Theresa Schwartz
I am a Research Geologist with wide-ranging interests in the realm of tectonics and sedimentary basins.
I use the principles of sedimentary geology, geochronology, and associated fields to perform geologic mapping and conduct geologic research that together enhance our understanding of the geologic framework of the western USA. This work enables public access to regional geological information and directly supports regional assessments of energy, mineral, water, and industrial material resources, as well as geologic hazards.
Professional Experience
2019-present: Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO
2018-2019: Assistant Research Professor, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO
2017-2019: Science Editor, American Journal Experts
2015-2017: Assistant Professor of Geology, Allegheny College, Meadville, PA
2014 (summer): Geoscience Intern, Hess Corporation, Houston, TX
2011 (summer): Geoscience Intern, NEOS GeoSolutions, Pleasanton, CA
2010-2015: Graduate Research Sedimentologist, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Education and Certifications
2010: BS-Geology, Allegheny College
2015: PhD-Geological & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University
Science and Products
Preliminary detrital zircon data for Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene strata of the Crazy Mountains basin, Montana Preliminary detrital zircon data for Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene strata of the Crazy Mountains basin, Montana
This document includes sandstone provenance data for Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene strata preserved in the Crazy Mountains Basin of western Montana, USA. The dataset includes detrital zircon data for six samples from the Upper Cretaceous Hoppers Formation (1 sample), Upper Cretaceous Billman Creek Formation (1 sample), and Paleocene Fort Union Formation (4 samples). Detrital zircon data...
Measured sections and paleocurrent data from fluvial deposits of the Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene Raton and Poison Canyon Formations, Raton Basin, Colorado-New Mexico, USA Measured sections and paleocurrent data from fluvial deposits of the Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene Raton and Poison Canyon Formations, Raton Basin, Colorado-New Mexico, USA
This document provides two data sets that characterize outcrops of fluvial deposits of the Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene Raton and Poison Canyon Formations of the Raton Basin of Colorado-New Mexico, USA. First, the dataset includes stratigraphic sections measured through fluvial deposits of the Raton and Poison Canyon Formations (ten unique .tif files), currently exposed in roadside...
Detrital zircon record of magmatism and sediment dispersal across the North American Cordilleran arc system (28-48°N) Detrital zircon record of magmatism and sediment dispersal across the North American Cordilleran arc system (28-48°N)
As zircon U-Pb geochronology has become a leading method in sediment provenance studies and basin analysis over the past 20 years, the volume of detrital zircon data made available in published literature has enabled researchers to go beyond source-to-sink provenance studies to explore increasingly complex geologic problems. In this review, we utilize the growing body of detrital zircon...
Authors
Theresa Maude Schwartz, Kathleen D. Surpless, Joseph P. Colgan, Samuel Johnstone, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma
Evidence for variable precipitation and discharge from Upper Cretaceous–Paleogene fluvial deposits of the Raton Basin, Colorado–New Mexico, U.S.A. Evidence for variable precipitation and discharge from Upper Cretaceous–Paleogene fluvial deposits of the Raton Basin, Colorado–New Mexico, U.S.A.
The Raton Basin of Colorado–New Mexico, USA, is the southeasternmost basin of the Laramide intraforeland province of North America. It hosts a thick succession (4.5 km or 15,000 ft) of Upper Cretaceous to Paleogene marine and continental strata that were deposited in response to the final regression of the Western Interior Seaway and the onset of Laramide intraforeland deformation. The...
Authors
Theresa Maude Schwartz, Marieke Dechesne, Kristine L. Zellman
Mesozoic magmatism in Montana Mesozoic magmatism in Montana
From crystalline batholiths with footprints larger than 4,500 km2 to beds of micron-sized ash particles, a record of Mesozoic magmatism is found throughout Montana. Mesozoic igneous rocks are an important natural resource in the state because of their association with precious metal ores and industrial mineral deposits. Mesozoic magmatism in Montana is a tale of volcanic arc eruptions...
Authors
Kaleb C. Scarberry, Petr V. Yakovlev, Theresa Maude Schwartz
Orogenic recycling of detrital zircons characterizes age distributions of North American Cordilleran strata Orogenic recycling of detrital zircons characterizes age distributions of North American Cordilleran strata
Detrital zircon (DZ) analysis has become the standard tool for source‐to‐sink sediment routing studies at many spatial and temporal scales. In North American source‐to‐sink studies, DZ distributions are commonly classified according to the presence/absence and proportions of DZ age groups associated with North American crustal provinces as well as peri‐Gondwanan and Cordilleran terranes...
Authors
Theresa Maude Schwartz, Robert K. Schwartz, A.L. Weislogel
A stratigraphic approach to inferring depositional ages from detrital geochronology data A stratigraphic approach to inferring depositional ages from detrital geochronology data
With the increasing use of detrital geochronology data for provenance analyses, we have also developed new constraints on the age of otherwise undateable sedimentary deposits. Because a deposit can be no older than its youngest mineral constituent, the youngest defensible detrital mineral age defines the maximum depositional age of the sampled bed. Defining the youngest `defensible' age...
Authors
Samuel Johnstone, Theresa M. Schwartz, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma
Non-USGS Publications**
Sickmann, Z., Schwartz, T.M., Malkowski, M.A., Dobbs, S., and Graham, S.A., 2019, Interpreting large detrital geochronology data sets in retroarc foreland basins: An example from the Magallanes-Austral Basin, southernmost Patagonia: Lithosphere, v. 11, no. 5, p. 620-642. doi:10.1130/L1060.1
Daniels, B.G., Hubbard, S.M., Romans, B.W., Malkowski, M.A., Matthews, W.A., Bernhardt, A., Kaempfe, S.A., Jobe, Z.R., Fosdick, J.C., Schwartz, T.M., Fildani, A., and Graham, S.A., 2019, Revised chronostratigraphic framework for the Cretaceous Magallanes-Austral Basin, Ultima Esperanza Province, Chile: Journal of South American Earth Sciences, v. 94. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2019.05.025
Johnstone, S.A., Schwartz, T.M., and Holm-Denoma, C., 2019, A stratigraphic approach to inferring depositional ages from detrital geochronology data: Frontiers in Earth Science, v. 7. doi:10.3389/feart.2019.00057
Schwartz, T.M., Methner, K., Mulch, A., Graham, S.A., and Chamberlain, C.P., 2019, Paleogene topographic and climatic evolution of the Northern Rocky Mountains from integrated sedimentary and isotopic data: GSA Bulletin, v. 131, no. 7-8, p. 1203-1223. doi:10.1130/B32068.1
Sickmann, Z.T., Schwartz, T.M., and Graham, S.A., 2018, Refining stratigraphy and tectonic history using detrital zircon maximum depositional age: an example from the Cerro Fortaleza Formation, Austral Basin, southern Patagonia: Basin Research, v. 30, iss. 4, p. 708-729. doi:10.1111/bre.12272
Malkowski, M.A., Schwartz, T.M., Sharman, G.R., Sickmann, Z., and Graham, S.A., 2017, Stratigraphic and provenance variations in the early evolution of the Magallanes-Austral foreland basin: implications for the role of longitudinal vs. transverse sediment dispersal during oblique arc-continent collision: GSA Bulletin, v. 129, no. 3-4, p. 349-371. doi:10.1130/B31549.1
Schwartz, TM, Fosdick, JC, and Graham, SA (2017) Using detrital zircon U-Pb ages to calculate Late Cretaceous sedimentation rates in the Magallanes-Austral Basin, Patagonia. Basin Research, v. 29. doi:10.1111/bre.12198
Schwartz, T.M., and Graham, S.A., 2017, Depositional history and provenance of Paleogene strata in the Sage Creek basin, southwestern Montana: Geosphere, v. 13, no. 4, p. 1285-1309. doi:10.1130/GES01450.1
Sharman, G.R., Schwartz, T.M., Shumaker, L.E., Trigg, C., Nieminski, N., Sickmann, Z., Malkowski, M.A., Hourigan, J.K., Schulein, B.J., and Graham, S.A., 2017, Submarine mass-failure within the shelfal-deltaic Domengine Formation (Eocene), California: Geosphere, v. 13, no. 3, p. 1285-1309. doi:10.1130/GES01442.1
Schwartz, T.M., and Graham, S.A., 2015, Stratigraphic architecture of a tide-influenced shelf-edge delta, Upper Cretaceous Dorotea Formation, Magallanes-Austral Basin, Patagonia: Sedimentology, v. 62, iss. 4, p. 1039-1077. doi:10.1111/sed/12176
Schwartz, T.M., and Schwartz, R.K., 2013, Paleogene post-compressional intermontane basin evolution along the frontal Cordilleran fold-and-thrust belt of southwestern Montana: GSA Bulletin, v. 125, no. 5-6, p. 961-984. doi:10.1130/B30766.1
**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
Preliminary detrital zircon data for Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene strata of the Crazy Mountains basin, Montana Preliminary detrital zircon data for Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene strata of the Crazy Mountains basin, Montana
This document includes sandstone provenance data for Upper Cretaceous to Paleocene strata preserved in the Crazy Mountains Basin of western Montana, USA. The dataset includes detrital zircon data for six samples from the Upper Cretaceous Hoppers Formation (1 sample), Upper Cretaceous Billman Creek Formation (1 sample), and Paleocene Fort Union Formation (4 samples). Detrital zircon data...
Measured sections and paleocurrent data from fluvial deposits of the Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene Raton and Poison Canyon Formations, Raton Basin, Colorado-New Mexico, USA Measured sections and paleocurrent data from fluvial deposits of the Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene Raton and Poison Canyon Formations, Raton Basin, Colorado-New Mexico, USA
This document provides two data sets that characterize outcrops of fluvial deposits of the Upper Cretaceous-Paleogene Raton and Poison Canyon Formations of the Raton Basin of Colorado-New Mexico, USA. First, the dataset includes stratigraphic sections measured through fluvial deposits of the Raton and Poison Canyon Formations (ten unique .tif files), currently exposed in roadside...
Detrital zircon record of magmatism and sediment dispersal across the North American Cordilleran arc system (28-48°N) Detrital zircon record of magmatism and sediment dispersal across the North American Cordilleran arc system (28-48°N)
As zircon U-Pb geochronology has become a leading method in sediment provenance studies and basin analysis over the past 20 years, the volume of detrital zircon data made available in published literature has enabled researchers to go beyond source-to-sink provenance studies to explore increasingly complex geologic problems. In this review, we utilize the growing body of detrital zircon...
Authors
Theresa Maude Schwartz, Kathleen D. Surpless, Joseph P. Colgan, Samuel Johnstone, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma
Evidence for variable precipitation and discharge from Upper Cretaceous–Paleogene fluvial deposits of the Raton Basin, Colorado–New Mexico, U.S.A. Evidence for variable precipitation and discharge from Upper Cretaceous–Paleogene fluvial deposits of the Raton Basin, Colorado–New Mexico, U.S.A.
The Raton Basin of Colorado–New Mexico, USA, is the southeasternmost basin of the Laramide intraforeland province of North America. It hosts a thick succession (4.5 km or 15,000 ft) of Upper Cretaceous to Paleogene marine and continental strata that were deposited in response to the final regression of the Western Interior Seaway and the onset of Laramide intraforeland deformation. The...
Authors
Theresa Maude Schwartz, Marieke Dechesne, Kristine L. Zellman
Mesozoic magmatism in Montana Mesozoic magmatism in Montana
From crystalline batholiths with footprints larger than 4,500 km2 to beds of micron-sized ash particles, a record of Mesozoic magmatism is found throughout Montana. Mesozoic igneous rocks are an important natural resource in the state because of their association with precious metal ores and industrial mineral deposits. Mesozoic magmatism in Montana is a tale of volcanic arc eruptions...
Authors
Kaleb C. Scarberry, Petr V. Yakovlev, Theresa Maude Schwartz
Orogenic recycling of detrital zircons characterizes age distributions of North American Cordilleran strata Orogenic recycling of detrital zircons characterizes age distributions of North American Cordilleran strata
Detrital zircon (DZ) analysis has become the standard tool for source‐to‐sink sediment routing studies at many spatial and temporal scales. In North American source‐to‐sink studies, DZ distributions are commonly classified according to the presence/absence and proportions of DZ age groups associated with North American crustal provinces as well as peri‐Gondwanan and Cordilleran terranes...
Authors
Theresa Maude Schwartz, Robert K. Schwartz, A.L. Weislogel
A stratigraphic approach to inferring depositional ages from detrital geochronology data A stratigraphic approach to inferring depositional ages from detrital geochronology data
With the increasing use of detrital geochronology data for provenance analyses, we have also developed new constraints on the age of otherwise undateable sedimentary deposits. Because a deposit can be no older than its youngest mineral constituent, the youngest defensible detrital mineral age defines the maximum depositional age of the sampled bed. Defining the youngest `defensible' age...
Authors
Samuel Johnstone, Theresa M. Schwartz, Christopher S. Holm-Denoma
Non-USGS Publications**
Sickmann, Z., Schwartz, T.M., Malkowski, M.A., Dobbs, S., and Graham, S.A., 2019, Interpreting large detrital geochronology data sets in retroarc foreland basins: An example from the Magallanes-Austral Basin, southernmost Patagonia: Lithosphere, v. 11, no. 5, p. 620-642. doi:10.1130/L1060.1
Daniels, B.G., Hubbard, S.M., Romans, B.W., Malkowski, M.A., Matthews, W.A., Bernhardt, A., Kaempfe, S.A., Jobe, Z.R., Fosdick, J.C., Schwartz, T.M., Fildani, A., and Graham, S.A., 2019, Revised chronostratigraphic framework for the Cretaceous Magallanes-Austral Basin, Ultima Esperanza Province, Chile: Journal of South American Earth Sciences, v. 94. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2019.05.025
Johnstone, S.A., Schwartz, T.M., and Holm-Denoma, C., 2019, A stratigraphic approach to inferring depositional ages from detrital geochronology data: Frontiers in Earth Science, v. 7. doi:10.3389/feart.2019.00057
Schwartz, T.M., Methner, K., Mulch, A., Graham, S.A., and Chamberlain, C.P., 2019, Paleogene topographic and climatic evolution of the Northern Rocky Mountains from integrated sedimentary and isotopic data: GSA Bulletin, v. 131, no. 7-8, p. 1203-1223. doi:10.1130/B32068.1
Sickmann, Z.T., Schwartz, T.M., and Graham, S.A., 2018, Refining stratigraphy and tectonic history using detrital zircon maximum depositional age: an example from the Cerro Fortaleza Formation, Austral Basin, southern Patagonia: Basin Research, v. 30, iss. 4, p. 708-729. doi:10.1111/bre.12272
Malkowski, M.A., Schwartz, T.M., Sharman, G.R., Sickmann, Z., and Graham, S.A., 2017, Stratigraphic and provenance variations in the early evolution of the Magallanes-Austral foreland basin: implications for the role of longitudinal vs. transverse sediment dispersal during oblique arc-continent collision: GSA Bulletin, v. 129, no. 3-4, p. 349-371. doi:10.1130/B31549.1
Schwartz, TM, Fosdick, JC, and Graham, SA (2017) Using detrital zircon U-Pb ages to calculate Late Cretaceous sedimentation rates in the Magallanes-Austral Basin, Patagonia. Basin Research, v. 29. doi:10.1111/bre.12198
Schwartz, T.M., and Graham, S.A., 2017, Depositional history and provenance of Paleogene strata in the Sage Creek basin, southwestern Montana: Geosphere, v. 13, no. 4, p. 1285-1309. doi:10.1130/GES01450.1
Sharman, G.R., Schwartz, T.M., Shumaker, L.E., Trigg, C., Nieminski, N., Sickmann, Z., Malkowski, M.A., Hourigan, J.K., Schulein, B.J., and Graham, S.A., 2017, Submarine mass-failure within the shelfal-deltaic Domengine Formation (Eocene), California: Geosphere, v. 13, no. 3, p. 1285-1309. doi:10.1130/GES01442.1
Schwartz, T.M., and Graham, S.A., 2015, Stratigraphic architecture of a tide-influenced shelf-edge delta, Upper Cretaceous Dorotea Formation, Magallanes-Austral Basin, Patagonia: Sedimentology, v. 62, iss. 4, p. 1039-1077. doi:10.1111/sed/12176
Schwartz, T.M., and Schwartz, R.K., 2013, Paleogene post-compressional intermontane basin evolution along the frontal Cordilleran fold-and-thrust belt of southwestern Montana: GSA Bulletin, v. 125, no. 5-6, p. 961-984. doi:10.1130/B30766.1
**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.