newly formed, partially enclosed Arctic Ocean Basin during middle Cretaceous carbon burial remains enigmatic. We present the first Arctic...
Authors
Richard O. Lease, Katherine J. Whidden, Julie A. Dumoulin, David W. Houseknecht, Palma J. Botterell, Mark F. Dreier, Neil Patrick Griffis, Roland Mundil, Andrew R.C. Kylander-Clark, Margaret M. Sanders, John W. Counts, Jean Self-Trail, Jared T. Gooley, William A. Rouse, Rebecca A. Smith, Christina A. DeVera
Revised timing of rapid exhumation in the West Qinling: Implications for geodynamics of Oligocene-Miocene Tibetan plateau outward expansion Revised timing of rapid exhumation in the West Qinling: Implications for geodynamics of Oligocene-Miocene Tibetan plateau outward expansion
Two contrasting age models for initial mountain building in the northeastern (NE) Tibetan Plateau (Paleocene-early Eocene versus late Oligocene-early Miocene) have led to the debate on how the deformed continental lithosphere absorbs plate convergence in general. The initial compressional deformation in the West Qinling (WQL) of the NE Tibetan Plateau figures prominently in this ongoing...
Authors
Chaopeng Li, Dewen Zheng, Jingxing Yu, Richard O. Lease, Yizhou Wang, Jianzhang Pang, Ying Wang, Yuqi Hao, Yigang Xu
Boulders modulate hillslope-channel coupling in the northern Alaska Range Boulders modulate hillslope-channel coupling in the northern Alaska Range
Active orogens balance tectonic rock uplift with erosion, commonly via river incision coupled to landslide denudation of “threshold” hillslopes, but sediment’s role in this feedback is unclear. We report fluvial geometry, and sediment size, prevalence, and mobility across two ≤600-m-tall gneissic northern Alaska Range anticlines that sustain steep landslide-clad hillslopes but differ 10×...
Authors
Adrian Bender, Richard O. Lease
Fairweather transform boundary Oligocene to present orogenesis: Fairweather Range vertical extrusion and rotation of the Yakutat microplate at ca. 3 Ma Fairweather transform boundary Oligocene to present orogenesis: Fairweather Range vertical extrusion and rotation of the Yakutat microplate at ca. 3 Ma
Oblique-slip along transform fault boundaries is often partitioned between a strike-slip system and thrust faults that accommodate contraction. However, topography along the Yakutat-North American transform (Fairweather fault), is asymmetric with low-terrain above active thrusts on the western, Yakutat side of the transform and high topography on the continental side with peaks >4500 m...
Authors
Jeff Benowitz, Richard O. Lease, Peter J. Haeussler, Terry Pavlis, Michael Mann