Website:
Specialization:
Thesis/Dissertation
Crustal extension and magmatism during the mid-Cenozoic ignimbrite flare-up in the Guazapares Mining District and Cerocahui basin regions, northern Sierra Madre Occidental, western Chihuahua, Mexico
Research Areas
Tectonics, Sedimentology, Volcanology
Advisor
Phil Gans
Bio:
Fellowships/Awards
UCSB Doctoral Scholar Fellowship, 2007/08
Research:
My research generally focuses on how tectonic processes influence the depositional record of sedimentary and volcanic rocks in ancient basins. My research is primarily field-based, combining detailed geologic mapping, sedimentology, stratigraphy, physical volcanology, and structural geology with a variety of laboratory techniques including provenance analyses, petrography, and geochronology.
My research areas include the northern Altiplano (Bolivia), the northern Sierra Madre Occidental (Chihuahua, Mexico), and the Calico Mountains (Mojave Desert, CA).
Publications:
- Murray, B.P., Busby, C.J., Ferrari, L., and Solari, L., 2010, Tectonic controls on late Oligocene volcanism in the Guazapares Mining District, northwestern Sierra Madre Occidental, Mexico: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 42, No. 5, p. 344.
- Murray, B.P., Horton, B.K., Matos, R., and Heizler, M.T., 2010, Oligocene-Miocene basin evolution in the northern Altiplano, Bolivia: Implications for evolution of the central Andean backthrust belt and high plateau: Geological Society of America Bulletin Vol. 122, No. 9/10, p. 1443-1462.
- Busby, C.J., Murray, B.P., and Ferrari, L., 2009, Tectonic controls on volcanic styles of a supervolcano field: the Temoris ˆ Cerocahui region of the Copper Canyon, northern Sierra Madre Occidental (Mexico): Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 41, No. 7, p. 56.
- Murray, B.P., Busby, C.J., and Sims, D.B., 2009, Tectonic setting of the ignimbrite flare-up and epithermal mineralization in the northern Sierra Madre Occidental (Mexico): preliminary evidence from the Guazapares Mining District, western Chihuahua: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 41, No. 5, p. 31.
- Murray, B.P., Busby, C.J., and Sims, D.B., 2009, Extensional setting of the Sierra Madre Occidental silicic large igneous province: Precursor to lithospheric rupture, NSF MARGINS Rupturing Continental Lithosphere: Synthesis and New Perspectives, Charleston, SC, April 30 ˆ May 3.
- Murray, B.P., and Horton, B.K., 2007, Sedimentology and provenance of the synorogenic Peñas and Aranjuez formations, central Andes, Bolivia: Implications for the timing of Eastern Cordillera denudation and initial basin development in the northern Altiplano: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 39, No. 6, p. 310.
- Murray, B.P., Horton, B.K., Gillis, R.J., and Matos, R., 2006, Sedimentology and timing of initial basin development in the northern Altiplano recorded by the synorogenic Peñas and Aranjuez Formations, central Andes, Bolivia: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 38, No. 7, p. 368.
Courses:
Earth 2: Physical Geology (Teaching Assistant), W10
Earth 2: Physical Geology (Teaching Associate), S11
Earth 4: Intro to Oceanography (Teaching Assistant), W08
Earth 7: Dinosaurs, (Teaching Assistant), S10/F10
Earth 30: History of Life (Teaching Assistant), W09/W11
Earth 102BL: Sedimentary Petrology Lab (Teaching Assistant), S09
Earth 104A: Field Methods in Geology (Teaching Assistant), F09
Earth 122L: Sedimentation and Stratigraphy (Teaching Assistant), S09