Fred Phillips
Emeritus Professor of Hydrology
Earth & Environmental Science
- fred.phillips@au99168.com
- Phone: (575) 835-5540
- Fax: (575) 835-6436
- Office: MSEC 250
- BA University of California, Santa Cruz
MS, PhD University of Arizona (1981)
About
Research Interests
The thing that first stimulated my interest in earth science over 45 years ago was the glacial landscape of the Sierra Nevada in California. When I was in high school I took a University of California extension course in geology and asked the instructor how old were the moraines? His reply was “Nobody really knows” and I thought “Wow! There must be a way to find that out”. But when I was completing my undergrad degree in earth science at the University of California at Santa Cruz I asked my professors in what specialty area I should apply to grad school. One reply was “hydrogeology”; that it was an up-and-coming field with a high demand for new professionals. I liked the idea because of the societal benefits of helping to assure water quality and water supply, so I ended up accepting an offer from the Department of Hydrology and Water Resources at the University of Arizona.
My advisor at Arizona was Stanley N. Davis and I worked on noble gases in ground water as a paleoclimatic indicator. I had managed to get into paleoclimate in spite of working in a pretty applied field! While I was at Arizona my advisor was a coauthor on the first paper on measurement of 36Cl in natural water and it seemed that new technology (accelerator mass spectrometry) was opening up frontier opportunities, so I shifted my focus to application of 36Cl and other environmental tracers to groundwater problems.
While working on the problem of the production rate of 36Cl by cosmic rays, I realized that it was produced in rocks as well as in the atmosphere and that it could potentially be used date the length of time that a rock had been exposed to cosmic rays (i.e., been within about a meter of the earth’s surface). This led to a whole second career in the systematics of cosmogenic nuclides in rocks and their application to dating landforms. One of the first things I applied the method to was –guess what?- the chronology of the glaciation of the Sierra Nevada. I have now dated moraines, lake shorelines, volcanoes, river terraces, fault scarps, and other landforms all the way from the Antarctic to the High Arctic and in every continent of the globe except Africa. As I was writing this text I received an email from a Spanish scientist coordinating a synthesis paper on the deglaciation of North and South America and requesting that I write a section on the deglaciation of the Sierra Nevada. Sometimes one ends up right back where one started.
Meanwhile, I explored various facets of tracers and solute transport in hydrological systems. For a while I worked on the quantification of dispersive processes in groundwater, then moved on to trying to understand the hydrodynamics of thick desert vadose zones and the role of ecohydrology in driving these dynamics. Then I moved on to using tracers to understand the generation of surface water flows in mountainous environments.
Today most of my work is focused on three topics. The first is developing a numerical model to quantify groundwater recharge over the entire state of New Mexico at high spatial and temporal resolution. The recharge is calculated based on a soil-water-capacity model on daily time steps. The soil-water content in turn comes from daily evapotranspiration calculations at 250-m resolution using an Allen-type dual crop coefficient approach. It incorporates a full analysis of topographic effects on the radiation balance. This is a new direction for me since none of my previous projects involved detailed land/atmosphere interactions and I have really enjoyed what I have learned by going in depth about this part of the hydrological cycle.
The second topic is contemporary through Miocene tectonics of the southwestern Great Basin. I am heading up a large NSF-funded project to investigate linkages between the tectonic evolution of this area, the changes in the hydrological systems induced by tectonics, and the resultant impacts on aquatic ecosystems. The southwestern Great Basin is one of the tectonically most active areas in North America and tectonics is the principal driver for landscape evolution there. For about 15 years I’ve been working on the connections between the landscapes we can observe at the surface and the subsurface fault geometries and kinematics that have produced the landscape. My current project incorporates detailed three-dimensional modeling of the Miocene-to-present displacements throughout the region, so I am currently spending a lot of time trying to go from fault outcrops and landscapes to underlying structure.
The third topic is going back to cosmogenic nuclide systematics. From 2000 to 2012 I headed up the international CRONUS Earth Project that attempted to quantify and systematize these systematics. One ambiguity that we did not end up resolving was certain details about the global distribution of cosmogenic nuclide production rates (discriminating between the Lal/Stone and LSD scaling models, if you’re into this stuff). It turns out that high latitude and high elevation calibration sites are the key locality for maximizing the difference between the two models, so we are going to determine the age of lava flows from the top of Mt. Erebus in Antarctica using 39Ar/40Ar dating and then measure cosmogenic 36Cl and 3He in the same samples. We will compare the results of these measurements with the predictions of the two models and find out which one does the best job.
The paths taken during a long scientific career are interesting to look back on. Many of them lead in completely new directions. But many of them also lead back to the same questions that started me out on this quest 40 years ago. It is certainly gratifying to be able to look back and say “Now I know the answers to those apparently unanswerable questions.” Science is an immense edifice and we each can contribute only a tiny bit to the overall structure, but those little bits and pieces are permanent contributions to understanding the world we live in.
Current Research
Socorro Magma Body: Surface uplift history and crustal dynamics
NSF: $303,000 Period: 07/15-06/17 (continuing)
PI’s: Gary Axen, Fred Phillips, Jolante van Wijk RA’s: Bradley Sion, Shuyou Yao
Summary:
The SMB provides a unique opportunity to study the effects of an unusually deep magma body that is well imaged seismically and geodetically (in contrast to most much shallower magma bodies). Magma is thought to affect tectonics by causing changes in the stress field, thermal structure and density structure of the mantle lithosphere and crust. The importance of magmatism in continental rifting is increasingly appreciated but most studies focus on effects of shallow dikes in mature rifts (the Rio Grande rift is considered juvenile) or of lithosphere-scale dikes for rupture of continental lithosphere. The SMB may reflect a little-studied mechanism of rift-crust growth: volumes equal to several SMBs are needed to explain the Rio Grande rift heat flow, consistent with the massive amounts of mid- or lower-crust mafic magma known from other rifts (e.g., Salton trough) and from early histories of passive margins. Most models of magma bodies and surface uplift assume an elastic crust but the SMB lies well below the brittle-plastic transition, so, depending upon time scales of intrusion, inelastic processes are also probably important in transmitting strain to the surface.
We will map and correlate terraces formed along the Rio Grande and its tributaries for use as strain markers. Structure contour maps will be prepared for each terrace level. SMB-related and Quaternary fault-related surface deformation will be distinguished based upon differences in expected tilt directions, length of tilting, and magnitude of tilting. Terrace correlation will involve relative heights above streams, characteristics of terrace treads, deposits and straths, and soil analysis. Key, well-preserved terraces will be dated using the 36Cl depth-profile method (or 14C if too young for 36Cl). Geodynamic modeling will test geometry and dynamics of the active uplift source (inflation, thermal expansion, feeder source, contraction of crystallized magmas, etc.) by comparing them to InSAR and GPS results, and will guide interpretation of past episodes of SMB surface deformation revealed by terrace analysis.
New Mexico Statewide Water Assessment Project: Evapotranspiration and Recharge
State of New Mexico: $160,000 Period: 08/15-07/19
PI’s: Talon Newton, Fred Phillips, Jan Hendrickx, Dan Cadol RA’s: David Ketchum, Peter ReVelle, Esther Xu, Gabriel Parrish
Summary:
This project, funded by the New Mexico State Legislature, seeks to quantify the water balance for the entire state. New Mexico Tech has contributed the evapotranspiration model and the diffuse groundwater recharge model. These are high spatial resolution (250 m2) and temporal resolution (daily time step) water-balance models based on the dual crop coefficient method for calculation of evapotranspiration and multi-layer soil-water-capacity model for recharge. Esther is using empirical data to calculate runoff as a function of precipitation intensity and duration and to convert the calculated runoff to focused recharge.
Tectonic and climatic forcing of hydrological systems in the southern Great Basin: Implications for ancient and future aquatic system resilience
NSF: $3,000,000 (total project), $1,526,000 (NM Tech) Period: 08/15-7/20
PI’s: Fred Phillips, Gary Axen, Jolante van Wijk, John Wilson Postdoc: Erica Emry RA’s: Brandon Lutz, Michael Berry, Kyungdoe Han
Summary:
The southern Great Basin is among the most arid regions in North America. It has almost no perennial streams, but does have >1,000 springs. These springs are islands of aquatic habitat in an ocean of desert. Remarkably, many of these isolated springs contain diverse aquatic ecosystems and even endemic species of fish, spring snails, and other aquatic organisms. The presence of many aquatic species that can only survive in water is evidence that the springs are remnants of a perennial drainage system, and the presence of endemic species requiring intervals in the million-year range for genetic divergence are evidence that at least some of these springs have never desiccated over the geological time scale. Aquatic biogeographical patterns thus inform the geological and hydrological history of the region.
We propose to expand the already-large regional biogeographical database and to use the combined new and preexisting data to test models of tectonic and paleohydrological evolution of the southern Great Basin. We will focus on two timescales: that of the extensional breakup of the region from the late Miocene to the present and that of glacial/interglacial climate cycles. Extensive work has been done to understand the extensional history of the region, which started in the eastern portion of the study area at ~14 Ma and migrated westward to the Sierra Nevada front, driven by plate-boundary dynamics. We will simulate this evolution using a regional quasi-3D kinematic/tectonic-geomorphic-hydrologic coupled model that fully couples movement along faults, mass distribution, magmatism, isostatic compensation and flexural deformation with hydrology and surface geomorphic processes, including erosion and deposition. The extensional fragmentation of the hydrological system will be studied and groundwater flow, necessary to simulate the resulting development of springs, will be an integral part of the regional tectonic-geomorphic-hydrologic model. This model will be initiated and structured using existing and newly generated geological and paleohydrological data. The model will quantify the discretization of the originally through-flowing hydrological system into isolated springs.
At the glacial/interglacial time scale we will employ telescoped local hydrological models to obtain high-resolution simulations of spring (dis-)connection. Local models will be based on geology, geomorphology, climate, and hydrology (for boundary conditions) taken from the regional model for the time period of interest. Local paleoclimate records, particularly temperature/precipitation change estimates obtained from inverse analysis of glacial and pluvial lake extents at various time slices, will enhance the climate forcing of local hydrology. We will track spring appearance, and desiccation and the extent and timing of discharges, sufficient to establish perennial surface-water flow. Environmental tracers measurements in existing springs constrain groundwater age and inform the models.
Modeled paleohydrologic histories will be tested against biotic data (aquatic biota inventories, microbial and macrofaunal DNA, and genetic divergence times) with island biogeography theory. We will test for relations of hydrologic fragmentation chronology with endemic species and for ecosystem diversity with spring resilience, as inferred from groundwater ages and climatically driven modeling. We will use these results to assess and improve our tectonic/paleohydrologic models.
We will, for the first time, assess rigorous tectonic and paleohydrological histories developed using numerical models in the context of aquatic biogeography and aquatic-species evolution in arid-region spring ecosystems. The results should be applicable to aquatic ecosystems in arid and semiarid regions worldwide.
A test of global and Antarctic models for cosmogenic-nuclide production rates using high-precision dating of 40Ar/39Ar lava flows from Mount Erebus
NSF: $357,000 Period: 07/17-06/20
PI’s: Fred Phillips, Matt Heizler, Philip Kyle RA’s: Christine Burrill
Summary:
Nuclides produced by cosmic rays in rocks at the surface of the earth are widely used for Quaternary geochronology and geomorphic studies and their use is increasing every year. The recently completed CRONUS-Earth Project (Cosmic-Ray Produced Nuclides on Earth) has systematically evaluated the production rates and theoretical underpinnings of cosmogenic nuclides. However, the CRONUS-Earth Project was not able to discriminate between the two leading theoretical approaches: the original Lal model (St) and the new Lifton-Sato-Dunai model (LSD). Mathematical models used to scale the production of the nuclides as a function of location on the earth, elevation, and magnetic field configuration are an essential component of this dating method. The inability to distinguish between the two models was because the predicted production rates did not differ sufficiently at the location of the calibration sites.
The cosmogenic-nuclide production rates that are predicted by the two models differ significantly from each other at Erebus volcano, Antarctica. Mount Erebus is therefore an excellent site for testing which production model best describes actual cosmogenic-nuclide production variations over the globe. We have recently measured 3He and 36Cl in mineral separates extracted from Erebus lava flows. The exposure ages for each nuclide were reproducible within each flow (~2% standard deviation) and in very good agreement between the 3He and the 36Cl ages. However, the ages calculated by the St and LSD scaling methods differ by ~15-25% due to the sensitivity of the production rate to the scaling at this latitude and elevation. These results lend confidence that Erebus qualifies as a suitable high- latitude/high-elevation calibration site. The remaining component that is still lacking is accurate and reliable independent (i.e., non-cosmogenic) ages, however, published 40Ar/39Ar ages are too imprecise and typically biased to older ages due to excess argon contained in melt inclusions.
Our new 40Ar/39Ar data show that previous problems with Erebus anorthoclase geochronology are now overcome with modern mass spectrometry and better sample preparation. They indicate a high likelihood of success for this proposal in defining an accurate global scaling model. Although encouraging, much remains to be accomplished and we will sample lava flows over 3 km in elevation and determine their 40Ar/39Ar and exposure ages. These combined data will discriminate between the two scaling methods, resulting in a preferred scaling model for global cosmogenic geochronology. The LSD method contains two sub-methods, the ‘plain’ LSD scales all nuclides the same, whereas LSDn scales each nuclide individually. We can discriminate between these models using 3He and 36Cl data from lava flows at different elevations, because the first model predicts that the production ratio for these two nuclides will be invariant with elevation and the second that there should be ~10% difference over the range of elevations to be sampled. Finally, we will provide a local, finite-age calibration site for cosmogenic-nuclide investigations in Antarctica.
Thousands of cosmogenic ages are published every year, but it is still not clear what production-scaling model provides the most accurate ages. Our data from Erebus will answer this important question. This will address a huge need in Antarctica, but more broadly will serve the earth sciences in general. Globally important studies such as paleoclimate, evolution and hazards depend critically on accurate geochronology (i.e., the fundamental underpinnings such as decay constants and/or production rates), yet only few locations allow for calibration between multiple methods. Erebus is ideally suited for this. Our proposed graduate and undergraduate students will use multiple state-of-the-art facilities and will develop groundbreaking advances in methodology towards a common goal of improving Late Quaternary geochronology. It is only now, with recent advancements in technology, that the goals of this proposal are doable.
Current Courses
GEOC/GEOL/GEOP/HYD 572 Application of the Scientific Method in the Earth Sciences (1 cr., 1 class hour)
This course is intended to explore the application of the scientific method (SM) in the earth sciences. It is not a philosophy of science course; the objective is to improve the ability of the participants to perform earth-science research. The course will consist largely of assigned readings and guided discussion. Students will be graded S/U on short answers to questions on the reading posted on Canvas every week, which must be turned in by midnight on the Tuesday preceding each class. The semester product will be a short paper and brief presentation describing how the participant can better apply the scientific method to her or his own graduate research.
ERTH 340 Global Climate Change: Origins and Impacts (3 cr., 3 class hours)
Humans have embarked on a global-scale experiment by injecting massive amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. This course covers the fundamental principles of the energy balance of the earth, basics of the global climate system, how increases in greenhouse gas concentrations have affected global climate to date, and projections for future changes focusing especially on changes in the hydrological cycle. We will discuss effects of changes in greenhouse forcing in the geological past. We will investigate the human production of greenhouse gases and how their releases might be reduced in the future. Implications for sustainable human development and ecosystems will be explored, especially for the semiarid Southwestern United States.
Past Courses
HYD 403/503: Groundwater Hydrology. Fundamentals of groundwater hydrology. The hydrologic cycle, Darcy’s law, aquifer parameters, steady and transient flow equations, well hydraulics, elementary multi-phase flow, groundwater recharge, watershed hydrology, geological controls on groundwater flow, well construction, and groundwater chemistry and pollution.
HYD 507: Hydrogeochemisty. The thermodynamics and aqueous chemistry of natural waters, with emphasis on groundwater. Chemical equilibrium concepts, surface chemistry, redox reactions, and biochemistry. The interaction of water with the atmosphere and geologic materials. Basic concepts applied to problems of groundwater quality evolution, water use, and groundwater contamination.
HYD 546: Contaminant Hydrology. The physics, chemistry, and biology of inorganic, organic, and microbial contaminants in groundwater and surface water systems. Mechanisms by which contaminants are introduced. Transport and transformations of contaminants in surface waters, the vadose zone, and the saturated zones. Movement, capillary trapping, and solubility of relatively immiscible organic liquids. Contaminant isolation and remediation techniques.
HYD 558: Environmental Tracers in Hydrology. Atomic structure and abundances of environmental isotopes. Stable isotope fractionation. Mass spectrometry. Applications of the stable isotopes of hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon to meteorology and hydrology. Radioactive decay and radionuclide production. Applications of tritium, He-3, C-14, Cl-36, and other radionuclides. Application of Cl, Br, chloroflurocarbons and other environmental tracers to hydrologic problems.
HYD 571/572: Advanced Topics in Hydrology.
- Field Methods in Vadose-Zone Hydrology- Fall 2001
- Hydrology of the Rio Grande – Spring 1999
- Isotope Hydrology – Spring 1998
I currently have no openings for new students, but please check out openings with other faculty and our list of scholarships and fellowships. I’d be glad to talk with you if you have ideas.
I have put a complete listing of all my publications on this page, in chronological order, and by category (journals, conference proceedings, etc.). For convenience I have also made sublists of publications in various research areas. Just click on the links below.
Cosmogenic nuclide systematics and applications
Dating and Tracing in Hydrological Systems
Paleoclimate and Paleoenvironments
Complete Listing of Papers and Critical Comments Published in Refereed Journals
Bentley, H.W.; F.M. Phillips; S.N. Davis; S. Gifford; E. Elmore; L.E. Tubbs; and H.E. Gove (1982). Thermonuclear 36C1 pulse in natural waters, Nature 300 737-740.
Phillips, F.M. (1983) Comment on “Chemical osmosis, reverse chemical osmosis, and the origin of subsurface brines”, by Donald L. Graf: Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 47 1331.
Phillips, F.M.; G.I. Smith; H.W. Bentley; D. Elmore; and H.E. Gove (1983). 36C1 dating of saline sediments: Preliminary results from Searles Lake, California: Science 222 925-927.
Phillips, F.M.; F. Goff; F. Vautaz; H.W. Bentley; D. Elmore; and H.E. Gove (1984). 36C1 as a tracer in geothermal systems Example from Valles Caldera, New Mexico: Geophys. Res. Lett. 11 1227-1230.
Phillips, F.M.; B.D. Leavy; N.O. Jannik; D. Elmore; and P.W. Kubik (1986) The accumulation of cosmogenic chlorine-36 in rocks: A method for surface exposure dating: Science 231 41-43.
Phillips, F.M.; M.A. Person; and A.B. Muller (1986) A numerical model for simulating the isotopic evolution of closed-basin lakes: J. Hydrol. 85 73-86.
Phillips, F.M.; L.A. Peeters; M.K. Tansey; and S.N. Davis (1986) Paleoclimatic inferences from an isotopic investigation of ground water in the central San Juan Basin, New Mexico: Quat. Res. 26 179-193.
Bentley, H.W.; F.M. Phillips; S.N. Davis; P.L. Airey; G.E. Calf; D. Elmore; M.A. Habermehl; and T. Torgenson (1986) Chlorine-36 dating of very old ground water: I. The Great Artesian Basin, Australia: Water Resour. Res. 22 1991-2002.
Phillips, F.M.; H.W. Bentley; S.N. Davis; and D. Elmore (1986) Chlorine-36 dating of very old ground water: II. Milk River Aquifer, Alberta, Canada: Water Resour. Res. 22 2003-2016.
Phillips, F.M; and H.W. Bentley (1987) Isotopic fractionation during ion filtration: I. Theory: Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta. 51 683-695.
Kubik, P.W.,; Elmore, D.; Fehn, U.; and Phillips, F.M. (1987) Accelerator mass spectrometry of 36C1,129I, and 187Os: Nucl. Instr. Meth. Phys. Res. B24/25 676-681.
Elmore, D.; and Phillips, F.M. (1987) Accelerator mass spectrometry for measurement of long-lived radioisotopes: Science 236 543-550.
Leavy, B.D.; Phillips, F.M.; Elmore, D.; Kubik, P.W.; and Gladney, E. (1987) Measurement of cosmogenic 36C1/C1 in young volcanic rocks: An application of accelerator mass spectometry in geochronology: Nucl. Instr. Method. Phys. Res. B29 246-250.
Schery, S.D.; Holford, D.J.; Wilson, J.L.; Wilson, J.L.; and Phillips, F.M. (1988) Flow and diffusion of radon in fractured porous media: I. Finite slabs: Radiat. Protect. Dosimetry 24 185-189.
Schery, S.D.; Holford, D.J.; Wilson, J.L.; and Phillips, F.M. (1988) Flow and diffusion of radon in fractured porous media: II. Semi-infinite media: Radiat. Protect. Dosimetry 24 1877-1891.
Phillips, F.M.; Mattick, J.L.; Duval, T.A.; Elmore, N.; and Kubik, P.W. (1988) Chlorine-36 and tritium from nuclear- weapons fallout as tracers for long-term liquid and vapor movement in desert soils: Water Resour. Res. 24 1877-1891.
Phillips, F.M. and Wilson, J.L. (1989) A method for estimating 1n K correlation scales using geological characteristics: Water Resour. Res. 25 141-145.
Phillips, F.M.; M.K. Tansey; L.A. Peeters; S. Cheng; and A. Long (1989) An isotopic investigation of ground water in the central San Juan Basin, New Mexico: 14C dating as a basis for numerical flow modeling: Water Resour. Res. 25 2259-2273.
Carlson, C.A.; Phillips, F.M.; Elmore, D.; and Bentley, H.W. (1990) Chlorine-36 tracing of salinity sources in the Dry Valleys of Victoria Land, Antarctica: Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 54 311-318.
Phillips, F.M.; Zreda, M.G.; Smith, S.S.; Elmore, D.; Kubik, P.W.; and Sharma, P. (1990) Cosmogenic chlorine-36 chronology for glacial deposits at Bloody Canyon, eastern Sierra Nevada California: Science 248 1529-1532.
Phillips, F.M.; Davis, S.N.; and Kubik, P.W. (1990) A proposal to use chlorine-36 for monitering the movement of radionuclides from nuclear explosions: Ground Water Monitoring Review 10(3) 106-113.
Phillips, F.M.; Knowlton, R.G.; and Bentley, H.W. (1990) Comment on “An alternative view on the origin of chemical and isotopic patterns in groundwater from the Milk River aquifer, Canada’ by M.J. Hendry and F.W. Schwartz”: Water Resour. Res. 26 1693-1698.
Huang Qi and Phillips, F.M. (1990) Preliminary study on chlorine-36 dating of halite in salt lakes from the Qaidam Basin: Chinese Sci. Bull. 35 32-36.
Hedenquist, J.W.; Goff, F.; Phillips, F.M.; Elmore, D.; and Stewart, M.K. (1990) Groundwater dilution and residence times, and constraints on chloride source, in the Mokai geothermal system, from chemical, stable isotope, tritium, and 36Cl data: J. Geophys. Res. 95 19365-19375.
Jannik,N.O.;Phillips,F.M.;Smith,G.I.;and Elmore,D.(1991) A36C1 chronology of lacustrine sedimentation in the Pleistocene Owens River Systems, Eastern California: Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 103 1146-1159.
Zreda, M.G.; Phillips, F.M.; Elmore, D.; Kubik, P.W.; and Sharma, P. (1991) Cosmogenic chlorine-36 production rates in terrestrial rocks: Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 105 94-109.
Dorn, R.I.; Phillips, F.M.; Zreda, M.G.; Wolfe, E.; Jull, A.J.T.; Donahue, D.J.; Kubik, P.W.; and Sharma, P. (1991) Glacial chronology of Mauna Kea, Hawaii, as constrained by surface-exposure dating: Nat. Geogr. J. Res. Explor. 7 456-471.
Phillips, F.M.; Zreda, M.G.; Smith, S.S.; Elmore, D.; Kubik, P.W.; Dorn, R.I.; and Roddy, D.J. (1991) Dating the impact at Meteor Crater: Comparison of 36C1 buildup and varnish 14C with thermoluminesence: Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 55 2695-2698.
Dorn, R.I. and Phillips, F.M. (1991) Surface exposure dating: Review and critical evaluation: Phys. Geog. 12 303-333.
Torgersen, T.; Habermehl, M.A.; Phillips, F.M.; Elmore, D.; Kubik, P.W.; Jones, B.G.; Hemmick, T.; and Gove, H.E. (1991) Chlorine-36 dating of very old groundwater, 3. Further studies in the Great Artesian Basin, Australia: Water Resour. Res. 27 3201-3213.
Lohmann, R.C.; Davis, J.M.; Love, D.W.; and Phillips, F.M. (1991) Hydrogeologic investigations of the upper Sierra Ladrones Formation: in New Mexico Bur. Mines Min. Resour. Bull. 137, p. 164-166.
McCord, J.; Reiter, M.; and Phillips, F. (1992) Heat-flow data suggest large ground-water fluxes through Fruitland Coals of the northern San Juan Basin, Colorado-New Mexico: Geology 20 419-422.
Davis, J.M.; Lohmann, R.C.; Phillips, F.M.; Wilson, J.L.; and Love, D.W. (1993) Architecture of the Sierra Ladrones Formation, central New Mexico: Depositional controls on the permeability correlation structure: Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 105 998-1007.
Holford, D.J.; Schery, S.D.; Wilson, J.L.; and Phillips, F.M. (1993) Modeling radon transport in dry, cracked soil: J. Geophys. Res. 98 567-580.
Huang, Q.; Ku, T.-L.; and Phillips, F.M. (1993) Evolutionary characteristics of lakes and paleoclimate undulation in the Qaidam Basin, China: Chin. J. Ocean. Limnol. 11 34-45.
Phillips, F.M. (1993) Comment on “Reinterpretation of 36Cl data: physical processes, hydraulic interconnections and age estimates in groundwater systems” by E. Mazor: Appl. Geochem. 8 643-647.
Phillips, F.M.; Zreda, M.G.; Ku, T.-L.; Luo, S.; Huang, Q.; Elmore, D.; Kubik, P.W.; and Sharma, P. (1993) 230Th/234U and 36Cl dating of evaporite deposits from the western Qaidam Basin, China: Implications for glacial-period dust export from Central Asia: Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 105 1606-1615.
Torgersen, T.; and Phillips, F.M. (1993) Reply to Comment on “Chlorine-36 dating of very old groundwater, 3. Further results on the Great Artesian Basin, Australia” by T. Torgersen et al., by Andrews, J.N. and Fontes, J.-C.: Water Resour. Res. 29 1875-1877.
Zreda, M.G.; Phillips, F.M.; Kubik, P.W.; Sharma, P.; and Elmore, D. (1993) Cosmogenic 36Cl dating of a young basaltic eruption complex, Lathrop Wells, Nevada: Geology 21 57-60.
Davis, J.M.; Phillips, F.M.; and Wilson, J.L. (1994) A portable air-minipermeameter for rapid in-situ field measurements: Ground Water 32 258-266.
Phillips, F.M. (1994) Environmental tracers for water movement in desert soils of the American Southwest: Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J. 58 15-24.
Liu, B.; Phillips, F.M.; Fabryka-Martin, J.T.; Fowler, M.M.; and Stone, W.D. (1994) Cosmogenic 36Cl accumulation in unstable landforms, 1. Effects of the thermal neutron distribution: Water Resour. Res. 30 3115-3125.
Zreda, M.G.; Phillips, F.M.; and Elmore, D. (1994) Cosmogenic 36Cl accumulation in unstable landforms, 2. Simulations and measurements on eroding moraines: Water Resour. Res. 30 3127-3136.
Liu, B.; Phillips, F.M.; Elmore, D.; and Sharma, P. (1994) Depth dependence of soil carbonate accumulation based on cosmogenic 36Cl dating: Geology 22 1071-1074.
Phillips, F.M.; Campbell, A.R.; Smith, G.I.; and Bischoff, J.L. (1994) Interstadial climatic cycles: A link between western North America and Greenland?: Geology 22 1115-1118.
Dep, L.; Elmore, D.; Lipschutz, M.; Vogt, S.; Phillips, F.M.; and Zreda, M. (1994) Depth dependence of cosmogenic neutron-capture-produced 36Cl in a terrestrial rock: Nucl. Instr. Meth. Phys Res. B92 301-307.
Phillips, F.M. (1995) The use of isotopes and environmental tracers in subsurface hydrology: Rev. Geophys. 33 1029-1033 (Supplement, July 1995, U.S. Nat. Rept. To Int. Union Geod. Geophys. 1991-1994) [http://www.agu.org/revgeophys/phillf01/phillf01.html].
Liu, B.; Phillips, F.M.; Hoines, S.; Campbell, A.R.; and Sharma, P. (1995) Water movement in desert soil traced by hydrogen and oxygen isotopes, chloride, and chlorine-36, southern Arizona: J. Hydrol. 168 91-110.
Shurbaji, A.-R.M.; and Phillips, F.M. (1995) A numerical model for the movement of H2O, H218O, and 2HHO in the unsaturated zone: J. Hydrol. 171125-142.
Shurbaji, A.-R.M.; Phillips, F.M.; Campbell, A.R.; and Knowlton, R.G. (1995) Application of a numerical model for simulating water flow, isotope transport, and heat transfer in the unsaturated zone: J. Hydrol. 171 143-163.
Zreda, M.G.; and Phillips, F.M. (1995) Insights into alpine moraine development from cosmogenic 36Cl buildup dating: Geomorphology 14 149-156.
Phillips, F.M.; Rogers, D.B.; Dreiss, S.J.; Jannik, N.O.; and Elmore, D. (1995) Chlorine-36 in Great Basin waters: Revisited: Water Resour. Res 31 3195-3204.
Campbell, A.R.; Phillips, F.M.; and Vanlandingham, R.J. (1996) Stable isotope study of soil water, WIPP Site New Mexico: Estimation of recharge to Rustler aquifers: Radioactive Waste Man. & Env. Rest. 20 153-165.
Liu, B.; Phillips, F.M.; Pohl, M.M.; and Sharma, P. (1996) An alluvial surface chronology based on cosmogenic 36Cl dating, Ajo Mountains, southern Arizona: Quat. Res. 45 30-37.
Phillips, F.M.; Zreda, M.G.; Flinsch, M.R.; Elmore, D.; and Sharma, P. (1996) A reevaluation of cosmogenic 36Cl production rates in terrestrial rocks: Geophys. Res. Lett. 23 949-952.
Liu, B.; Phillips, F.M.; Campbell, A.R. (1996) Stable carbon and oxygen isotopes of pedogenic carbonates, Ajo Mountains, southern Arizona: Implications for paleoenvironmental change: Palaeogeogr., Palaeoclimatol., Palaeoecol. 124 233-246.
Duk-Rodkin, A.; Barendregt, R.W.; Tarnocai, C.; and Phillips, F.M. (1996) Late Tertiary to late Quaternary record in the Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada: stratigraphy, paleosols, paleomagnetism, and chlorine-36: Can. J. Earth. Sci. 33 875-895.
Benson, L.V.; Burdett, J.W.; Kashgarian, M.; Lund, S.P.; Phillips, F.M.; and Rye, R.O. (1996) Climatic and hydrologic oscillations in the Owens Lake Basin and adjacent Sierra Nevada, California: Science 274 746-749.
Phillips, F.M.; Zreda, M.G.; Benson, L.V.; Plummer, M.A.; Elmore, D.; and Sharma, P. (1996) Chronology for fluctuations in late Pleistocene Sierra Nevada glaciers and lakes: Science 274 749-751.
Jackson, L.E., Jr.; Phillips, F.M.; Shimamura, K.; and Little, E.C. (1997) Cosmogenic 36Cl dating of the Foothills erratics train, Alberta, Canada: Geology 25 195-198.
Phillips, F.M.; Flinsch, M.; Elmore, D.; and Sharma, P. (1997) Maximum ages of the Côa valley (Portugal) engravings measured with chlorine-36: Antiquity 71 100-104.
Davis, J.M.; Wilson, J.L.; Phillips, F.M.; and Gotkowitz, M.B. (1997) Relationship between fluvial bounding surfaces and the permeability correlation structure: Water Resour. Res. 33 1843-1854.
Plummer, M.A.; Phillips, F.M.; Fabryka-Martin, J.; Turin, H.J.; Wigand, P.E.; and Sharma, P. (1997) Chlorine-36 in fossil rat urine: An archive of cosmogenic nuclide deposition during the past 40,000 years: Science 277 538-541.
Phillips, F.M.; Zreda, M.G.; Gosse, J.C.; Klein, J.; Evenson, E.B.; Hall, R.D.; Chadwick, O.A.; and Sharma, P. (1997) Cosmogenic 36Cl and 10Be ages of Quaternary glacial and fluvial deposits of the Wind River Range, Wyoming: Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 109 1453-1463.
Chadwick, OA.; Hall, R.D.; and Phillips, F.M. (1997) Pleistocene glaciations in the Rocky Mountains: Bull Lake and Sacagawea Ridge revisited: Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 109 1443-1452.
Zreda, M.; England, J.; Phillips, F.M.; Elmore, D.; and Sharma, P. (1999) Unblocking of Nares Strait by Greenland and Ellesmere ice-sheet retreat 10,000 years ago: Nature 398 139-142.
Jackson, L.E.; Phillips, F.M.; and Little, E.C. (1999) Cosmogenic 36Cl dating of the maximum limit of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in southwestern Alberta: Can. J. Earth Sci. 36 1347-1356.
Walvoord, M.A.; Pegram, P.; Phillips, F.M.; Person, M.A.; Kieft, T.L.; Fredrickson, J.K.; and McKinley, J.P. (1999) Groundwater flow and geochemistry in the southeastern San Juan Basin: Implications for microbial transport and activity: Water Resour. Res. 35 1409-1424.
Friend, D.A.; Phillips, F.M.; Campbell, S.W.; Liu, T.; and Sharma, P. (2000) Evolution of desert colluvial boulder slopes: Geomorphology 36 19-45.
Phillips, F.M.; Stone, W.D.; and Fabryka-Martin, J.T. (2001) An improved approach to calculating low-energy cosmic-ray neutron fluxes at the land/atmosphere interface: Chem. Geol. 175 689-701.
Gosse, J.C.; and Phillips, F.M. (2001) Terrestrial in-situ cosmogenic nuclides: Theory and application: Quat. Sci. Rev. 20 1475-1560.
Bowen, D.Q.; Phillips, F.M.; McCabe, A.M.; Knutz, P.C.; and Sykes, G.A. (2001) New data for the Last Glacial Maximum in Great Britain and Ireland: Quat. Sci. Rev. 21 89-101.
Walvoord, M.A.; Plummer, M.A.; Phillips, F.M.; and Wolfsberg, A.V., (2002) Deep arid system hydrodynamics, Part 1: Equilibrium states and response times in thick desert vadose zones: Water Resour. Res., 38(12), 1308, doi:10.1029/2001WR000824.
Walvoord M., Phillips F. M., Tyler S. W., and Hartsough P. C. (2002) Deep arid system hydrodynamics Part 2: Application to paleohydrologic reconstruction using vadose-zone profiles from the Northern Mojave Desert: Water Resour. Res., 38(12), 1291, doi:10.1029/2001WR000825.
Hibbs, B.J., Phillips, F., Hogan, J., Eastoe, C., Hawley, J., Granados, A., and Hutchison, B. (2003) Hydrogeologic and isotopic study of the Hueco Bolson aquifer, El Paso/Juarez, Mexico Area: Hydrological Science and Technology 19 (1-4) 109-119.
Plummer, M.A.; and Phillips, F.M. (2003) A 2-D numerical model of snow/ice energy balance and ice flow for paleoclimatic interpretation of glacial geomorphic features: Quat. Sci. Rev. 22 1389-1406.
Phillips, F.M. (2003) Cosmogenic 36Cl ages of Quaternary basalt flows in the Mojave Desert, California, USA: Geomorphology 53 199-208.
Phillips, F.M.; Ayarbe, J.P.; Harrison, J.B.J.; and Elmore, D. (2003) Dating rupture events on alluvial fault scarps using cosmogenic nuclides and scarp morphology: Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 215 203-218.
Walvoord, M.A.; Phillips, F.M.; Stonestrom, D.A.; Evans, R.D.; Hartsough, P.C.; Newman, B.D.; and Striegl, R.G. (2003) A reservoir of nitrate beneath desert soils: Science 302 1021-1024.
Walvoord, M.A.; Phillips, F.M.; Stonestrom, D.A.; Evans, R.D.; Hartsough, P.C.; Newman, B.D.; and Striegl, R.G. (2004) Reply to comment by Jackson et al. on “A reservoir of nitrate beneath desert soils”: Science 304 51 (www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/304/5667/51c).
Walvoord, M.A.; and Phillips, F.M. (2004) Identifying areas of basin-floor recharge in the Trans-Pecos region and the link to vegetation: J. Hydrol. 292 59-74.
Seyfried, M.S.; Schwinning, S.; Walvoord, M.A.; Pockman, W.T.; Newman, B.D.; Jackson, R.B.; and Phillips, F.M. (2004) Ecohydrological control of deep drainage in arid and semiarid regions: Ecology 86 277-287.
Earman, S.; Phillips, F.M.; and McPherson, B.J.O.L. (2005) The role of excess CO2 in the formation of trona deposits: Appl. Geochem. 20 2217-2232.
Earman S., Campbell A. R., Phillips F. M., and Newman B. D. (2006) Isotopic exchange between snow and atmospheric water vapor: Estimation of the snowmelt component of groundwater recharge in the southwestern United States: J. Geophys. Res. 111 D09302, doi:10.1029/2005JD006470.
Schaefer, J.M.; Denton, G.H.; Barrell, D.J.A.; Ivy-Ochs, S.; Kubik, P.W.; Phillips, F.M.; Lowell, T.; Schlüchter, C. (2006) Near-synchronous interhemispheric termination of the Last Glacial Maximum in mid-latitudes: Science 312 1510-1513.
Sandvig, R.C.; and Phillips, F.M. (2006) Ecohydrological controls on soil-moisture fluxes in arid vadose zones: Water Resour. Res., 42 W08422, doi:10.1029/2005WR004644.
Kirby, E.; Burbank, D.W.; Reheis, M.; and Phillips, F. (2006) Temporal variations in slip rate of the White Mountain Fault Zone, eastern California: Earth Planet.Sci. Lett.248 153-170.
Newman, B.D.; Wilcox, B.P.; Archer, S.R.; Breshears, D.D.; Dahm, C.N.; Duffy, C.J.; McDowell, N.G.; Phillips, F.M.; Scanlon, B.R.; and Vivoni, E.R. (2006) Ecohydrology of water-limited environments: A scientific vision: Water Resour. Res. 42, W06302, doi:10.1029/2005WR004141.
Frankel K. L., Brantley K. S., Dolan J. F., Finkel R. C., Kliinger R. E., Knott J. R., Machette M. N., Owen L. A., Phillips F. M., Slate J. L., and Wernicke B. P. (2007) Cosmogenic 10Be and 36Cl geochronology of offset alluvial fans along the northern Death Valley fault zone: Implications for transient strain in the eastern California shear zone: Journal of Geophysical Research – Solid Earth 112, B06407, doi:10.1029/2006JB004350.
Cizdziel J., Wei Y., Stetzenbach K. J., Hodge V. F., Cline J. D., Howley R., and Phillips F. M. (2008) Recent measurements of chlorine-36 in Yucca Mountain rock, soil, and seepage: Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry 275 133-144.
Hogan J. F., Phillips F. M., Mills S. K., Hendrickx J. M. H., Ruiz J., Chesley J. T., and Asmerom Y. (2007) Geological origins of salinization in a semiarid river: The role of sedimentary brines: Geology 35, 1063-1066.
Kirby, E.; Anandakrishnan, S.; Phillips, F.M.; and Marrero, S.M. (2008) Millennial-scale slip rate along the Owens Valley fault, eastern California: Geophys. Res. Lett. 112, F03014, doi:10.1029/2005JF000433.
Earman, S.; McPherson, B.J.O.L.; Phillips, F.M.; Ralser, S.; Herrin, J.M.; and Broska, J. (2008) Tectonic influences on groundwater quality: Insight from complementary methods: Ground Water 46, doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.2007.00402.x
Heath J., McPherson B. J. O. L., Phillips F., Cooper S., and Dewers T. (2009) Natural helium as a screening tool for assessing caprock imperfections at geologic CO2 storage sites: Energy Procedia 1 2903-2910.
Phillips, F.M.; Zreda, M.G.; Plummer, M.A.; Elmore, D.; and Clark, D.H. (2009) Glacial geology and chronology of Bishop Creek and vicinity, eastern Sierra Nevada, California: Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 121 1013-1033.
Frisbee, M.D.; Phillips, F.M.; Campbell, A.R.; and Hendrickx, J.M.H. (2010) Passive capillary samplers for collecting samples of snowmelt recharge in remote, inaccessible watersheds: 1: Laboratory evaluation: Hydrogeology Journal 24 825-833.
Frisbee, M.D.; Phillips, F.M.; Campbell, A.R.; and Hendrickx, J.M.H. (2010) Passive capillary samplers for collecting samples of snowmelt recharge in remote, inaccessible watersheds: 2: Field evaluation: Hydrogeology Journal 24 834-849.
Phillips F.M. and Majkowski L. (2011) The role of low-angle normal faulting in active tectonics of the northern Owens Valley, California: Lithosphere3 22-36, DOI: 10.1130/L73.1.
Kurth, G.; Phillips, F.M.; Reheis, M.C.; Redwine, J.L; and Paces, J.B. (2011) Cosmogenic nuclide and uranium-series dating of old, high shorelines in the western Great Basin, USA: Geological Society of America Bulletin 123 744-768, doi:10.1130/B30010.1.
Phillips, F.M.; McIntosh, W.C.; and Dunbar, N.W. (2011) The chronology of late Cenozoic volcanic eruptions on relict surfaces in the south-central Sierra Nevada, California: Geological Society of America Bulletin 123 890-910.
Frisbee, M.D.; Phillips, F.M.; Campbell, A.R.; Liu, F.; Sanchez, S.A. (2011) Streamflow generation in a large, alpine watershed in the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado: Is streamflow generation simply the aggregation of hillslope responses?: Water Resources Research 47 W06512, doi:10.1029/2010WR009391, 18 p.
Frisbee M. D., Phillips F. M., Weissmann G. S., Brooks P. D., Wilson J. L., Campbell A. R., and Liu F. (2012) Unraveling the mysteries of the large watershed black box: Implications for the streamflow response to climate and landscape perturbations: Geophysical Research Letters 39(1) L01404, doi:10.1029/2011GL050416, 6 pp.
Kelly, M.A.; Lowell T.V.; Applegate, P.J.; Smith, C.A.; Phillips, F.M.; Hudson, A.M. (2012) Younger Dryas fluctuations of the Quelccaya Ice Cap in the southern tropics: Geology 40 991-994.
Frisbee M. D., Phillips F. M., White A. F., Campbell A. R., and Liu F. (2013) Effect of source integration on the geochemical fluxes from springs: Applied Geochemistry 28 32-54.
Frisbee M.D., Wilson J.L., Gomez J.D., Phillips F.M., Campbell A.R. (2013) Are we missing the tail (and the tale) of residence-time distributions in watersheds? Geophysical Research Letters 40 4633-4637, doi:10.1002/grl.50895.
Oskin, M.E.; Burbank, D.W.; Phillips, F.M.; Marrero, S.M.; Bookhagen, B.; and Selander, J.A. (2014) Calibration of channel steepness to channel incision rate from a tilted and progressively exposed unconformity surface: Journal of Geophysical Research – Earth Surface 119 366-834, doi: 10.1002/2013JF002826.
Howald T., Person M., Campbell A., Lueth V., Hofstra A., Sweetkind D., Gable C. W., Banerjee A., Luijendijk E., Crossey L., Karlstrom K., Kelley S., and Phillips F. M. (2014) Evidence for long timescale (>103 years) changes in hydrothermal activity induced by seismic events: Geofluids 15 252-268, doi: 10.1111/gfl.12113.
Peppin, J., Person, M., Phillips, F., Kelley, S., Timmons, S., Witcher, J.C., Gable, C. (2015) Deep fluid circulation within crystalline basement rocks and the role of hydrologic windows in the formation of the Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, low-temperature geothermal system: Geofluids 15 139-160, doi: 10.1111/gfl.12111
Kelly M. A., Lowell T. V., Applegate P. J., Phillips F. M., Schaefer J., smith C. A., Kim H., Leonard K. C., and Hudson A. M. (2015) A locally calibrated, late glacial 10Be production rate from a low-latitude, high-altitude site in the Peruvian Andes: Quaternary Geochronology 26 70-85.
Lifton N., Caffee M., Finkel R., Theriault B. D., Marrero S., Gosse J., Nishiizumi K., Phillips F. M., Stone J., Schaefer J., Jull A. J. T., Fifield N. K., and Goehring B. (2015) In situ cosmogenic nuclide production rate calibration for the CRONUS-Earth Project from Lake Bonneville, Utah, shoreline features Quaternary Geochronology 26 56-69.
Phillips F. M., Argento D. C., Balco G., Caffee M. W., Clem J., Dunai T., Finkel R., Goehring B., Gosse J. C., Hudson A., Jull A. J. T., Kelly M., Kurz M. D., Lal D., Lifton N., Marrero S. M., Nishiizumi K., Reedy R., Schaefer J., Stone J. O. H., Swanson T., and Zreda M. G. (2016) The CRONUS-Earth Project: A synthesis: Quaternary Geochronology 31 119-154.
Phillips F. M., Argento D. C., Caffee M. W., Dunai T. J., Finkel R., Goehring B., Gosse J. C., Hudson A., Jull A. J. T., Kelly M., Lifton N., Marrero S. M., Nishiizumi K., Reedy R., and Stone J. O. H. (2016) Where now? Reflections on future directions for cosmogenic nuclide research from the CRONUS Projects: Quaternary Geochronology 31 155-159.
Marrero S., Phillips F. M., Borchers B., Lifton N., and Aumer R. (2016) Cosmogenic nuclide systematics and the CRONUScalc program: Quaternary Geochronology 31 160-187.
Borchers B., Marrero S., Balco G., Caffee M., Goehring B., Gosse J., Lifton N., Nishiizumi K., Phillips F., Schaefer J., and Stone J. O. H. (2016) Geological calibration of spallation production rates for terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides in the CRONUS-Earth Project: Quaternary Geochronology 31 188-198.
Marrero S., Phillips F. M., Hinz M., Caffee M., and Gosse J. (2016) CRONUS-Earth cosmogenic 36Cl calibration: Quaternary Geochronology 31 199-219.
Phillips F. M., Kelly M. A., Hudson A. M., Stone J. O. H., Schaefer J., Marrero S. M., Fifield N. K., Finkel R., and Lowell T. V. (2015) CRONUS-Earth calibration samples from the Huancané II moraines, Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru: Quaternary Geochronology 31 220-236.
Phillips F. M. (2016) Constraints on cosmogenic nuclide production rates by samples from the Sierra Nevada, California: I. Late Pleistocene glacial chronology: Quaternary Geochronology.
Phillips F. M., Hinz M., Marrero S. M., and Nishiizumi K. (2016) Constraints on cosmogenic nuclide production rates by samples from the Sierra Nevada, California: II. Sample sites and evaluation: Quaternary Geochronology 35 101-118.
Phillips F. (2017) Glacial chronology of the Sierra Nevada, California, from the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene: Cuadernos de Investigación Geográphica 43 preprint, doi:10.18172/cig.3233.
Shi X., Furlong K. P., Kirby E., Meng K., Marrero S., Gosse J., Wang E., and Phillips F. (2017) Evaluating the size and extent of paleo-lakes in central Tibet during the Late Pleistocene: Geophysical Research Letters doi: 10.1002/2017GL072686.
Reviewed Reference Books and Monographs
Bentley, H.W., F.M. Phillips, and S.N. Davis (1986) 36C1 in the terrestrial environment: in Handbook of Environmental Isotope Geochemistry (Fritz, P. and J.C. Fontes, eds.) vol. 2B, Elsevier, Amsterdam, p. 427-480.
Zreda, M.G.; and Phillips, F.M., (1994) Surface exposure dating by cosmogenic 36Cl accumulation: in Dating in Surface Contexts (Beck, C.; ed.) University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, p. 161-184.
Phillips, F. M. (1995) Cosmogenic chlorine-36 accumulation: A method for dating Quaternary landforms: in Dating Methods for Quaternary Deposits (Rutter, N. W.; and Catto, N. R.; eds.), Geol. Assoc. Can., St. John’s, Newfoundland, p. 61-66.
National Research Council (1995) Technical Bases for Yucca Mountain Standards, National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 205 pp.
Phillips, F.M. (1998) Ground water dating and isotope geochemistry: in Hydrological Sciences: Taking Stock and Looking Ahead (Proc. 1997 Abel Wolman Symposium, Washington D.C.) National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington D.C., p. 87-100.
Phillips, F.M. (1999) Chlorine-36: in Environmental Tracers in Subsurface Hydrology ( Cook, P., and Herczeg, A.L.; eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, p. 299-348.
Zreda, M.G.; and Phillips, F.M. (2000) Quaternary dating by cosmogenic nuclide buildup in surficial materials: in Quaternary Geochronology: Methods and Applications (Noller, J.S.; Sowers, J.M.; and Lettis, W.R.; eds.) AGU Reference Shelf, Vol. 4, American Geophysical Union, Washington, D.C., 581 p.
Phillips, F.M. (2001) Investigating flow and transport in the fractured vadose zone using environmental tracers: in Conceptual Models of Flow and Transport in the Fractured Vadose Zone, National Research Council, National Academy Press, Washington D.C., p. 271-294.
Phillips, F.M.; Hogan, J.; Mills, S.; and Hendrickx, J.M.M. (2003) Environmental tracers applied to quantifying causes of salinity in arid-region rivers: Preliminary results from the Rio Grande, southwestern USA: in Water Resource Perspectives: Evaluation, Management, and Policy (Alsharhan, A.S., and Wood, W.W., eds.), Elsevier Science, Amsterdam, p. 327-334.
Phillips, F.M.; and Castro, M.C. (2003) Groundwater dating and residence time measurements: in Treatise on Geochemistry (Holland, H.D., and Turekian, K.K., eds.), Vol. 5, Surface and Ground Water, Weathering, and Soils (Drever, J.I., ed.), Oxford University Press, Oxford, p. 451-497.
Hendrickx J. M. H., Phillips F. M., and Harrison J. B. J. (2003) Water flow processes in arid and semi-arid vadose zones: In Understanding water in a dry environment: Hydrological processes in arid and semi-arid zones (Simmers, I., ed.), A.A. Balkema, Lisse, pp. 151-210.
Walvoord M. A. and Phillips F. M. (2003) Water movement through deep arid vadose zones: In Understanding water in a dry environment: Hydrological processes in arid and semi-arid zones (Simmers, I., ed.), A.A. Balkema, Lisse, pp. 195-202.
Hogan, J.F.; Phillips, F.M.; and Scanlon, B.R. (eds.) (2004) Groundwater Recharge in a Desert Environment: The Southwestern United States: American Geophysical Union, Water Science and Applications Series, Vol. 9, Washington, D.C., 294 pp.
Phillips, F.M.; Walvoord, M.A.; and Small, E.E. (2004) Effects of environmental change on groundwater recharge in the Desert Southwest: In Groundwater Recharge in a Desert Environment: The Southwestern United States (Hogan, J.F.; Phillips, F.M.; and Scanlon, B.R; eds.), American Geophysical Union, Water Science and Applications Series, Vol. 9, Washington, D.C., p. 273-294.
Hogan, J.F.; Phillips, F.M.; and Scanlon, B.R. (eds.) (2004) Introduction and overview: In Groundwater Recharge in a Desert Environment: The Southwestern United States (Hogan, J.F.; Phillips, F.M.; and Scanlon, B.R.; eds.), American Geophysical Union, Water Science and Applications Series, Vol. 9, Washington, D.C., p. 1-14.
Dunbar, N.W., and Phillips, F.M. (2004) Cosmogenic 36Cl ages of lava flows in the Zuni-Bandera volcanic field, north-central New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology Bulletin 160, 51-59.
Jayko A. S., Forester R. M., Yount J. C., Kaufman D., McGeehin J., Phillips F. M., and Mahan S. A. (2008) Late Pleistocene lakes and wetlands, Panamint Valley, California, In Late Cenozoic Drainage History of the Southwestern Great Basin and Lower Colorado River Region: Geologic and Biotic Perspectives (M. C. Reheis and R. Hershler; eds.), Geological Society of America Special Paper 439, Boulder, Colorado, p. 151-184.
Machette M. N., Slate J. L., and Phillips F. M. (2008) Terrestrial cosmogenic-nuclide dating of alluvial fans in Death Valley National Park, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1755, 51 p.
Phillips F. M. (2008) Geological and hydrological history of the paleo-Owens River drainage since the late Miocene: In Late Cenozoic Drainage History of the Southwestern Great Basin and Lower Colorado River Region: Geologic and Biotic Perspectives (M. C. Reheis and R. Hershler; eds.), Geological Society of America Special Paper 439, Boulder, Colorado, p. 115-150.
Frankel K.L., Glazner A.F., Kirby E., Monastero F.C., Strane M.D., Oskin M.E., Unruh J.R., Walker J.D., Anandakrishnan S., Bartley J.M., Coleman D.F., Dolan, J.F., Finkel R.C., Greene D., Kylander-Clark A., Marrero S., Owen L.A., and Phillips F.M. J (2008) Active tectonics of the Eastern California Shear Zone: In Field Guide to Plutons, Volcanoes, Faults, Reefs, Dinosaurs, and Possible Glaciation in Selected Areas of Arizona, California, and Nevada, Geological Society of America Field Guide 11 (Duebendorfer E.M. and Smith E.I., eds.), Boulder, Colorado, p. 43-82.
Machette M. N., Slate J. L., and Phillips F. M. (2008) Terrestrial cosmogenic-nuclide dating of alluvial fans in Death Valley National Park, California: U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1755, 51 p.
Moyer D. L., Anderholm S. K., Hogan J. F., Phillips F. M., Hibbs B. J., and Witcher J. C. (2010) Knowledge and understanding of dissolved solids in the Rio Grande – San Acacia, New Mexico, to Fort Quitman, Texas, and proposed plan for future studies and monitoring: U.S. Geological Survey, 52 pp.
Phillips, F.M.; Hall, E.; and Black, M. (2011) Reining in the Rio Grande: People, Land, and Water: University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, 252 p.
Jackson L. E., Andriashek L. D., and Phillips F. M. (2011) Limits of successive middle and late Pleistocene continental ice sheets, Interior Plains of southern and central Alberta and adjacent areas, In Quaternary Glaciations – Extent and Chronology: A Closer Look (Developments in Quaternary Science, Vol. 15) (J. Ehlers, P. L. Gibbard, and P. D. Hughs; eds.), Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 575-589.
Phillips F.M. and Michelsen A.M. (2011) Institutional and salinity issues on the Upper Rio Grande: in Agricultural Salinity Assessment and Management, 2nd Ed. (Wallender, W.W. and Tanji, K.K.; editors), Manual of Practice No. 71, American Society of Civil Engineers, Reston, Va., pp. 1033-1052.
Hogan J., Phillips F., Eastoe C., Lacey H., Mills S., and Oelsner G. (2012) Isotopic tracing of hydrological processes and water quality along the upper Rio Grande, USA, In Monitoring Isotopes in Rivers: Creation of the Global Network of Isotopes in Rivers (GNIR), IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), IAEA-TECDOC-1673, Vienna, pp. 111-136.
Phillips F.M. (2013) Chlorine-36: in Isotope Methods for Dating of Old Groundwater (Suckow, A., Aggarwal, P., and Araguas-Araguas, L.; eds.), Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency, p. 125-152.
Torgersen T.; Purtschert R.; Phillips F.M.; Plummer N.L.; Sanford W.; and Suckow A. (2013) Chlorine-36: in Isotope Methods for Dating of Old Groundwater (Suckow, A., Aggarwal, P., and Araguas-Araguas, L.; eds.), Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency, p. 21-32.
Phillips F. M. (2014) Biographical profile of Kirk Bryan, In A Brief History of Geological Studies in New Mexico, with Biographical Profiles of Notable New Mexico Geologists (B. S. Kues, C. J. Lewis, and V. W. Lueth; eds.), New Mexico Geological Society, Special Publication 12, Socorro, New Mexico, pp. 142-144.
Phillips F. M. (2014) Biographical profile of C.V. Theis, In A Brief History of Geological Studies in New Mexico, with Biographical Profiles of Notable New Mexico Geologists (B. S. Kues, C. J. Lewis, and V. W. Lueth; eds.), New Mexico Geological Society, Special Publication 12, Socorro, New Mexico, pp. 145-147.
Lifton N. A., Phillips F. M., and Cerling T. E. (2016) Using Lake Bonneville features to calibrate in situ cosmogenic nuclide production rates, In Lake Bonneville: A Scientific Update (C. G. Oviatt and J. F. Shroder; eds.), Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 165-183.
Sion B. D., Axen G. J., Phillips F. M., and Harrison B. J. (2016) Fluvial terraces in the lower Rio Salado valley: correlations, estimated ages, and implications for Quaternary faulting and for surface uplift above the Socorro Magma Body, In Guidebook 67 – Geology of the Belen Area (B. A. Frey, K. E. Karlstrom, S. G. Lucas, S. Williams, K. Ziegler, V. McLemore, and D. S. Ulmer-Scholle; eds.), New Mexico Geological Society 67th Annual Fall Field Conference Guidebook Socorro, pp. 235-247.
Papers Published in Conference Proceedings and Non-Reviewed Publications
Phillips, F.M. (1982). 3He-4He dating of ground water: in Workshop on Isotope Hydrology Applied to the Evaluation of Deeply Buried Repositories for Nuclear Waste (Davis, ed.), Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, p. 138-151.
Airey, P.L.; Bentley, H; Calif, G.E; Davis, S.N.; Elmore, D.; Gove, H.; Habermehl, M.A.; Phillips, F.; Smith, J.; and Torgerson, T. (1983) Isotope hydrology of the great Artesian Basin, Australia: In Papers of the International Conference on Groundwater and Man, Sydney, 5-9 December, 1983, Australian Water Resources Council Conference Series N Vol. 1, p. 1-11, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.
Phillips, F.M.; Trotman, K.N.; Bentley, H.W.; and Davis, S.N. (1984) The bomb-36C1 pulse as a tracer for soil water near Socorro, New Mexico: Selected Papers on Water Quality and Pollution in New Mexico (Stone,J., ed.), New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources Hydrologic Report 7, p. 27- 80.
Phillips, F.M. (1984) Radiometric methods for estimating potential radionuclide migration rates out of high-level nuclear waste-repositories: Present status and future research: in Fundamental Geochemistry Needs for Nuclear Waste Isolation (Erdal, B.R., ed.), Los Alamos, New Mexico, 20-22 June 1984, Los Alamos National Laboratory, DOE CONF 8406134, p. 137-142.
Phillips, F.M.; Trotman, K.N.; Bentley, H.W.; Davis, S.N; and Elmore, D. (1984) Chlorine-36 from atmospheric nuclear weapons testing as a hydrologic tracer in the zone of aeration in arid climates: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Recent Investigations in the Zone of Aeration (Udluft, P., Merkel, B.P. and Prosol, K.-H., eds.), M. Munich, 1-4 October 1984, Vol. 1, p. 47-56.
Duval, T.A.; Phillips, F.M.; and Mattick, J.L. (1985) Tracing soil-water movement with bomb-36C1 and tritium in an arid zone: Progress report: Hydrology Days and Rocky Mountain Groundwater conference, Joint Proc. Fifth Annual AGU Front Range Branch, (Morel-Seytoux, J.H., and Doehring, D.O., (eds.) 16-20 April 1985, Ft. Collins, Co, p. 23-32.
Duval, T.A.; Phillips, F.M.; and Mattick, J.L. (1985) Tracing soil-water movement with bomb-36C1 and tritium in an arid zone: Progress report: Hydrology Days and Rocky Mountain Groundwater Conference, Joint Proc. Fifth Annual AGU Front Range Branch, (Morel-Seytoux, J.H., and Doehring, D.O., eds.) 16-20 April 1985, Ft. Collins, CO, p. 23-32.
Phillips, F.M.; Jannik, N.O.; Smith, G.I.; Elmore, D.; Gove, H.E.; and Bentley, H.W. (1985) Dating of Searles Lake evaporites by 36C1: A progress report: Borates: Economic Geology and Production (Barker, J.M., and Lefond, S.J., eds.), Proc. Symp. Fall Meeting SME-AIME, Denver, Society of Mining Engineers, New York, P. 199-205.
Phillips, F.M.; Bentley, H.W.; and Elmore, D. (1986) Chlorine 36 dating of old ground water in sedimentary basins: in Pros. Third Canadian/American conf. on Hydrogeology, 22-26 June, 1986, Banff (Hitchon, B.; Bachu, S.; and Sauveplane, C.M.; eds.), National Water Well Asso. Dublin, Ohio, p. 143-150.
Leavy, B.D.; Phillips, F.M.; Elmore, D.; Kubik, P.W.; and Gladney, E. (1987) Measurement of cosmogenic 36C1/C1 in Young Volcanic rocks: in Proc. Fourth Int. Symp. on Accel. Mass. Spectrom., Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, Canada, April 27-30, 1987 (Gove, H.E.; Litherland, A.E.; and Elmore, D.; eds.), North-Holland Physics Publishing, Amsterdam, p. 246-250.
Phillips, F.M.; Mattick, J.L.; and Duval, T.A. (1987) Implications of bomb- 36C1 and tritium studies for ground water recharge and contaminant transport through the vadose zone: in Ground Water Management (Proc. 32nd Annual New Mexico Water conf., Albuquerque, 5-6 Nov., 1987) New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute Report Number 229, Las Cruces, p. 124-130.
Phillips, F.M.; Wilson, J.L.; and Davis, J.M. (1989) Statistical analysis of hydraulic conductivity distributions. A quantitative geological approach: in Proc. conf. on New Field Techniques for Quantifying the Physical and Chemical Properties of Heterogeneous Aquifers. 20-23 March 1989, Dallas, Texas (eds. F.J. Molz, J.C. Melville, and O. Guven) National Water Well Association, Dublin, Ohio, p. 15-31.
Davis, J.M. and Phillips, F.M. (1990), A quantitative geology study of heterogeneity: Sierra Ladrones Formation, New Mexico: Proc. Conf. Workshop on Transport and Mass Exchange Processes in Sand and ravel Aquifers: Field Modelling Studies, Ottawa, Ontario, 30 Sept. – 4. Oct. in press.
Phillips, F.M.; and Dorn, R.I. (1990) Field Guide for GSA Penrose Conference on “New Methods for Surface Exposure Dating”, Mammoth Lakes, 12-17 Oct., 1990, 35 p.
Phillips, F.M.; and Dorn, R.I., Final report on GSA Penrose Conference on “New Methods of Dating Geomorphic Surfaces:, Mammoth Lakes, 12-17 Oct., 1990; submitted to Geol. Soc. Am. Newsletter.
Phillips, F.M.; and Dorn, R.J. (1991) New methods for dating geomorphic surfaces: Penrose Conference Report: GSA Today 1 102.
Phillips, F.M. (1991) Surface exposure dating: PRIME Laboratory Update 1(2) 2.
Hendrickx, J.M.; Bowman, R.S.; Gross, G.; Phillips, F.M.; and Wilson, J.L. (1992) Flow and transport through the vadose zone: in Proc. First Latin Amer. Hydrogeology Congress, Merida, Venezuela, 16-21 October 1991.
Hendrickx, J.M.H.; Phillips, F.M.; Wilson, J.L.; and Bowman, R.S. (1992) The vadose zone: An educational frontier in hydrology: in Hydrology and Water Resources Education, Training and Management (Raynal, J.A.; ed.), Proc. Int. Symp., 15-19 April 1991, Chihuahua, Water Resources Publications, Littleton, Colorado, p. 285-294.
Phillips, F.M. (1992), Isotope paleohydrology: in Environmental Isotopes in Lacustrine Archives (Kelts, K.; ed.) Notes for Workshop sponsored by NSF and Limnological Research Center, Univ. of Minnesota, 3-5 December 1992, Minneapolis, 167 p.
Phillips, F.M.; and Wilson, J.L. (1992), Subsurface heterogeneity in physical properties controlling solute transport: in Natural Subsurface Field and Heterogeneity Subprogram Planning Workshop (Wobber, F.J.; ed.), Subsurface Science Program, Department of Energy, 22-26 June 1992, Reno, 7 p.
Bach, A.J.; Dorn, R.I.; Elliot-Fisk, D.L.; and Phillips, F.M. (1992) Glacial avulsion in Pleistocene moraine complexes of the east-central Sierra Nevada, California: in The History of Water: Eastern Sierra Nevada, Owens Valley, White-Inyo Mountains (Hall, C.A., Jr.; Doyle-Jones, V.; and Widanski, B.; eds.), White Mtn. Res. Station Symp. Vol 4, Univ. of Calif., Los Angeles, Bishop, p. 17-31.
Campbell, A.R.; Vanlandingham, R.; and Phillips, F.M. (1993) A geochemical investigation of recharge at the WIPP Site: in Third Annual WERC Technology Development Conference: “Technology Development at the Leading Edge (Ward, T.J.; ed.), New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, p. 130- 141.
Phillips, F.M. (1993) Isotopic tracers for water and solute movement in desert soils: in Proc. Workshop V: Flow and Transport through Unsaturated Fractured Rock – Related to High-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal (Evans, .D.; and Nicholson, T.J.; eds.), Tucson, Arizona, 7-10 January 1991, U.S. Nucl. Reg. Comm. (NUREG/CP-0040), p. 190-193.
Campbell, A.R.; Vanlandingham, R.J.; and Phillips, F.M. (1994) An investigation of modern and paleo- recharge at the WIPP Site, New Mexico: A stable isotopic study of soil water: in Paleohydrogeological Methods and Their Applications (Proc. of a Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Workshop), Paris, 9-10 Nov. 1992, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, p. 185-198.
Hendrickx, J.M.H.; and Phillips, F.M. (1994) Review of Water Resources in the Arid Realm by C. Agnew and E.Anderson: J. Geol. Ed., 42, 294-295.
Stute, M.; Clark, J.F.; Phillips, F.M.; and Elmore, D. (1994) Paleoclimatic information derived from the groundwater archive: Cl, 36Cl, and noble gases, Carrizo aquifer, Texas: Isotope Hydrology 1993, IAEA, Vienna, p.
Campbell, A.R.; Vanlandingham, R.J.; and Phillips, F.M. (1994) An investigation of modern and paleo-recharge at the WIPP Site New Mexico: A stable isotopic study of soil water: in Paleohydrogeological Methods and their Applications, Proceedings of a Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) Workshop, Paris, 9-10 Nov. 1992, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Paris, p. 185-198.
Phillips, F.M. (1994) “Fred Phillips Recaps 1994 Birdsall-Dreiss Lecture”: The Hydrogeologist (Newsletter of the Hydrogeology Division of the Geological Society of America) September 1994, p. 5-6.
Phillips, F.M. (1994) Review of “Proceedings of the 14th International Radiocarbon Conference” edited by A. Long et al.: Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 58 1043.
Phillips, F.M. (1995) Stable isotope studies of groundwater and soil water at the WIPP Site: in Transcript of EPA Technical Workshop on WIPP Compliance Issues, 14-16 Feb. 1995, Washington D.C., p. 200-216.
Phillips, F.M. (1997) Review of The Last Deglaciation: Absolute and Radiocarbon Chronologies by E. Bard and W.S. Broecker: Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 61, 2164.
Phillips, F.M.; Plummer, M.A.; and Zreda, M.G. (1997) Preliminary report on 36Cl geochronology of glacial deposits in the Bishop Creek drainage, Eastern Sierra Nevada: Field Guide, Friends of the Pleistocene, Pacific Cell, 1997 Field Trip, Owens Valley, California (Burke, R.M “Bud”; La Farge, D.W.; Berman, F.; eds.), p. A14-A23.
Zreda, M.G.; and Phillips, F.M. (1998) Quaternary dating by cosmogenic nuclide buildup in surficial materials: in Dating and Earthquakes: Review of Quaternary Geochnonology and its Application to Paleoseismology (Sowers, J.M.; Noller, J.S.; and Lettis, W.R.; eds.), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Report NUREG/CR-5562, p. 2-101 to 2-128.
Phillips, F.M. (2002) O.E. Meinzer Award: Response: GSA Today 12(2) 26-27.
Phillips, F.M. (2002) Hydrogeology: Time for a new beginning? [Editorial]: Ground Water 40 217.
Hibbs, B.; Phillips, F.; Hogan, J.; Eastoe, C.; Hawley, J.; Kennedy, J.; Nuñez, F.; Granados, A.; and Kretzschmar, T. (2002) Binational Study Of The Surface And Groundwater Resources Of The El Paso/Juárez International Corridor, University Council on Water Resources Conference on Binational Water Resources, Las Cruces, New Mexico, Water Resources Update, v. 125, p. 25-30.
Phillips, F.M.; Schäfer, J.M.; and Stone, J.O.H. (2002) A Proposal for the Cosmic-Ray-Originated NUclide Systematics on Earth Project (CRONUS-Earth Project) – An international effort to quantify the production parameters of cosmic-ray-produced nuclides and their spatial and temporal variation: A report based on the workshop “Surface Exposure Dating in Modern Earth Sciences” held at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory on 17-19 March 2002: A White Paper circulated to the National Science Foundation, 18 pp.
Reheis, M.; Redwine, J.; Adams, K.; Stine, S.; Parker, K.; Negrini, R.; Burke, R.; Kurth, G.; McGeehin, J.; Paces, J.; Phillips, F.; Sarna-Wojcicki, A.; Smoot, J. (2003) Pliocene to Holocene lakes in the western Great Basin: New perspectives on paleoclimate, landscape dynamics, tectonics, and paleodistribution of aquatic species: in Quaternary Geology of the United States, INQUA 2003 Field Guide Volume (Easterbrook, D.J., ed.), Desert Research Institute, Reno, Nevada, p. 155-194.
Frankel K. L., Glazner A. F., Kirby E., Monastero F. C., Strone M. D., Oskin M. E., Unruh J. R., Walker D. J., Anandakrishnan S., Bartley J. M., Coleman D. D., Dolan J. F., Finkel R. C., Green D., Kylander-Clark A. R. C., Marrero S., Owen L. A., and Phillips F. (2008) Active tectonics of the eastern California shear zone, In Field Guide to Plutons, Volcanoes, Faults, Reefs, Dinosaurs, and Possible Glaciations in Selected Areas of Arizona, California, and Nevada (E. M. Duebendorfer and E. I. Smith; eds.), Geological Society of America Field Guide 11, Boulder, Colorado, pp. 43-81.
Frisbee M. D., Phillips F. M., Campbell A. R., and Hendrickx J. M. H. (2009) Using passive capillary samplers to collect soil-meltwater endmembers for stable isotope analysis: Planning for an Uncertain Future – Monitoring, Integration, and Adaption: Proceedings of the Third Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds, (R. M. T. Webb and D. J. Semmens; eds.), Estes Park, Colorado, 8-11 September 2008, U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2009-5049, p. 163-170.
Phillips F.M. (2010) Soil-water bypass: Nature Geoscience 3 77-78.
Swisher, Mark E., Dennis L. Jenkins, Lionel E. Jackson, Jr., and Fred M. Phillips(2013) A Reassessment of the Role of the Canadian Ice-Free Corridor in Light of New Geological Evidence. In Current Archaeological Happenings in Oregon 38 (4):9-14. Association of Oregon Archaeologists, Eugene.
Phillips, F.M. (2013) New Mexico’s Dwindling Water Supply: Can We Solve a 21st Century
Problem using 19th Century Laws? In Climate Change and New Mexico’s Water Resources (Anderson, K., ed.), New Mexico Journal of Science 47 5.
Published Technical Reports
Slawson, G.C., Jr. editor (1979). Ground water quality monitoring of western oil shale development: EPA-600/7-70-023 (NTIS) 214 p. (F.M. Phillips principal author).
Slawson, G.C., Jr., editor (1980). Monitoring groundwater quality: The impact of in situ reporting: EPA- 600-7080-132 (NTIS) 279 p. (F.M. Phillips principal author).
Phillips, F.M., and Tansey, M.K. (1984) An integrated isotopic/physical approach to a numerical model of groundwater flow in the San Juan Basin: New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute Report No. 197, 146 p.
Mattick, J.L.; Duval, T.A.; and Phillips, F.M. (1987) Quantification of groundwater recharge rates in New Mexico using bomb-36C1, bomb-3H, and chloride as soil-water tracers: New Mexico Water Resour. Res. Inst. Report No. 220, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, 184 p.
Knowlton, R.G.; Jr.; Phillips, F.M.; and Campbell, A.R. (1988) A stable-isotope investigation of vapor transport during ground-water recharge in New Mexico: New Mexico Water Resour. Res. Inst. Report No. 237 New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, 88p.
Holford, D.J.; Schery, S.D.; Wilson, J.L.; and Phillips, F.M. (1989) Radon Transport in Dry, Cracked Soil: Two Dimensional, Finite Element Model: Pacific Northwest Laboratory Report PNL-7166, Richland, Washington, 112 p.
Davis, J.M.; Lohmann, R.C.; Colarullo, S.J.; and Phillips, F.M. (1991), Alluvial Aquifer Heterogeneities in the Rio Grande Valley: Implications for Ground-Water Contamination: New Mexico Water Resour. Res. Inst. Rept. No. 256, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, 111 p.
Campbell, A.R.; and Phillips, F.M. (1991) An investigation of stable isotope systematics of soil water, WIPP Site, New Mexico: Technical completion report, Sandia National Laboratory, 35 p.
Phillips, F.M.; Campbell, A.R.; Kruger, C.; Johnson, P.; Roberts, R.; and Keyes, E. (1992), A Reconstruction of the Response of the Water Balance in Western United States Lake Basins to Climate Change: New Mexico Water Resources Research Institute Report No. 269, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, Vol. 1 (167 p.) and Vol. 2 (259 p).
Campbell, A.R.; Phillips, F.M.; Vanlandingham, R.J.; and Shurbaji, A.R. (1992), Stable Isotope Study of Soil- and Ground-Water, WIPP Site, New Mexico: Estimation of Recharge to the Rustler Aquifers: Technical Completion Report, Waste-management Education Research Consortium.
Campbell, A.R.; and Phillips, F.M. (1994), Stable isotopic study of soil water, WIPP Site, NM: Estimation of recharge through soils to Rustler aquifer: Compl. Report Project No. 01423169, Sept. 1994, 24 pp.
Liu, B.; and Phillips, F.M. (1994), Cosmogenic 36Cl dating of geomorphic surfaces and isotopic investigation of soil water and paleoclimate, Ajo Mountains, southern Arizona: Compl. Report Project 14-08-0001-22693, U.S. Department of Energy in cooperation with U.S. Geological Survey Yucca Mountain Project, 213 pp.
Shurbaji, A.M.; Phillips, F.M.; Campbell, A.R.; and Knowlton, R.G., Jr.; ODWISH, a numerical model for simulating the transport of H2O, H218O, and 2HHO in unsaturated soils: Compl. Report Project No. AC-2851, Sandia National Laboratories, 87 p.
Hogan, J.; Phillips, F.M.; Eastoe, C.; Lacey, H.; Mills, S.; and Oelsner, G. (2007) Isotopic tracing of hydrological processes and water quality along the Upper Rio Grande, USA: Final Report to the IAEA Coordinated Research Project –Isotopic Tracing of Hydrological Processes in Large River Basins, 34 p.
Moyer, D., Anderholm, S., Hogan, J., Phillips, F., Wicher, J., and Hibbs, B. (2009) Knowledge and Understanding of Dissolved Solids in the Rio Grande – San Acacia New Mexico to Fort Quitman Texas: US Geological Survey (lead), Technical contract report prepared for the Rio Grande Salinity Coalition, 75 p.
Moyer D. L., Anderholm S. K., Hogan J. F., Phillips F. M., Hibbs B. J., Witcher J. C., Matherne A. M., and Falk F. E. (2013) Knowledge and understanding of dissolved solids in the Rio Grande – San Acacia, New Mexico, to Fort Quitman, Texas, and plan for future studies and monitoring: U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 2013-1190, 55 pp.
Person M., Phillips F., Kelly S., Timmons S., Pepin J., Blom L., Haar K., and Murphy M. (2013) Assessment of the sustainability of geothermal development within the Truth or Consequences Hot-Springs District, New Mexico: New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Open-File Report 551, Socorro, 65 pp.
Phillips, F.M. (1976). Mountain Men and Desert People: Exploration of the Great Basin 1820-1865: Chalfant Press, California.
Phillips, F.M. (1981). Hydrogeology of the Birds Nest Aquifer, Uintah County, Utah: University of Arizona, Tucson, M.S. Thesis.
Phillips, F.M. (1981). Noble Gases in Ground Water as Paleoclimatic Indicators: University of Arizona, Tucson. Ph.D. Dissertation.
Students (current; most are co-advised with other faculty)
Brad Sion – PhD student
Brad is finishing his Ph.D., working on using fluvial terraces along the Rio Grande and tributaries to help understand the history of the Socorro Magma Body (SMB). The SMB is a huge sill (the second-largest molten intrusion known today) underlying the Rio Grande Valley at 19 km depth. Geodetic measurements indicate that part of the area over the sill is bulging upward at ~2 mm/yr. Brad is mapping terraces and using their relative elevations to determine whether this is a one-time event or whether there is a history of similar events in the past.
Kylian Robinson – MS student
Kylian is analyzing the geochemical systematics of groundwater in the area of Cuesta, New Mexico, which is in the Rio Grande Valley north of Taos. The area has experienced recent well failures and water quality issues, in part due to a giant pile of mine tailings from a now-closed molybdenum mine. Kylian extensively sampled groundwater throughout the area and is using end-member mixing analysis and other statistical and geochemical techniques to understand the sources and flowpaths of the groundwater, and hence vulnerability to water-quality degradation or aquifer decline.
Esther (Fei) Xu and Gabriel Parrish – MS students
Esther is responsible for the focused-recharge component of the New Mexico Statewide Water Balance Project. This project, funded by the New Mexico State Legislature, seeks to quantify the water balance for the entire state. New Mexico Tech has contributed the evapotranspiration model and the diffuse groundwater recharge model. These are high spatial resolution (250 m2) and temporal resolution (daily time step) water-balance models based on the dual crop coefficient method for calculation of evapotranspiration and multi-layer soil-water-capacity model for recharge. Esther is using empirical data to calculate runoff as a function of precipitation intensity and duration and to convert the calculated runoff to focused recharge.
Gabe is working on the diffuse recharge component of the same project. The amount of diffuse recharge at any point is dependent on the soil-water history there and the water-holding capacity, parameterized as Total Available Water (TAW). Obtaining adequate data to characterize TAW from physical measurements at the scale of the entire State of New Mexico is not practical, so Gabe is pursuing an innovative approach in which TAW can be characterized over a large area by quantifying evapotranspiration over a period of time using analysis of remote sensing images and matching model outputs to observed evapotranspiration.
Christine Burrill – PhD student
Christine is starting a Ph.D. on testing alternative models for global scaling of the production of cosmogenic nuclides using 39Ar/40Ar dated lava flows from the summit of Mt. Erebus in Antarctica. The production of nuclides such as 3He, 10Be, and 36Cl varies with altitude and latitude, mainly due to attenuation through interaction with the earth atmosphere and due to interaction with the magnetic field of the earth. The mathematical formulations designed to describe this variation are termed ‘scaling models’. Two models have emerged as well supported in the past 5 or 10 years, but the data necessary to distinguish between them are not available. The places where the predictions of the models differ the most are at low latitude and low altitude and at high latitude and high altitude. Recent advances in 39Ar/40Ar dating should allow Christine to accurately and precisely date lava flows at high altitude and latitude on the summit of Erebus. She will measure 3He and 36Cl in the same flows and determine which scaling model is the most accurate.
Christine lying down on the job in Alaska.
Graph showing that the two cosmogenic production scaling methods give significantly different predictions at Mt. Erebus.
Brandon Lutz – PhD student
Brandon is in the midst of a Ph.D. project to quantify the tectonic displacements of the southern Great Basin over the past 12 Ma. Geological evidence demonstrates that over that time period the southern Great Basin has extended by a large amount, however, the fault geometries and slip rates responsible have never been quantified. Brandon has compiled most available geological studies for the area into a single map and has reconstructed cross-sections illustrating a quasi-three-dimensional geometry of the faults and displaced units. He will use these as the basis for a true 3-D kinematic model using the software MOVE. The MOVE reconstruction, in turn, will provide the basis for understanding the changes in surface and groundwater flow systems over this time.
Recent Graduates
Carlos Ramírez-Torres, MS 2017 Soil erosion rates in the evolution of a first-order catchment in central New Mexico: Insights from runoff plots and measurement of dual cosmogenic nuclides
Peter ReVelle, MS 2017 Evapotranspiration in mountain terraine – Applying topographic-based energy constraints to evaluate the distribution of water fluxes and effect of vegetation cover change
David Ketchum MS 2016 High-Resolution Estimation of Groundwater Recharge for the Entire State of New Mexico Using a Soil-Water Balance Model
Casey Gierke, MS 2012 Sourcing tree water in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico: A stable isotope study
Andre Bleu Ocean Ritchie, MS 2011 Hydrogeologic framework and development of a three-dimensional finite difference groundwater flow model of the Salt Basin, New Mexico and Texas
Marty Frisbee, PhD 2010 Streamflow generation processes and residence times in a large mountainous watershed in the southern Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA
Sophia Sigsted, MS 2010 Environmental tracers in groundwater of the Salt Basin, New Mexico, and implications for water resources
Jeremiah “Croaker” Morse, MS 2010 The hydrogeology of the Sacramento Mountains using environmental tracers
Shasta Marrero, MS 2009 Chlorine-36 production rate calibration using shorelines from Pleistocene Lake Bonneville, Utah
Ph.D. 2012 Calibration of cosmogenic chlorine-36
Jaron Andrews MS 2009 Arsenic removal using iron-modified zeolites
Elizabeth Bastien, 2009 Solute budget of the Rio Grande above El Paso, Texas
Heather (Lacey) Hallett, MS 2006, Quantification and characterization of chloride sources in the Rio Grande.
Renee Sandvig, MS 2005, Ecohydrological controls on soil-moisture fluxes in arid vadose zones.
Naomi Davidson-Rosenau, MS 2004, Groundwater and produced water quality of the Permian Basin, Southeast New Mexico.
Samuel Earman, PhD 2004, Groundwater recharge through mountain-basin systems of the Southwest: A case study in the Chiricahua Mountains – San Bernardino Valley system, Arizona and Sonora.
Suzanne Mills, MS 2004, Quantifying salinization of the Rio Grande using environmental tracers.
John R. Boulanger, MS 2003, Stable isotope analysis of evaporation and transpiration following a precipitation event, Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge.
Gabrielle Kurth, MS 2003 Cosmogenic nuclide dating of old, high Pluvial shorelines in the Western Great Basin.
Alyssa Olson, MS 2002, Carbon-13 in hydrologically-closed systems: Experimentation and modeling.
Mitch Plummer, PhD 2002, Paleoclimatic conditions during the last deglaciation inferred from combined analysis of plural and glacial records – a paleohydrology study of the Owens Valley.
Michelle Walvoord, PhD 2002, Unifying conceptual model to describe water, vapor and solute transport in deep arid vadose zones.
John P. Ayarbe, MS 2001, Calibrating a fault scarp diffusion model with cosmogenic 36Cl to provide a new means for establishing rupture chronologies in arid and semiarid environments.
Laura M. Bexfield, MS 2001, Occurrence and sources of arsenic in ground water of the Middle Rio Grande Basin, central New Mexico.
Joseph M. Sterling, MS 2001, Controls on, and modeling of, chloride deposition at the continental scale.
Gina DeRosa, MS 1999, Experimental evidence of hyperfiltration-induced precipitation of heavy metals.
Michelle Walvoord, MS 1999, Characterization of Groundwater Flow in the Southeastern San Juan Basin: Implications for Microbial Origins in the Deep Subsurface near Cerro Negro, New Mexico.
Susan J. Colarullo, PhD 1998, Multiple Scale Characterization of Alluvial Aquifer Heterogeneity.
Claire Chia-Lan Hsu, MS 1998, Trapping of Non-aqueous Phase Liquids at Sand/Shale Interfaces.
James W. Moore, MS 1998, Monitoring infiltration of atmospheric chloride across the land surface in central New Mexico.
Education
- University of California at Santa Cruz 1972-76, B.A. Earth Science, B.A. History, with Honors
- University of Arizona, 1976-79; M.S. Hydrology
- University of Arizona, 1979-81; Ph.D. Hydrology
Positions
- 1981-1986, Assistant Professor of Hydrology, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Socorro
- 1986-1991, Associate Professor of Hydrology
- 1991-2015 Professor of Hydrology
- 1996-1999, Chair, Department of Earth and Environmental Science
- 1999-2001, Associate Chair, Department of Earth and Environmental Science
- 2005-2015, Director of the Hydrology Program, New Mexico Tech
- 2015-present, Professor of Hydrology Emeritus
Honors
- 1988: F.W. Clarke Medal, Geochemical Society
- 1989: New Mexico “Eminent Scholar” Award
- 1989: University of California at Santa Cruz “Alumnus of the Year” in Earth Sciences
- 1991: D. Foster Hewitt Lecturer, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
- 1994: Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer in Hydrogeology, Geological Society of America
- 1994: Distinguished Research Award, New Mexico Tech
- 2001: O.E. Meinzer Award (Hydrogeology), Geological Society of America
- 2003: Outstanding Teacher Award, Sigma Gamma Epsilon Chapter, New Mexico Tech
- 2005: Kirk Bryan Award, Geological Society of America (Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division)
- 2008: Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science
- 2008: Fellow, American Geophysical Union
- 2016: New Mexico Earth Science Achievement Award (New Mexico Bureau of Geology)
Professional Affiliations
- American Geophysical Union
- Geological Society of America
- American Quaternary Association
- Geochemical Society
Professional Services
- Associate Editor, Water Resources Research (1989 – 1994)
- Associate Editor, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta (1989 – Present)
- Groundwater Committee, American Geophysical Union (1990 – Present)
- Co-Convenor, Penrose Conference “New Methods for Dating of Geomorphic Surfaces,” Mammoth Lakes, California, 12-17 October, 1990
- NSF Graduate Fellowship Review Panel (1992 – 1993)
- National Research Council (National Academy of Science/Engineering)
- Committee on Technical Bases for Yucca Mountain Standards (1993 – 1995)
- Executive Committee, NSF-Funded Science & Technology Center on Sustainability of semiArid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA) (2000 – present)
- O.E. Meinzer Award Committee, Hydrogeology Division, Geological Society of America (2001 – 2003)
- Hydrology Award Committee, Hydrology Section, American Geophysical Union (2002 – 2004)
- Director, Cosmic-Ray Produced Nuclide Systematics on Earth Project (CRONUS-Earth Project), an NSF-funded research consortium involving 14 research universities and other research institutions in the U.S. and abroad (2005 – 2012)
- Associate Editor, Quaternary Geochronology (2006-2012)
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