John W. Geissman

Professor Emeritus

Photo: John W. Geissman
Education: 
Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1980
Email: 
jgeiss@unm.edu
Office: 
Rm 125 Northrop Hall

Research and Academic Interests:

Applications of paleomagnetism to geologic problems, particularly in orogenic belts (e.g., Western Cordillera of North America, eastern Himalaya syntaxis); geomagnetic field behavior; relations between rock magnetic properties and igneous and sedimentary processes; the great "battle": science vs. creationism.

Recent Publications:

"Tilt and rotation of the footwall of a major normal fault system: Paleomagnetism of the Black Mountains, Death Valley extended terrane, California," Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 105, pp. 1373-1387, 1993 (with D.L. Holm and B. Wernicke).

"Paleomagnetic record of a geomagnetic field reversal from late Miocene mafic intrusions, southern Nevada," Science, v. 266, p. 412-416, 1994 (with C.D. Ratcliff, F.V. Perry, B.M. Crowe and P.K. Zeitler).

"Large-magnitude extensional deformation in the South Mountains metamorphic core complex, Arizona: Evaluation with paleomagnetism," Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 107, p. 877-894, 1995 (with R.F. Livaccari and S.J. Reynolds).

"Late Cretaceous remagnetization of Proterozoic mafic dikes, southern Highland Mountains, southwestern Montana: A paleomagnetic and 40Ar/39Ar study," Bulletin of the Geological Society of America, v. 108, p. 653-668, 1996 (with S.S. Harlan, L.W. Snee and R.L. Reynolds).

"Timing of deformation and accretion of the Antimonio terrane, Sonora, from paleomagnetic data," Geology, v. 24, pp. 1131-1134, 1996 (with R.S. Molina-Garza).

"Electron microscopy of iron oxides and implications for the origin of magnetizations and rock magnetic properties of Banded Series rocks of the Stillwater Complex, Montana," Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 102, in press, 1997 (with W. Xu, R. Van der Voo and R. Peacor).

"Paleomagnetic data bearing on style of Miocene deformation in the Lake Mead area, southern Nevada," Journal of Structural Geology, in press, 2000, (T.F. Wawrzyniec, J.W. Geissman, R.E. Anderson and S.S. Harlan).

"Mechanism for accommodation of Miocene extension: Low-angle normal faulting, magmatism, and secondary breakaway faulting in the southern Sacramento Mountains, southeastern California," Tectonics, in press, 2000, (E. Campbell-Stone, B.E. John, J.W. Geissman, D.A. Foster and R.F. Livaccari).