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Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including New Mexico.

At least 523 records · Page 29Linked to original sources
USGS1990

Water resources data, New Mexico, water year 1989

This annual hydrologic data report of New Mexico is one of a series of annual reports that document hydrologic data gathered frOm the u.s. Geological Survey's surface- and ground-water data-collection networks in each State, Puerto Rico, and the Trust Territories. These records of streamflow, ground-water levels, and water quality provide the hydrologic information needed by Federal, State, and local agencies and the private sector for developing and managing our Nation's land and water resources. Hydrologic data for New Mexico are contained in this volume. This report is the culmination of a concerted effort by dedicated personnel of the u.S. Geological Survey who collected, compiled, analyzed, verified, and organized the data, and who typed, edited, and assembled the report. The authors had primary responsibility for assuring that the information contained herein is accurate, complete, and adheres to Geological Survey policy and established guidelines. The following individuals contributed significantly to the completion of the report: Linda V. Beal Harriet R. Allen K.M. Lange, M.F. Ortiz, and L.A. Watson processed the text of the report, and H.M. Grossman drafted the illustrations.

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USGS1990

Lithology of basin-fill deposits in the Albuquerque-Belen basin, New Mexico

Sediments that fill the Albuquerque-Belen basin in central New Mexico comprise an aquifer that supplies water to approximately one-third the population of the State. Analysis of driller 's logs and geophysical logs indicate that an area of fine-grained deposits generally underlies the west-central part of the basin. Coarse-grained deposits are concentrated primarily along the axis of the north-central part of the basin. Mixed lithologic textures are present in the rest of the basin and are especially pronounced in the east-central part. Lithologic interpretation of borehole-geophysical logs were used to construct 10 lithologic sections. These sections show that the upper part of the basin fill consists mostly of sandy lenses alternating with clayey or silty lenses.

New Mexico↗
USGS1989

Contribution of metapelitic sediments to the composition, heat production, and seismic velocity of the lower crust of southern New Mexico, U.S.A.

Granulite xenoliths erupted at Kilbourne Hole maar were recently extracted from the lower crust of southern New Mexico. Garnet- and sillimanite-bearing quartzofeldspathic xenoliths had pelitic protoliths and were probably emplaced in the lower crust by tectonic underplating at a lower Proterozoic subduction zone. Thus the Kilbourne Hole metapelitic xenoliths illustrate the potential role of tectonosedimentary processes at convergent margins in determining the ultimate composition of the crust. Average P-wave velocities for metapelitic xenoliths from Kilbourne Hole are ∼ 7 km/s at 6 kbar, like those of mafic metagabbros and anorthosites. However, in contrast to mafic lithologies, the major element composition of the representative pelitic paragneiss (RPP) described in this paper is relatively siliceous and like that of average upper crust. Except for depletions of U and Cs, the trace element characteristics of the RPP are like those of pelitic sediments and are 3–10 times higher than those typically estimated for the lower crust. The heat production of the RPP is high (1.0 μW/m 3 ) as are those of many granulite- and amphibolite-grade metapelites. In general, portions of the lower crust in which sediments are present may be high in light ion lithophile and rare earth element abundances, heat production, δ 18 O , and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr. Moreover, the high Pb contents and unradiogenic Pb isotope signatures of metapelites provide an important reservoir for unradiogenic Pb in the earth as a whole.

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USGS1989

Gravity anomalies of irregularly shaped two-dimensional bodies with constant horizontal density gradient

An equation to compute the gravity anomalies of two-dimensional (2-D) bodies with density contrast varying with depth (z axis) was developed by Murthy and Rao (1979). I develop an equation for computing the gravity anomalies of 2-D bodies with constant horizontal density gradient. By combining this equation with the equation of Murthy and Rao, I estimate the depth of the sedimentary basin which is adjacent to the master fault associated with the Rio Grande rift in New Mexico, where the density is assumed to decrease basinward from the fault (Cordell, 1979).

New Mexico↗
USGS1989

Geologic map of the Latir Volcanic Field and adjacent areas, northern New Mexico

This map was first published as a printed edition in 1989. The geologic data have now been captured digitally and are presented here along with images of the printed map sheet and component parts as PDF files. This map encompasses all or parts of ten 7.5 minute quadrangles in the Taos Range of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in northern New Mexico. Geologic mapping was initiated in this area by the U.S. Geological Survey in response to its mandate under the Wilderness Act of 1964 to evaluate the mineral resource potential of the Latir and Wheeler Peak Wildernesses and the Columbine-Hondo Wilderness Study Area in the Carson National Forest. The mapping was later extended to adjacent areas in order to better understand the regional geology and geologic history of the range. The present map focuses on the early Tertiary (largely Oligocene) Latir Volcanic Field and plutonic rocks associated with it. The basement rocks in the map area are Paleoproterozic amphibolite-facies metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks intruded by large bodies of quartz monzonite, granodiorite and gabbro dated at between 1,750 and 1,690 Ma. The basement rocks are locally overlain by Mississippian limestone or by Pennsylvanian and Permian redbeds. The basement rocks were thrust eastward across a thick section of similar late Paleozoic rocks along low-angle faults during the Laramide Orogeny. Post-Laramide erosion largely removed the sedimentary cover from the basement rocks and reduced the topography to a low-relief surface locally overlain by scattered lenses of Eocene to Oligocene shale, sandstone, and conglomerate. It was on this surface that the earliest rocks of the Latir Volcanic Field were deposited, beginning in the Oligocene, about 30 Ma. The early volcanic rocks comprise a thick sequence of andesite, dacite, and minor rhyolite, deposited as flows, breccia, and volcaniclastic sediments from numerous local volcanic centers; thin layers of rhyolite tuff are from distant eruptions, some probably in the San Juan Mountains. These volcanic rocks probably record early growth of an upper-crustal batholith. At 25 Ma enormous eruptions of peralkaline rhyolite ash-flow tuff were accompanied by collapse of the roof of the growing batholith to form the Questa Caldera, a volcanic depression at least 14 km across. The ash flows traveled for tens of kilometers from the caldera rims to form a widespread sheet of densely welded tuff; ash also fell back to fill the subsiding caldera depression. Concurrent extension along northwest-trending faults segmented the volcanic edifice and rotated the originally sub-horizontal layers, so that some are nearly vertical. Formation of the caldera was accompanied by further batholith growth, involving intrusion of large plutons of granite, granodiorite, and related rocks into both caldera fill and the adjacent rocks, including both the earlier volcanic rocks and the basement rocks. The large molybdenum deposit along the Red River east of Questa is related to the emplacement of one of these late granitic plutons. Intrusive activity continued into the Miocene. Development of the Rio Grande Rift beginning at about 15 Ma was accompanied by development of the north-south trending normal faults along the western foot of the Taos Range. The rift is filled with thousands of meters of clastic sediments interleaved with basalt flows, some as young as 3.6 Ma. The bounding faults of the rift cut the Questa Caldera so that the western part of the original structure is now deeply buried beneath the rift fill.

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USGS1989

Variable-density ground-water flow and paleohydrology in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) region, southeastern New Mexico

Variable-density groundwater flow was studied near the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southeastern New Mexico. An analysis of the relative magnitude of pressure-related and density-related flow-driving forces indicates that density-related gravity effects are not significant at the plant and to the west but are significant in areas to the north, northeast, and south. A regional-scale model of variable-density groundwater flow in the Culebra Dolomite member of the Rustler Formation indicates that the flow velocities are relatively rapid (10 to the minus 7th power m/sec) west of the site and extremely slow (10 to the minus 11th power m/sec) east and northeast of the site. In the transition zone between those two extremes, which includes the plant, velocities are highly variable. Sensitivity simulations indicate that the central and western parts of the region, including the plant, are fairly well isolated from the eastern and northeastern boundaries. Vertical-flux simulations indicate that as much as 25% of total inflow to the Culebra could be entering as vertical flow, with most of this flow occurring west of the plant. A simple cross-sectional model was developed to examine the flow system as it drains through time following recharge during a past glacial pluvial. This model indicates that the system as a whole drains very slowly and that it apparently could have sustained flow from purely transient drainage following recharge of the system during the Pleistocene. (USGS)

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USGS1989

Water resources data, New Mexico, water year 1988

Water resources data for the 1988 water year for New Mexico consist of records of discharge and water quality of streams; stage, contents and water quality of lakes and reservoirs; and water levels and water quality in wells and springs. This report contains discharge records for 165 gaging stations; stage and contents for 26 lakes and reservoirs; water quality for 64 gaging stations and 76 wells; and water levels at 105 observation wells. Also included are 108 crest-stage partial-record stations. Additional water data were collected at various sites, not involved in the systematic data collection program, and are published as miscellaneous measurements. Also, one seepage investigation is published this year. These data represent that part of the National Water Data System collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and cooperating State and Federal agencies in New Mexico.

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USGS1989

Application of the precipitation-runoff modeling system to the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wash watershed, San Juan County, New Mexico

The precipitation-runoff modeling system was applied to the 8.21 sq-mi drainage area of the Ah-shi-sle-pah Wash watershed in northwestern New Mexico. The calibration periods were May to September of 1981 and 1982, and the verification period was May to September 1983. Twelve storms were available for calibration and 8 storms were available for verification. For calibration A (hydraulic conductivity estimated from onsite data and other storm-mode parameters optimized), the computed standard error of estimate was 50% for runoff volumes and 72% of peak discharges. Calibration B included hydraulic conductivity in the optimization, which reduced the standard error of estimate to 28 % for runoff volumes and 50% for peak discharges. Optimized values for hydraulic conductivity resulted in reductions from 1.00 to 0.26 in/h and 0.20 to 0.03 in/h for the 2 general soils groups in the calibrations. Simulated runoff volumes using 7 of 8 storms occurring during the verification period had a standard error of estimate of 40% for verification A and 38% for verification B. Simulated peak discharge had a standard error of estimate of 120% for verification A and 56% for verification B. Including the eighth storm which had a relatively small magnitude in the verification analysis more than doubled the standard error of estimating volumes and peaks.

New Mexico↗