Research
Measuring fault lineations in the Andes, Bolivia.
My research generally focuses on how tectonic processes influence the depositional record of sedimentary and volcanic rocks in ancient basins. My research is primarily field-based, combining detailed geologic mapping, sedimentology, stratigraphy, physical volcanology, and structural geology with a variety of laboratory techniques including provenance analyses, petrography, geochemistry, and geochronology (U-Pb laser ablation ICP-MS and 40Ar/39Ar methods).
I have experience researching basin evolution in both contractional and extensional tectonic settings. For my MS research, I studied the sedimentology, stratigraphy, and provenance of the Oligocene Peñas and Aranjuez Formations in the northern Altiplano, Bolivia, central Andes and determined a relationship between basin development and the growth of the Eastern Cordillera fold-thrust belt.
My PhD research focused on the relationship between extensional basin development and mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up magmatism in Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large igneous province of northwestern Mexico. I worked in a previously unstudied area in the Guazapares Mining District and Cerocahui basin, located near the Copper Canyon region of the northern Sierra Madre Occidental in Chihuahua. In this region, I used detailed geologic mapping, stratigraphy, and geochronology to identify previously unmapped Late Oligocene-Early Miocene synvolcanic half-graben basins filled with several welded silicic ignimbrites and mafic-intermediate and silicic volcanic-volcaniclastic deposits.
Current research projects include continued work on the extensional basins in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental and their relationship to continental extension and rifting in the Gulf Extensional Province. I also have continuing research projects in the Calico Mountains located in the Mojave Desert near Barstow, CA, where I am working on the stratigraphy and provenance of the Miocene Jackhammer and Pickhandle formations and its relationship to the timing of extension of the central Mojave metamorphic core complex, and in the western Palo Verde Mountains near Blythe, CA studying the provenance and development of the Soledad Rojo basin. I'm also interested in research projects in the Santa Monica Mountains, Catalina Island, northern Baja California, and in the areas surrounding Cal Poly Pomona.
I have experience researching basin evolution in both contractional and extensional tectonic settings. For my MS research, I studied the sedimentology, stratigraphy, and provenance of the Oligocene Peñas and Aranjuez Formations in the northern Altiplano, Bolivia, central Andes and determined a relationship between basin development and the growth of the Eastern Cordillera fold-thrust belt.
My PhD research focused on the relationship between extensional basin development and mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up magmatism in Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large igneous province of northwestern Mexico. I worked in a previously unstudied area in the Guazapares Mining District and Cerocahui basin, located near the Copper Canyon region of the northern Sierra Madre Occidental in Chihuahua. In this region, I used detailed geologic mapping, stratigraphy, and geochronology to identify previously unmapped Late Oligocene-Early Miocene synvolcanic half-graben basins filled with several welded silicic ignimbrites and mafic-intermediate and silicic volcanic-volcaniclastic deposits.
Current research projects include continued work on the extensional basins in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental and their relationship to continental extension and rifting in the Gulf Extensional Province. I also have continuing research projects in the Calico Mountains located in the Mojave Desert near Barstow, CA, where I am working on the stratigraphy and provenance of the Miocene Jackhammer and Pickhandle formations and its relationship to the timing of extension of the central Mojave metamorphic core complex, and in the western Palo Verde Mountains near Blythe, CA studying the provenance and development of the Soledad Rojo basin. I'm also interested in research projects in the Santa Monica Mountains, Catalina Island, northern Baja California, and in the areas surrounding Cal Poly Pomona.
Publications & Abstracts
Andrews, G.D.M., Busby, C.J., Brown, S.R., Fisher, C.M., Harris, P.D., Strickland, A., Vervoort, J.D., Pettus, H.D., McDowell, F.W., Murray, B.P., in review, The petrogenesis of voluminous silicic magmas in the Sierra Madre Occidental large igneous province, Mexican Cordillera: insights from zircon and Hf-O isotopes: Geosphere (submitted July 2021)
Murray, B.P., and Hames, W.E., 2021, Evidence of early Miocene synextensional volcanism and deposition in the northern Calico Mountains, central Mojave metamorphic core complex, southern California, USA: Geosphere, Vol. 17, No. 4, p. 1007-1037, doi: 10.1130/GES02356.1
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Hames, W.E., 2020, Synextensional deposition of the early Miocene Jackhammer and Pickhandle Formations in the Calico Mountains, Southern California; implications for the timing of initial extension of central Mojave metamorphic core complex: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 52, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2020CD-347491
LINK
House, B.J., and Murray, B.P., 2020, Multi-stratigraphic investigation and provenance interpretations of the mid-Tertiary Soledad Rojo Formation of the southern Basin and Range Province, western Palo Verde Mountains, southeastern California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 52, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2020CD-347223
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Busby. C., 2019, Major ignimbrites of the Oligocene Parajes Group in the Guazapares Mining District/Cerocahui Basin region, northern Sierra Madre Occidental, western Chihuahua, Mexico: Abstract EP53F-2235 presented at 2019 Fall Meeting, AGU, San Francisco, 9-13 December
LINK
House, B.J., Murray, B.P., and Al-kaabi, A., 2019, Stratigraphic interpretations and provenance of the mid-Tertiary Soledad Rojo formation of the Lower Colorado River Extensional Corridor, western Palo Verde Mountains, southeastern California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 51, No. 5, doi: 10.1130/abs/2019AM-334151
LINK
Murray, B.P., House, B.J., Al-kaabi, A., and Hames, W.E., 2019, New geochronology and stratigraphic interpretations of the mid-Tertiary Soledad Rojo formation in the lower Colorado River extensional corridor, western Palo Verde Mountains, SE California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 51, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2019CD-329212
LINK
Kelly, K.R., and Murray, B.P., 2019, Geology of the Amphitheatre Canyon area of the Calico Mountains, central Mojave Desert, California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 51, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2019CD-329842
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Al-kaabi, A., 2018, Preliminary stratigraphic interpretations of the Soledad Rojo formation in the lower Colorado River extensional corridor, western Palo Verde Mountains, southeastern California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 50, No. 5, doi: 10.1130/abs/2018RM-314270
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Hames, W.E., 2017, Early Miocene synextensional volcanism and deposition in the northern Calico Mountains, central Mojave metamorphic core complex, southern California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 49, No. 6, doi: 10.1130/abs/2017AM-308395
LINK
Murray, B.P., Hames, W.E., Andrews, G.D.M., and Busby, C.J., 2017, New 40Ar/39Ar ages from the Cerocahui basin region of the northern Sierra Madre Occidental, Chihuahua, Mexico: implications for ignimbrite correlation and the timing of synextensional deposition: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 49, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2017CD-292820
LINK
Dykstra, M.R., and Murray, B.P., 2017, A geochemical analysis of the mid-Miocene Glendora Volcanics of the northeastern Los Angeles basin, CA: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 49, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2017CD-292841
LINK
Murray, B.P., 2017, Evidence of synextensional deposition of the Early Miocene Jackhammer and Pickhandle formations in the Amphitheatre Canyon area of the northeastern Calico Mountains, CA in Reynolds, R.E., ed., ECSZ Does It: Revisiting the Eastern California Shear Zone, 2017 Desert Symposium Field Guide and Proceedings, p. 338-339.
LINK
Murray, B.P., 2016, The Pickhandle and Jackhammer formations in the northern Calico Mountains, CA: Evidence of synextensional deposition and volcanism in the central Mojave metamorphic core complex: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 48, No. 7, doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-284572
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Busby, C.J., 2016, Synextensional magmatism controlling the localization of epithermal mineralization in the Guazapares Mining District, northern Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 48, No. 7, doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-287401
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Busby, C.J., 2016, Late Oligocene magmatism and extensional basin development during the mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large igneous province, Chihuahua, Mexico: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 48, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2016CD-274724
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Busby, C.J., 2015, Epithermal mineralization controlled by synextensional magmatism in the Guazapares Mining District of the Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large igneous province, Mexico: Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 58, p. 54-71 doi: 10.1016/j.jsames.2014.12.009
LINK
Murray, B.P., Busby, C.J., and Verde Ramírez, M.A., 2014, Extension and magmatism in the Cerocahui basin, northern Sierra Madre Occidental, western Chihuahua, Mexico: International Geology Review p. 1–25 doi: 10.1080/00206814.2014.941022
LINK
Busby, C.J., and Murray, B.P., 2014, Synvolcanic crustal extension and mineralization during the mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental: Asociación de Ingenieros de Minas Metalurgistas y Geológos De México symposium, Durango, Mexico, August 27–30
LINK
Murray, B.P., Busby, C.J., Ferrari, L., and Solari, L., 2013, Synvolcanic crustal extension during the mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico: Evidence from the Guazapares Mining District region, western Chihuahua: Geosphere, Vol. 9, No. 5, p. 1201-1235, doi: 10.1130/GES00862.1
LINK
Murray, B.P., 2013, Evidence of synextensional deposition of the Pickhandle and Jackhammer formations in the northern Calico Mountains, central Mojave Desert, California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 16
LINK
Murray, B.P., Busby, C.J., Ferrari, L., and Solari, L., 2010, Tectonic controls on late Oligocene volcanism in the Guazapares Mining District, northwestern Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 42, No. 5, p. 344
LINK
Murray, B.P., Horton, B.K., Matos, R., and Heizler, M.T., 2010, Oligocene-Miocene basin evolution in the northern Altiplano, Bolivia: Implications for evolution of the central Andean backthrust belt and high plateau: Geological Society of America Bulletin Vol. 122, No. 9/10, p. 1443-1462, doi: 10.1130/B30129.1
LINK
Busby, C.J., Murray, B.P., and Ferrari, L., 2009, Tectonic controls on volcanic styles of a supervolcano field: the Temoris – Cerocahui region of the Copper Canyon, northern Sierra Madre Occidental (Mexico): Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 41, No. 7, p. 56
LINK
Murray, B.P., Busby, C.J., and Sims, D.B., 2009, Tectonic setting of the ignimbrite flare-up and epithermal mineralization in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental (Mexico): Preliminary evidence from the Guazapares Mining District, western Chihuahua: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 41, No. 5, p. 31
LINK
Murray, B.P., Busby, C.J., and Sims, D.B., 2009, Extensional setting of the Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large igneous province: Precursor to lithospheric rupture, NSF MARGINS Rupturing Continental Lithosphere: Synthesis and New Perspectives, Charleston, SC, April 30 – May 3
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Horton, B.K., 2007, Sedimentology and provenance of the synorogenic Peñas and Aranjuez formations, central Andes, Bolivia: Implications for the timing of Eastern Cordillera denudation and initial basin development in the northern Altiplano: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 39, No. 6, p. 310
LINK
Murray, B.P., Horton, B.K., Gillis, R.J., and Matos, R., 2006, Sedimentology and timing of initial basin development in the northern Altiplano recorded by the synorogenic Peñas and Aranjuez Formations, central Andes, Bolivia: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 38, No. 7, p. 368
LINK
Location of PhD field area in the Sierra Madre Occidental of northern Mexico: Temoris, Chihuahua
Murray, B.P., and Hames, W.E., 2021, Evidence of early Miocene synextensional volcanism and deposition in the northern Calico Mountains, central Mojave metamorphic core complex, southern California, USA: Geosphere, Vol. 17, No. 4, p. 1007-1037, doi: 10.1130/GES02356.1
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Hames, W.E., 2020, Synextensional deposition of the early Miocene Jackhammer and Pickhandle Formations in the Calico Mountains, Southern California; implications for the timing of initial extension of central Mojave metamorphic core complex: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 52, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2020CD-347491
LINK
House, B.J., and Murray, B.P., 2020, Multi-stratigraphic investigation and provenance interpretations of the mid-Tertiary Soledad Rojo Formation of the southern Basin and Range Province, western Palo Verde Mountains, southeastern California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 52, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2020CD-347223
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Busby. C., 2019, Major ignimbrites of the Oligocene Parajes Group in the Guazapares Mining District/Cerocahui Basin region, northern Sierra Madre Occidental, western Chihuahua, Mexico: Abstract EP53F-2235 presented at 2019 Fall Meeting, AGU, San Francisco, 9-13 December
LINK
House, B.J., Murray, B.P., and Al-kaabi, A., 2019, Stratigraphic interpretations and provenance of the mid-Tertiary Soledad Rojo formation of the Lower Colorado River Extensional Corridor, western Palo Verde Mountains, southeastern California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 51, No. 5, doi: 10.1130/abs/2019AM-334151
LINK
Murray, B.P., House, B.J., Al-kaabi, A., and Hames, W.E., 2019, New geochronology and stratigraphic interpretations of the mid-Tertiary Soledad Rojo formation in the lower Colorado River extensional corridor, western Palo Verde Mountains, SE California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 51, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2019CD-329212
LINK
Kelly, K.R., and Murray, B.P., 2019, Geology of the Amphitheatre Canyon area of the Calico Mountains, central Mojave Desert, California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 51, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2019CD-329842
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Al-kaabi, A., 2018, Preliminary stratigraphic interpretations of the Soledad Rojo formation in the lower Colorado River extensional corridor, western Palo Verde Mountains, southeastern California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 50, No. 5, doi: 10.1130/abs/2018RM-314270
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Hames, W.E., 2017, Early Miocene synextensional volcanism and deposition in the northern Calico Mountains, central Mojave metamorphic core complex, southern California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 49, No. 6, doi: 10.1130/abs/2017AM-308395
LINK
Murray, B.P., Hames, W.E., Andrews, G.D.M., and Busby, C.J., 2017, New 40Ar/39Ar ages from the Cerocahui basin region of the northern Sierra Madre Occidental, Chihuahua, Mexico: implications for ignimbrite correlation and the timing of synextensional deposition: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 49, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2017CD-292820
LINK
Dykstra, M.R., and Murray, B.P., 2017, A geochemical analysis of the mid-Miocene Glendora Volcanics of the northeastern Los Angeles basin, CA: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 49, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2017CD-292841
LINK
Murray, B.P., 2017, Evidence of synextensional deposition of the Early Miocene Jackhammer and Pickhandle formations in the Amphitheatre Canyon area of the northeastern Calico Mountains, CA in Reynolds, R.E., ed., ECSZ Does It: Revisiting the Eastern California Shear Zone, 2017 Desert Symposium Field Guide and Proceedings, p. 338-339.
LINK
Murray, B.P., 2016, The Pickhandle and Jackhammer formations in the northern Calico Mountains, CA: Evidence of synextensional deposition and volcanism in the central Mojave metamorphic core complex: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 48, No. 7, doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-284572
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Busby, C.J., 2016, Synextensional magmatism controlling the localization of epithermal mineralization in the Guazapares Mining District, northern Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 48, No. 7, doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-287401
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Busby, C.J., 2016, Late Oligocene magmatism and extensional basin development during the mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large igneous province, Chihuahua, Mexico: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 48, No. 4, doi: 10.1130/abs/2016CD-274724
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Busby, C.J., 2015, Epithermal mineralization controlled by synextensional magmatism in the Guazapares Mining District of the Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large igneous province, Mexico: Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Vol. 58, p. 54-71 doi: 10.1016/j.jsames.2014.12.009
LINK
Murray, B.P., Busby, C.J., and Verde Ramírez, M.A., 2014, Extension and magmatism in the Cerocahui basin, northern Sierra Madre Occidental, western Chihuahua, Mexico: International Geology Review p. 1–25 doi: 10.1080/00206814.2014.941022
LINK
Busby, C.J., and Murray, B.P., 2014, Synvolcanic crustal extension and mineralization during the mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental: Asociación de Ingenieros de Minas Metalurgistas y Geológos De México symposium, Durango, Mexico, August 27–30
LINK
Murray, B.P., Busby, C.J., Ferrari, L., and Solari, L., 2013, Synvolcanic crustal extension during the mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico: Evidence from the Guazapares Mining District region, western Chihuahua: Geosphere, Vol. 9, No. 5, p. 1201-1235, doi: 10.1130/GES00862.1
LINK
Murray, B.P., 2013, Evidence of synextensional deposition of the Pickhandle and Jackhammer formations in the northern Calico Mountains, central Mojave Desert, California: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 45, No. 6, p. 16
LINK
Murray, B.P., Busby, C.J., Ferrari, L., and Solari, L., 2010, Tectonic controls on late Oligocene volcanism in the Guazapares Mining District, northwestern Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 42, No. 5, p. 344
LINK
Murray, B.P., Horton, B.K., Matos, R., and Heizler, M.T., 2010, Oligocene-Miocene basin evolution in the northern Altiplano, Bolivia: Implications for evolution of the central Andean backthrust belt and high plateau: Geological Society of America Bulletin Vol. 122, No. 9/10, p. 1443-1462, doi: 10.1130/B30129.1
LINK
Busby, C.J., Murray, B.P., and Ferrari, L., 2009, Tectonic controls on volcanic styles of a supervolcano field: the Temoris – Cerocahui region of the Copper Canyon, northern Sierra Madre Occidental (Mexico): Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 41, No. 7, p. 56
LINK
Murray, B.P., Busby, C.J., and Sims, D.B., 2009, Tectonic setting of the ignimbrite flare-up and epithermal mineralization in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental (Mexico): Preliminary evidence from the Guazapares Mining District, western Chihuahua: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 41, No. 5, p. 31
LINK
Murray, B.P., Busby, C.J., and Sims, D.B., 2009, Extensional setting of the Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large igneous province: Precursor to lithospheric rupture, NSF MARGINS Rupturing Continental Lithosphere: Synthesis and New Perspectives, Charleston, SC, April 30 – May 3
LINK
Murray, B.P., and Horton, B.K., 2007, Sedimentology and provenance of the synorogenic Peñas and Aranjuez formations, central Andes, Bolivia: Implications for the timing of Eastern Cordillera denudation and initial basin development in the northern Altiplano: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 39, No. 6, p. 310
LINK
Murray, B.P., Horton, B.K., Gillis, R.J., and Matos, R., 2006, Sedimentology and timing of initial basin development in the northern Altiplano recorded by the synorogenic Peñas and Aranjuez Formations, central Andes, Bolivia: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 38, No. 7, p. 368
LINK
Location of PhD field area in the Sierra Madre Occidental of northern Mexico: Temoris, Chihuahua