LAKE MEAD REGION: DRS. LAMB, HICKSON, AND THEISSEN

View looking northwest toward the south end of East and West Longwell Ridges.  The Rainbow Gardens Member of the Horse Spring Formation is exposed in the foreground. 
 

We currently are studying the sedimentation and tectonics in the Bitter Spring area. Here Drs. Lamb and Hickson are using sedimentology, structural geology, petrology, and geochronology to try to understand the relative roles of extensional and strike-slip faulting in this extremely complex part of southern Nevada.  Dr. Theissen brings his expertise in stable isotope geochemistry to understand the evolution of Miocene lake systems in this region.


Spectacular exposure of the Miocene Bitter Ridge Limestone in its type locality.  We have been pursuing isotopic and trace element geochemistry studies on these lacustrine limestones, in an effort to tease out climatic and tectonic signals.