Skip Links

USGS - science for a changing world

Open-File Report 2007–1291

Magnetotelluric Data, Southern San Luis Valley, Colorado

By Jackie M. Williams and Brian D. Rodriguez

Thumbnail of and link to report PDF (5 MB)Download Publication
Open-File Report
2007-1291 PDF (5 MB)
Introduction

The population of the San Luis Valley region is growing rapidly. The shallow unconfined and the deeper confined Santa Fe Group aquifer in the San Luis Basin is the main sources of municipal water for the region. Water shortfalls could have serious consequences. Future growth and land management in the region depend on accurate assessment and protection of the region’s ground-water resources. An important issue in managing the ground-water resources is a better understanding of the hydrogeology of the Santa Fe Group and the nature of the sedimentary deposits that fill the Rio Grande rift, which contain the principal ground-water aquifers.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting a series of multidisciplinary studies of the San Luis Basin located in southern Colorado. Detailed geologic mapping, high-resolution airborne magnetic surveys, gravity surveys, an electromagnetic survey, called magnetotellurics (MT), and hydrologic and lithologic data are being used to better understand the aquifer systems. The primary goal of the MT survey is to map changes in electrical resistivity with depth that are related to differences in rock type. These various rock types help control the properties of aquifers in the region. This report does not include any interpretation of the data. Its purpose is to release the MT data acquired at the 22 stations shown in figure 1.

Version 1.0

Posted November 2007


Suggested citation:

Williams, J.M. and Rodriguez, B.D., 2007, Magnetotelluric data, southern San Luis Valley, Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-1291, 208 p.



Contents

Introduction

Electrical Rock Properties

Magnetotelluric Method

Magnetotelluric Survey

Magnetotelluric Data

References



Part or all of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Acrobat Reader, free of charge or go to access.adobe.com for free tools that allow visually impaired users to read PDF files.

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America home page. FirstGov button U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/2007/1291/index.html
Questions or Assistance: Contact USGS
Last modified: Wednesday, 07-Dec-2016 20:25:38 EST