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William H. Craddock, Ph.D.

William Craddock is a Research Geologist with the USGS Geology, Energy & Minerals (GEM) Science Center in Reston, VA.

William's interests include tectonics and the economic geology of sedimentary basins. He employs a broad range of techniques in order to address specific research questions, including geologic mapping, stratigraphic and structural analysis, geochronology, thermochronology and geomorphology. William obtained his Ph.D. in geology from Penn State University in 2011, his M.S. in geology from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 2006, and his B.S. in environmental geology from the College of William and Mary in 2004. He is a member of the Geological Society of America, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and the Geological Society of Washington D.C.​

Professional Experience

  • 2010 - present: U.S. Geological Survey, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center Science Center, Reston, VA

Education and Certifications

  • Ph.D. Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, 2010

  • M.S. Geological Sciences, University of California at Santa Barbara, 2006

  • B.S. Environmental Geology, College of William and Mary, 2004

Science and Products

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An image of USGS research drilling rig on side of U.S. Route 90 in Kinney County, Texas. The sky is streaked with clouds.

Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Research

The Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments and Research (GEAR) project also conducts research on the properties and processes relevant to the Gulf Coast Jurassic-Cretaceous-Tertiary composite total petroleum system (TPS). This research aims to improve ongoing and future undiscovered, technically recoverable hydrocarbon resources assessments on the onshore and State waters portion of the Gulf Coast...
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Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center
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Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Research

The Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments and Research (GEAR) project also conducts research on the properties and processes relevant to the Gulf Coast Jurassic-Cretaceous-Tertiary composite total petroleum system (TPS). This research aims to improve ongoing and future undiscovered, technically recoverable hydrocarbon resources assessments on the onshore and State waters portion of the Gulf Coast...
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Atigun River in Atigun Gorge - Brooks Range in Alaska

Alaska Petroleum Systems

The Alaska Petroleum Systems project has three main objectives: (A) conduct research that increases our understanding of Alaska petroleum systems, (B) conduct assessments of undiscovered oil and gas resources, and (C) deliver energy-resource information to land and resource managers, policy makers, and the public.
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Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Alaska Science Center, Central Energy Resources Science Center
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Alaska Petroleum Systems

The Alaska Petroleum Systems project has three main objectives: (A) conduct research that increases our understanding of Alaska petroleum systems, (B) conduct assessments of undiscovered oil and gas resources, and (C) deliver energy-resource information to land and resource managers, policy makers, and the public.
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Extent of Gulf Coast Petroleum System Project and Oil and Gas Wells

Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments

One of the main goals of the Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments and Research (GEAR) project is to conduct assessments of undiscovered, technically recoverable petroleum resources of the U.S. Gulf Coast region. This goal is in accordance with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) and is performed in collaboration with the USGS National Oil and Gas Assessment project. These high-quality...
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Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Deep Sea Exploration, Mapping and Characterization
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Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments

One of the main goals of the Gulf Coast Geologic Energy Assessments and Research (GEAR) project is to conduct assessments of undiscovered, technically recoverable petroleum resources of the U.S. Gulf Coast region. This goal is in accordance with the Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) and is performed in collaboration with the USGS National Oil and Gas Assessment project. These high-quality...
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United States Gulf Coast Basin Curated Wells and Logs Database (ver. 2.0, November 2023)

The United States Gulf Coast Basin Curated Wells and Logs Database (CWLDB) is an online repository with stratigraphic information for petroleum wells in the United States portion of the onshore Gulf of Mexico Basin that provides several of the following attributes: a) deep penetrations (generally, total depth of 10,000 feet or more), b) high quality and diverse geophysical well log suites, c) lith
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Energy Resources Program, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Apatite and zircon U/Pb and fission track geochronologic and thermochronologic data along the Fall Line of the southeastern United States

This data release contains apatite and zircon U/Pb and fission track data for six samples collected along the Fall Line of the southeastern United States, from Virginia to the Georgia-South Carolina border. The data resolve phases of rapid exhumational cooling in the Permo-Triassic, additional cooling in the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous and slower cooling since the middle of the Cretaceous. The data
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

ATR Data from Interaction of kerogen with brine-saturated supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) and its implications to geologic carbon sequestration and enhanced oil/gas recovery (2018)

The dataset covers Attenuated Total Reflectance (ATR) measurements taken from altered kerogen in shales from the Woodford formation. The ATR measurements were taken after the samples were run through supercritical CO2 alteration experiments in a brine solution.
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

U-Pb ages of detrital zircons in Paleogene strata of the Gulf Coast

This data release contains 60 detrital zircon age spectra, based on U and Pb isotope ratio measurements for 9399 single grains. The samples are from Paleogene strata of the U.S. Gulf Coast. Of the 9399 single grain measurements, we recommend that 8640 yield ages that are suitable for construction of detrital zircon age spectra. Comments tagged to individual grains explain the reasoning for exclusi
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Apatite and zircon fission track data from the western Brooks Range of Arctic Alaska

The attached data are apatite and zircon fission track measurements from rock samples collected across the western Brooks Range. Table 1 contains descriptive information on each sample. Tables 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d and 2e contain single grain, apatite fission track age data for samples from each of five datasets that comprise the overall apatite fission track age dataset. Tables 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d contai
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

USGS Gulf Coast Source Rock Database (ver. 2.0, October 2023)

The USGS Gulf Coast Source Rock Database (GCSRD) is an online repository for all publicly available source rock data (outcrop and subsurface) from the states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. "Source rock data" are defined in this context as data that include any of the following measured or calculated parameters: -total organic carbon (TOC), -various pyrol
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Model of groundwater flow, gas migration, and reactive transport in the Virgin River Basin, SW Utah

To better understand the possible risks posed to shallow groundwater resources by geologic carbon sequestration (GCS), a multi-scale numerical modeling approach was invoked using the TOUGHREACT code from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The code solves coupled equations representing conservation of mass and energy on a finite difference grid to simulate multiphase, multicomponent, non-isothe
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Microbial Communities Associated with Hot Springs and other CO2-rich Waters, Rocky Mountain Plateau

The Colorado Plateau is associated with several different commercial sources of natural CO2 and other non-hydrocarbon gases, such as noble gases. Twenty-five different hot springs, warm springs, cold springs, and/or rivers across the Utah region of the Colorado Plateau were sampled for microbial biomass. These different locations were associated with some concentration of dissolved or effervesci
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center
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U-Pb and fission-track data from zircon and apatite resolve latest- and post-Alleghanian thermal histories along the Fall Line of the Atlantic margin of the southeastern United States

Although the Atlantic continental margin of the eastern United States is an archetypal passive margin, episodes of rejuvenation following continental breakup are increasingly well documented. To better constrain this history of rejuvenation along the southern portion of this continental margin, we present zircon U-Pb (ZUPb) age, zircon fission-track (ZFT) age, apatite U-Pb (AUPb) age, and apatite
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William H. Craddock, Paul O'Sullivan, Ryan J. McAleer
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Multivariate classification of the crude oil petroleum systems in southeast Texas, USA, using conventional and compositional data analysis of biomarkers

Chemically, petroleum is an extraordinarily complex mixture of different types of hydrocarbons that are now possible to isolate and identify because of advances in geochemistry. Here, we use biomarkers and carbon isotopes to establish genetic differences and similarities among oil samples. Conventional approaches for evaluating biomarker and carbon isotope relative abundances include statistical t
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Ricardo A. Olea, J. A Martin-Fernandez, William H. Craddock
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Assessment of undiscovered gas resources in Upper Devonian to Lower Cretaceous strata of the western North Slope, Alaska, 2021

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated a mean of 1,407 billion (1.4 trillion) cubic feet of gas in conventional accumulations in Upper Devonian to Lower Cretaceous strata of the western North Slope, Alaska.
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David W. Houseknecht, Tracey J. Mercier, Christopher J. Schenk, Thomas E. Moore, William A. Rouse, Julie A. Dumoulin, William H. Craddock, Richard O. Lease, Palma J. Botterell, Margaret M. Sanders, Rebecca A. Smith, Christopher D. Connors, Christopher P. Garrity, Katherine J. Whidden, Jared T. Gooley, John W. Counts, Joshua H. Long, Christina A. DeVera
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Energy and Minerals Mission Area, Ecosystems Mission Area, Energy Resources Program, Alaska Science Center, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Potential Pb+2 mobilization, transport, and sequestration in shallow aquifers impacted by multiphase CO2 leakage: A natural analogue study from the Virgin River Basin in Southwest Utah

Geological carbon sequestration (GCS) is necessary to help meet emissions reduction goals, but groundwater contamination may occur if CO2 and/or brine were to leak out of deep storage formations into the shallow subsurface. For this study, a natural analogue was investigated: in the Virgin River Basin of southwest Utah, water with moderate salinity and high CO2 concentrations is leaking upward int
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Michelle R. Plampin, Madalyn S. Blondes, Eric Sonnenthal, William H. Craddock
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Detrital zircon age spectra of middle and upper Eocene outcrop belts, U.S. Gulf Coast region

Recently reported detrital zircon (DZ) data help to associate the Paleogene strata of the Gulf of Mexico region to various provenance areas. By far, recent work has emphasised upper Paleocene-lower Eocene and upper Oligocene strata that were deposited during the two episodes of the highest sediment supply in the Paleogene. The data reveal a dynamic drainage history, including (1) initial routing o
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William H. Craddock, James L. Coleman Jr., Andrew R.C. Kylander-Clark
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Central North Slope of Alaska, 2020

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated undiscovered, technically recoverable mean resources of 3.6 billion barrels of oil and 8.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (associated and nonassociated) in conventional accumulations in Mississippian through Paleogene strata in the central North Slope of Alaska.
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David W. Houseknecht, Katherine J. Whidden, Christopher D. Connors, Richard O. Lease, Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, William A. Rouse, Palma J. Botterell, Rebecca A. Smith, Margaret M. Sanders, William H. Craddock, Christina A. DeVera, Christopher P. Garrity, Marc L. Buursink, C. Özgen Karacan, Samuel J. Heller, Thomas E. Moore, Julie A. Dumoulin, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Katherine L. French, Cheryl A. Woodall, Ronald M. Drake, Kristen R. Marra, Thomas M. Finn, Scott A. Kinney, Chilisa M. Shorten
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Late Cretaceous-Cenozoic exhumation of the western Brooks Range, Alaska, revealed from apatite and zircon fission track data

We report data for 112 apatite and 31 zircon fission track (AFT and ZFT) outcrop sandstone samples along a transect that spans the western Brooks Range. Sampling targeted structures that modify the Middle Jurassic‐Early Cretaceous early Brookian orogen. The AFT samples record latest Cretaceous to Eocene in situ exhumational cooling and resolve two kinematic phases. The first phase was focused at 6
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William H. Craddock, Thomas E. Moore, Paul O'Sullivan, Christopher J. Potter, David W. Houseknecht
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Geologic framework for the national assessment of carbon dioxide storage resources—Atlantic Coastal Plain and Eastern Mesozoic Rift Basins

This chapter presents information pertinent to the geologic carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration potential within saline aquifers located in the Atlantic Coastal Plain and Eastern Mesozoic Rift Basins of the Eastern United States. The Atlantic Coastal Plain is underlain by a Jurassic to Quaternary succession of sedimentary strata that onlap westward onto strata of the Appalachian Piedmont physiograp
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William H. Craddock, Matthew D. Merrill, Tina L. Roberts-Ashby, Sean T. Brennan, Marc L. Buursink, Ronald M. Drake, Peter D. Warwick, Steven M. Cahan, Christina A. DeVera, Philip A. Freeman, Mayur A. Gosai, Celeste D. Lohr
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Central Energy Resources Science Center

Assessment of undiscovered continuous oil and gas resources in the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale of the U.S. Gulf Coast, 2018

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed mean undiscovered, technically recoverable continuousresources of 1.5 billion barrels of oil and 4.6 trillion cubic feet of gas in the Upper Cretaceous Tuscaloosa marine shale in onshore and State waters ofLouisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida in the U.S. Gulf Coast region.
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Paul C. Hackley, Catherine B. Enomoto, Brett J. Valentine, William A. Rouse, Celeste D. Lohr, Frank T. Dulong, Javin J. Hatcherian, Sean T. Brennan, William H. Craddock, Thomas M. Finn, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Phuong A. Le, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier, Stanley T. Paxton, Katherine J. Whidden, Cheryl A. Woodall, Christopher J. Schenk
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in the downdip Paleogene formations, U.S. Gulf Coast, 2017

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable conventional resources of 100 million barrels of oil and 16.5 trillion cubic feet of gas in the downdip Paleogene formations in onshore lands and State waters of the U.S. Gulf Coast region.
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Marc L. Buursink, Colin A. Doolan, Catherine B. Enomoto, William H. Craddock, James L. Coleman, Michael E. Brownfield, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Timothy R. Klett, Phuong A. Le, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Kristen R. Marra, Tracey J. Mercier, Ofori N. Pearson, Janet K. Pitman, Christopher J. Schenk, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Katherine J. Whidden, Cheryl A. Woodall
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center

Assessment of undiscovered oil and gas resources in the Cretaceous Nanushuk and Torok Formations, Alaska North Slope, and summary of resource potential of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, 2017

The U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered, technically recoverable resources of 8.7 billion barrels of oil and 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas (associated and nonassociated) in conventional accumulations in the Cretaceous Nanushuk and Torok Formations in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, adjacent State and Native lands, and State waters. The estimated undiscovered oil re
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David W. Houseknecht, Richard O. Lease, Christopher J. Schenk, Tracey J. Mercier, William A. Rouse, Palma J. Botterell, Katherine J. Whidden, Christopher P. Garrity, Kristen A. Lewis, Samuel J. Heller, William H. Craddock, Timothy R. Klett, Phuong A. Le, Rebecca A. Smith, Marilyn E. Tennyson, Stephanie B. Gaswirth, Cheryl A. Woodall, Michael E. Brownfield, Heidi M. Leathers-Miller, Thomas M. Finn
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Mantle and crustal gases of the Colorado Plateau: Geochemistry, sources, and migration pathways

The Colorado Plateau hosts several large accumulations of naturally occurring, non-hydrocarbon gases, including CO2, N2, and the noble gases, making it a good field location to study the fluxes of these gases within the crust and to the atmosphere. In this study, we present a compilation of 1252 published gas-composition measurements. The data reveal at least three natural gas associations in the
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William H. Craddock, Madalyn S. Blondes, Christina A. DeVera, Andrew G. Hunt
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Energy Resources Program, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

Non-USGS Publications**

Craddock, W.H., Burbank, D.W., Bookhagen, Bodo, and Gabet, E.J., 2007, Bedrock channel geometry along an orographic rainfall gradient in the upper Marsyandi River valley in central Nepal: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 112(F3), F03007, doi: 10.1029/2006JF000589.
Craddock, W.H., Kirby, E., and Zhang, Huiping, 2011, Late Miocene-Pliocene range growth in the interior of the northeastern Tibetan Plateau:  Lithosphere, v. 3(6), p. 420 – 438, doi: 10.1130/​L159.1 ngeo777.
Craddock, W.H., Kirby, Eric, Harkins, N.W., Zhang, Huiping, Shi, Xuhua, and Liu, Jianhui, 2010, Rapid fluvial incision along the Yellow River during headward basin integration: Nature Geoscience, v. 3, p. 209-213, doi: 10.1038/ngeo777.
Duvall, A.R., Clark, M.K., Kirby, Eric, Farley, K.A., Craddock, W.H., Li, C., and Yuan, Daoyang, 2013, Low-temperature thermochronometry along the Kunlun and Haiyuan Faults, NE Tibetan Plateau:  Evidence for kinematic change during late-stage orogenesis: Tectonics, v. 32, n. 5, p. 1190-1211, doi: 10.1002/tect.20072.
Yuan, Daoyang, Ge, Weipeng, Chen, Zhenwei, Li, Chuanyou, Wang, Zhicai, Zhang, Huiping, Zhang, Peizhen, Zheng, Dewen, Zheng, Wenjun, Craddock, W.H., Dayem, K.E., Duvall, A.R., Hough, B.G., Lease, R.O., Champagnac, J.-D., Burbank, D.W., Clark, M.K., Farley, K.A., Garzione, C.N., Kirby, Eric, Molnar, Peter, and Roe, G.H., 2013, The growth of northeastern Tibet and its relevance to large-scale continental geodynamics:  A review of recent studies:  Tectonics, v. 32, n. 5, p. 1358-1370.
Zhang, Huiping, Zhang, Peizhen, Champagnac, J.-D., Molnar, Peter, Anderson, R.S., Kirby, Eric, Craddock, W.H., and Liu, Shaofeng, 2014, Pleistocene drainage reorganization driven by the isostatic response to deep incision into the northeastern Tibetan Plateau:  Geology, v. 42, n. 4, p. 303-304, doi. 10.1130/G35115.1.

**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.

USGS Gulf Coast Source Rock Database (GCSRD)

The database is designed to be a convenient resource for any member of the public to easily access source rock data from across the Gulf Coast region, circumventing the need for extensive, time-consuming literature searches.

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Energy Resources Program, Central Energy Resources Science Center, Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center

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