New Mexico Bureau of Geology Receives More than $3.6M in Grants to Fund New Instruments, Water Resource Projects, and Geologic Mapping

October 29, 2024


Bureau of Geology
NMBGMR staff collect water samples at Big Arsenic Spring, Taos County, NM. Photo by Paul Bauer

SOCORRO, N.M. (Date) — The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources (NMBGMR) at New Mexico Tech received more than $3.6M from state and federal government agencies to expand its research and services. The funds allow for the acquisition of a new electron microprobe, geologic mapping, groundwater monitoring, and water data application development.

“I’m very proud of the efforts by our staff to secure these awards,” said NMBGMR Director and State Geologist Dr. Michael Timmons. “This funding will support important research, enhance our analytical capabilities, and allow the Bureau to continue our impactful research throughout New Mexico and beyond.”

  •  The National Science Foundation’s Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program awarded NMBGMR almost $1.6M to purchase a cutting-edge electron microprobe that has many capabilities its current instrument lacks. This state-of-the-art replacement will enable researchers to conduct new types of analyses with greater speed and precision. This is the third MRI award New Mexico Tech has received in the last four years.

“We’ll be able to look at the physical appearance and chemical makeup of pretty much any solid matter at the nanometer scale,” said NMBGMR Geochemist-Microbeam Analyst Dr. Nels Iverson. “This will be an essential tool for analyzing geological samples, including critical minerals and rare earth elements as well as materials used in nanotechnologies.”

  •  NMBGMR received almost $880,000 from the Bureau of Land Management for a five-year multidisciplinary study of the surface water and groundwater along the Rio Grande in Taos County.

“For the past several decades, researchers from NMBGMR and elsewhere have worked to understand the hydrogeologic system of this area,” said NMBGMR Associate Director for Hydrogeology Programs Stacy Timmons. “Our new study will synthesize this previous work, along with published and unpublished datasets and reports, and will conduct new sampling and geochemical analyses.”

  • NMBGMR’s Geologic Mapping Program received just under $600,000 from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) STATEMAP program, which seeks to establish the geological framework for areas considered vital to individual states.

“This funding will support our long-term priorities for mapping: water resources, mineral and energy resources, and geologic hazards,” said Geologic Mapping Program Manager Dr. Matt Zimmerer. “Projects are selected based partially on the input of an advisory committee of New Mexicans from the state and federal government, academia, tribal partners, and the private sector.”

  • The New Mexico Office of the State Engineer Interstate Stream Commission awarded NMBGMR’s Aquifer Mapping Program a two-year contract for almost $300,000 to create the first 2D map defining and delineating the major and minor aquifers of New Mexico. This map will help private, public, industry, governmental, and regulatory stakeholders make informed decisions regarding the development and use of groundwater in the state.
  • NMBGMR’s Water Data Initiative (WDI) program received a cooperative grant for $188,000 from the Bureau of Reclamation to continue developing applications to share and manage water data in partnership with the Pecos Valley Artesian Conservancy District (PVACD). The next generation of three water and data management tools will be developed to improve access to water resources data for the Roswell Artesian Basin.

“A groundwater dashboard will provide a quick snapshot of current groundwater level trends, and a meter manager application will help maintain water meters and facilitate data communication between PVACD and the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer,” said WDI Manager Rachel Hobbs. “The third tool is the existing data-sharing infrastructure for the WDI.”

Two other grants will also support water resource projects in New Mexico.

  • An award of almost $75,000 from the Carrizozo Soil and Water Conservation District will launch a hydrogeologic study in the northern Tularosa Basin to develop an inventory of water resource data; analyze trends in water levels, water quality, and water use; and provide the results in a comprehensive database and summary report. The data collected will feed into a future 3D hydrogeologic model of the area.
  • An $18,000 grant from the USGS will fund data-sharing services and allow NMBGMR field staff to investigate and recommend new wells for the USGS National Groundwater Monitoring Network.

NMBGMR’s Chris Cox demonstrates the meter manager application to PVACD’s team. Photo by Rachel HobbsNMBGMR’s Chris Cox demonstrates the meter manager application to PVACD’s team.

Photo by Rachel  Hobbs