Steven Ingebritsen, Ph.D.
Research topics include magmatic-hydrothermal systems, crustal permeability, and land subsidence
Served a 10-year term as a USGS Branch Chief (1998-2008), managing a $19M/year research program with about 150 full- and part-time employees and contractors. Fellow of both the American Geophysical Union and the Geological Society of America (GSA); recipient of the O.E. Meinzer Award from GSA and the John Hem Award from the National Ground Water Association; and a GSA Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer. Author of the textbook Groundwater in Geologic Processes (Cambridge University Press, 1998, 2nd ed. 2006) and co-Editor of Crustal Permeability (Wiley/AGU, 2016). Past co-Editor-in-Chief of Geothermics (1996-1998) and Geofluids (2006-2010) and past Chair of GSA’s Hydrogeology Division. Member U.S. National Academy of Engineering.
DATA AND MODELS
Hydrothermal monitoring data from the Cascade Range: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo/monitoring_hydrothermal.html
Hydrothermal discharge at selected sites in the western US (Ingebritsen and others, JVGR, 2001): https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/water/hydrothermal/hydrothermal_abstract.pdf
Geyser-frequency data from Upper Geyser Basin (Rojstaczer and others, 2003): https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/vsc/file_mngr/file-191/geyserdata.pdf
HYDROTHERM model: https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/software/hydrotherm/
Professional Experience
Member of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) since 1980
Education and Certifications
MS and PhD Hydrogeology, Stanford University
BA Geology, Carleton College
Honors and Awards
Fellow, American Geophysical Union
Fellow, Geological Society of America
O.E. Meinzer Award, Geological Society of America
John Hem Award, National Ground Water Association
Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer, Geological Society of America
Science and Products
Understanding heat and groundwater flow through continental flood basalt provinces: insights gained from alternative models of permeability/depth relationships for the Columbia Plateau, USA
Hydrothermal monitoring in a quiescent volcanic arc: Cascade Range, northwestern United States
Hydrogeology of the Old Faithful area, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, and its relevance to natural resources and infrastructure
The physical hydrogeology of ore deposits
Modeling the formation of porphyry-copper ores
An approach to modeling coupled thermal-hydraulic-chemical processes in geothermal systems
Biographical profile of incoming editor Mark Person
Permeability of the continental crust: Dynamic variations inferred from seismicity and metamorphism
Book Review: Geological fluid dynamics: Sub-surface flow and reactions
Book review: Agents of change on a dynamic Earth
Note from the Hubbert Quorum
Annual modulation of seismicity along the San Andreas Fault near Parkfield, CA
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 41
Understanding heat and groundwater flow through continental flood basalt provinces: insights gained from alternative models of permeability/depth relationships for the Columbia Plateau, USA
Heat-flow mapping of the western USA has identified an apparent low-heat-flow anomaly coincident with the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System, a thick sequence of basalt aquifers within the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG). A heat and mass transport model (SUTRA) was used to evaluate the potential impact of groundwater flow on heat flow along two different regional groundwater flow paths. LAuthorsErick R. Burns, Colin F. Williams, Steven E. Ingebritsen, Clifford I. Voss, Frank A. Spane, Jacob DeAngeloHydrothermal monitoring in a quiescent volcanic arc: Cascade Range, northwestern United States
Ongoing (1996–present) volcanic unrest near South Sister, Oregon, is accompanied by a striking set of hydrothermal anomalies, including elevated temperatures, elevated major ion concentrations, and 3He/4He ratios as large as 8.6 RA in slightly thermal springs. These observations prompted the US Geological Survey to begin a systematic hydrothermal-monitoring effort encompassing 25 sites and 10 of tAuthorsSteven E. Ingebritsen, N. G. Randolph-Flagg, Katrina D. Gelwick, Elizabeth A. Lundstrom, Ilana M. Crankshaw, Anna M. Murveit, M.E. Schmidt, Deborah Bergfeld, Kurt R. Spicer, David S. Tucker, Robert H. Mariner, William C. EvansHydrogeology of the Old Faithful area, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, and its relevance to natural resources and infrastructure
A panel of leading experts (The Old Faithful Science Review Panel) was convened by Yellowstone National Park (YNP) to review and summarize the geological and hydrological understanding that can inform National Park Service management of the Upper Geyser Basin area. We give an overview of present geological and hydrological knowledge of the Old Faithful hydrothermal (hot water) system and related tAuthorsDuncan Foley, Robert O. Fournier, Henry P. Heasler, Bern Hinckley, Steven E. Ingebritsen, Jacob B. Lowenstern, David D. SusongThe physical hydrogeology of ore deposits
Hydrothermal ore deposits represent a convergence of fluid flow, thermal energy, and solute flux that is hydrogeologically unusual. From the hydrogeologic perspective, hydrothermal ore deposition represents a complex coupled-flow problem—sufficiently complex that physically rigorous description of the coupled thermal (T), hydraulic (H), mechanical (M), and chemical (C) processes (THMC modeling) coAuthorsSteven E. Ingebritsen, M.S. AppoldModeling the formation of porphyry-copper ores
Porphyry-copper ore systems, the source of much of the world's copper and molybdenum, form when metal-bearing fluids are expelled from shallow, degassing magmas. On page 1613 of this issue, Weis et al. (1) demonstrate that self-organizing processes focus metal deposition. Specifically, their simulation studies indicate that ores develop as consequences of dynamic variations in rock permeability drAuthorsSteven E. IngebritsenAn approach to modeling coupled thermal-hydraulic-chemical processes in geothermal systems
Interactions between hydrothermal fluids and rock alter mineralogy, leading to the formation of secondary minerals and potentially significant physical and chemical property changes. Reactive transport simulations are essential for evaluating the coupled processes controlling the geochemical, thermal and hydrological evolution of geothermal systems. The objective of this preliminary investigationAuthorsJennifer Palguta, Colin F. Williams, Steven E. Ingebritsen, Stephen H. Hickman, Eric SonnenthalBiographical profile of incoming editor Mark Person
No abstract available.AuthorsSteven E. Ingebritsen, Richard Worden, Bruce YardleyPermeability of the continental crust: Dynamic variations inferred from seismicity and metamorphism
The variation of permeability with depth can be probed indirectly by various means, including hydrologic models that use geothermal data as constraints and the progress of metamorphic reactions driven by fluid flow. Geothermal and metamorphic data combine to indicate that mean permeability (k) of tectonically active continental crust decreases with depth (z) according to log k ≈ −14–3.2 log z, wheAuthorsSteven E. Ingebritsen, C. E. ManningBook Review: Geological fluid dynamics: Sub-surface flow and reactions
No abstract availableAuthorsSteven E. IngebritsenBook review: Agents of change on a dynamic Earth
No abstract availableAuthorsSteven E. IngebritsenNote from the Hubbert Quorum
No abstract available.AuthorsSteven E. Ingebritsen, Shaul Hurwitz, E. E. BrodskyAnnual modulation of seismicity along the San Andreas Fault near Parkfield, CA
We analyze seismic data from the San Andreas Fault (SAF) near Parkfield, California, to test for annual modulation in seismicity rates. We use statistical analyses to show that seismicity is modulated with an annual period in the creeping section of the fault and a semiannual period in the locked section of the fault. Although the exact mechanism for seasonal triggering is undetermined, it appearsAuthorsL.B. Christiansen, Shaul Hurwitz, Steven E. Ingebritsen - Software