Benjamin J Drenth, Ph.D.
Ben Drenth is a Research Geophysicist in the Geology, Geophysics, and Geochemistry Science Center in Denver, Colorado.
His research is focused on the interpretation of gravity and magnetic geophysical data, in conjunction with other types of geophysical data and geologic information, to address 3D geologic mapping problems at a variety of scales. He specializes in interpretation in challenging physical and geologic environments, such as high-relief terrain and areas where the rocks of interest are concealed. USGS areas of focus include the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping and Mineral Resource Programs.
Education and Certifications
PhD in geophysics from the University of Oklahoma, 2009
MS in geophysics from the University of Texas at El Paso, 2005
BS in geological engineering from Michigan Technological University, 2003
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 22
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Filter Total Items: 39
Late Miocene-Pleistocene evolution of a Rio Grande rift subbasin, Sunshine Valley-Costilla Plain, San Luis Basin, New Mexico and Colorado
The Sunshine Valley-Costilla Plain, a structural subbasin of the greater San Luis Basin of the northern Rio Grande rift, is bounded to the north and south by the San Luis Hills and the Red River fault zone, respectively. Surficial mapping, neotectonic investigations, geochronology, and geophysics demonstrate that the structural, volcanic, and geomorphic evolution of the basin involves...
Authors
C.A. Ruleman, R. A. Thompson, R. R. Shroba, M. Anderson, B. J. Drenth, J. Rotzien, J. Lyon
Geophysical study of the San Juan Mountains batholith complex, southwestern Colorado
One of the largest and most pronounced gravity lows over North America is over the rugged San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado (USA). The mountain range is coincident with the San Juan volcanic field (SJVF), the largest erosional remnant of a widespread mid-Cenozoic volcanic field that spanned much of the southern Rocky Mountains. A buried, low-density silicic batholith complex...
Authors
Benjamin J. Drenth, G. Randy Keller, Ren A. Thompson
Geophysical expression of elements of the Rio Grande rift in the northeast Tusas Mountains - Preliminary interpretations
New interpretations of the nature of the Rio Grande rift and pre-existing rocks in the northeast Tusas Mountains region are derived from new and existing gravity and aeromagnetic data. 12-15 mGal amplitude gravity lows are interpreted to mainly reflect large thicknesses of the upper Oligocene to upper Miocene, syn-rift Los Pinos Formation and possibly significant amounts of the Eocene El...
Authors
Benjamin J. Drenth, Kenzie J. Turner, Ren A. Thompson, V. J. Grauch, Michael A. Cosca, John Lee
Digitized data from ground geophysical surveys in Afghanistan: A website for distribution of data
This document describes the process of digitization of a 1974 report on geophysical work undertaken by Soviet geophysicists in southern and eastern Afghanistan. These data, uncovered in Afghanistan, represent magnetic and electrical ground surveys for which locations are not well defined. Due to lack of location information, these surveys were georeferenced using the cities, rivers, and...
Authors
Sarah W. Polster, Benjamin J. Drenth
Digital data from the northeast Tusas Mountains aeromagnetic survey, Rio Arriba and Taos Counties, north-central New Mexico
This report contains digital data, image files, and text files describing data formats and survey procedures for a high-resolution aeromagnetic survey in the northeast Tusas Mountains region of north-central New Mexico. The survey covers a large portion of the Tres Piedras Ranger District of the Carson National Forest and adjacent areas, northwest of the town of Tres Piedras. Several...
Authors
B. J. Drenth, V. J. S. Grauch
Recovery and reprocessing of legacy geophysical data from the archives of the State Company of Geology and Mining (GEOSURV) of Iraq and Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC)
Aeromagnetic data belonging to the State Company of Geology and Mining of Iraq (GEOSURV) have been recovered from magnetic tapes and early paper maps. In 1974 a national airborne survey was flown by the French firm Compagnie General de Geophysique (CGG). Following the survey the magnetic data were stored on magnetic tapes within an air conditioned archive run by GEOSURV. In 1990, the...
Authors
David V. Smith, Benjamin J. Drenth, J.D. Fairhead, K. Lei, J.A. Dark, K. Al-Bassam
Notes on interpretation of geophysical data over areas of mineralization in Afghanistan
Afghanistan has the potential to contain substantial metallic mineral resources. Although valuable mineral deposits have been identified, much of the country’s potential remains unknown. Geophysical surveys, particularly those conducted from airborne platforms, are a well-accepted and cost-effective method for obtaining information on the geological setting of a given area. This report...
Authors
Benjamin J. Drenth
Identification of mineral resources in Afghanistan—Detecting and mapping resource anomalies in prioritized areas using geophysical and remote sensing (ASTER and HyMap) data
As part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) natural resources revitalization activities in Afghanistan (Peters and others, 2011), three new datasets have been collected, compiled, and analyzed. These data have been used to more fully evaluate the areas of interest (AOIs; fig. 1 ) where, on the basis of...
Global mineral resource assessment: porphyry copper assessment of Mexico: Chapter A in Global mineral resource assessment
Mineral resource assessments provide a synthesis of available information about distributions of mineral deposits in the Earth’s crust. A probabilistic mineral resource assessment of undiscovered resources in porphyry copper deposits in Mexico was done as part of a global mineral resource assessment. The purpose of the study was to (1) delineate permissive areas (tracts) for undiscovered...
Authors
Jane M. Hammarstrom, Gilpin R. Robinson, Steve Ludington, Floyd Gray, Benjamin J. Drenth, Francisco Cendejas-Cruz, Enrique Espinosa, Efrén Pérez-Segura, Martín Valencia-Moreno, José Luis Rodríguez-Castañeda, Rigobert Vásquez-Mendoza, Lukas Zürcher
High-Resolution Aeromagnetic Survey To Image Shallow Faults, Poncha Springs and Vicinity, Chaffee County, Colorado
High-resolution aeromagnetic data were acquired over the town of Poncha Springs and areas to the northwest to image faults, especially where they are concealed. Because this area has known hot springs, faults or fault intersections at depth can provide pathways for upward migration of geothermal fluids or concentrate fracturing that enhances permeability. Thus, mapping concealed faults...
Authors
V. J. S. Grauch, Benjamin J. Drenth
Digital Data from the Great Sand Dunes and Poncha Springs Aeromagnetic Surveys, South-Central Colorado
This report contains digital data, image files, and text files describing data formats and survey procedures for two high-resolution aeromagnetic surveys in south-central Colorado: one in the eastern San Luis Valley, Alamosa and Saguache Counties, and the other in the southern Upper Arkansas Valley, Chaffee County. In the San Luis Valley, the Great Sand Dunes survey covers a large part...
Authors
B. J. Drenth, V. J. S. Grauch, Viki Bankey, Ltd. New Sense Geophysics
Digital Data From the Taos West Aeromagnetic Survey in Taos County, New Mexico
This report contains digital data, image files, and text files describing data formats and survey procedures for aeromagnetic data collected during a survey covering the southwestern portion of Taos County west of the Town of Taos, New Mexico, in October, 2006. Several derivative products from these data are also presented as grids and images, including reduced-to-pole data and data...
Authors
Viki Bankey, V. J. S. Grauch, B. J. Drenth
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 22
No Result Found
Filter Total Items: 39
Late Miocene-Pleistocene evolution of a Rio Grande rift subbasin, Sunshine Valley-Costilla Plain, San Luis Basin, New Mexico and Colorado
The Sunshine Valley-Costilla Plain, a structural subbasin of the greater San Luis Basin of the northern Rio Grande rift, is bounded to the north and south by the San Luis Hills and the Red River fault zone, respectively. Surficial mapping, neotectonic investigations, geochronology, and geophysics demonstrate that the structural, volcanic, and geomorphic evolution of the basin involves...
Authors
C.A. Ruleman, R. A. Thompson, R. R. Shroba, M. Anderson, B. J. Drenth, J. Rotzien, J. Lyon
Geophysical study of the San Juan Mountains batholith complex, southwestern Colorado
One of the largest and most pronounced gravity lows over North America is over the rugged San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado (USA). The mountain range is coincident with the San Juan volcanic field (SJVF), the largest erosional remnant of a widespread mid-Cenozoic volcanic field that spanned much of the southern Rocky Mountains. A buried, low-density silicic batholith complex...
Authors
Benjamin J. Drenth, G. Randy Keller, Ren A. Thompson
Geophysical expression of elements of the Rio Grande rift in the northeast Tusas Mountains - Preliminary interpretations
New interpretations of the nature of the Rio Grande rift and pre-existing rocks in the northeast Tusas Mountains region are derived from new and existing gravity and aeromagnetic data. 12-15 mGal amplitude gravity lows are interpreted to mainly reflect large thicknesses of the upper Oligocene to upper Miocene, syn-rift Los Pinos Formation and possibly significant amounts of the Eocene El...
Authors
Benjamin J. Drenth, Kenzie J. Turner, Ren A. Thompson, V. J. Grauch, Michael A. Cosca, John Lee
Digitized data from ground geophysical surveys in Afghanistan: A website for distribution of data
This document describes the process of digitization of a 1974 report on geophysical work undertaken by Soviet geophysicists in southern and eastern Afghanistan. These data, uncovered in Afghanistan, represent magnetic and electrical ground surveys for which locations are not well defined. Due to lack of location information, these surveys were georeferenced using the cities, rivers, and...
Authors
Sarah W. Polster, Benjamin J. Drenth
Digital data from the northeast Tusas Mountains aeromagnetic survey, Rio Arriba and Taos Counties, north-central New Mexico
This report contains digital data, image files, and text files describing data formats and survey procedures for a high-resolution aeromagnetic survey in the northeast Tusas Mountains region of north-central New Mexico. The survey covers a large portion of the Tres Piedras Ranger District of the Carson National Forest and adjacent areas, northwest of the town of Tres Piedras. Several...
Authors
B. J. Drenth, V. J. S. Grauch
Recovery and reprocessing of legacy geophysical data from the archives of the State Company of Geology and Mining (GEOSURV) of Iraq and Iraq Petroleum Company (IPC)
Aeromagnetic data belonging to the State Company of Geology and Mining of Iraq (GEOSURV) have been recovered from magnetic tapes and early paper maps. In 1974 a national airborne survey was flown by the French firm Compagnie General de Geophysique (CGG). Following the survey the magnetic data were stored on magnetic tapes within an air conditioned archive run by GEOSURV. In 1990, the...
Authors
David V. Smith, Benjamin J. Drenth, J.D. Fairhead, K. Lei, J.A. Dark, K. Al-Bassam
Notes on interpretation of geophysical data over areas of mineralization in Afghanistan
Afghanistan has the potential to contain substantial metallic mineral resources. Although valuable mineral deposits have been identified, much of the country’s potential remains unknown. Geophysical surveys, particularly those conducted from airborne platforms, are a well-accepted and cost-effective method for obtaining information on the geological setting of a given area. This report...
Authors
Benjamin J. Drenth
Identification of mineral resources in Afghanistan—Detecting and mapping resource anomalies in prioritized areas using geophysical and remote sensing (ASTER and HyMap) data
As part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Department of Defense Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) natural resources revitalization activities in Afghanistan (Peters and others, 2011), three new datasets have been collected, compiled, and analyzed. These data have been used to more fully evaluate the areas of interest (AOIs; fig. 1 ) where, on the basis of...
Global mineral resource assessment: porphyry copper assessment of Mexico: Chapter A in Global mineral resource assessment
Mineral resource assessments provide a synthesis of available information about distributions of mineral deposits in the Earth’s crust. A probabilistic mineral resource assessment of undiscovered resources in porphyry copper deposits in Mexico was done as part of a global mineral resource assessment. The purpose of the study was to (1) delineate permissive areas (tracts) for undiscovered...
Authors
Jane M. Hammarstrom, Gilpin R. Robinson, Steve Ludington, Floyd Gray, Benjamin J. Drenth, Francisco Cendejas-Cruz, Enrique Espinosa, Efrén Pérez-Segura, Martín Valencia-Moreno, José Luis Rodríguez-Castañeda, Rigobert Vásquez-Mendoza, Lukas Zürcher
High-Resolution Aeromagnetic Survey To Image Shallow Faults, Poncha Springs and Vicinity, Chaffee County, Colorado
High-resolution aeromagnetic data were acquired over the town of Poncha Springs and areas to the northwest to image faults, especially where they are concealed. Because this area has known hot springs, faults or fault intersections at depth can provide pathways for upward migration of geothermal fluids or concentrate fracturing that enhances permeability. Thus, mapping concealed faults...
Authors
V. J. S. Grauch, Benjamin J. Drenth
Digital Data from the Great Sand Dunes and Poncha Springs Aeromagnetic Surveys, South-Central Colorado
This report contains digital data, image files, and text files describing data formats and survey procedures for two high-resolution aeromagnetic surveys in south-central Colorado: one in the eastern San Luis Valley, Alamosa and Saguache Counties, and the other in the southern Upper Arkansas Valley, Chaffee County. In the San Luis Valley, the Great Sand Dunes survey covers a large part...
Authors
B. J. Drenth, V. J. S. Grauch, Viki Bankey, Ltd. New Sense Geophysics
Digital Data From the Taos West Aeromagnetic Survey in Taos County, New Mexico
This report contains digital data, image files, and text files describing data formats and survey procedures for aeromagnetic data collected during a survey covering the southwestern portion of Taos County west of the Town of Taos, New Mexico, in October, 2006. Several derivative products from these data are also presented as grids and images, including reduced-to-pole data and data...
Authors
Viki Bankey, V. J. S. Grauch, B. J. Drenth