tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15449087442559221972024-03-14T01:35:01.652-07:00Aerial GeologistHead in the clouds, feet on the ground, an ever-rambling pilot rockhound.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-29220375295390888812015-04-08T12:18:00.001-07:002015-04-08T12:26:24.942-07:00Thawing Thalweg<span style="font-size: large;">Winter is finally turning to spring Minnesota, and things are melting! My neighborhood's major riverway, <a href="http://www.melchert.org/map.gif">Minnehaha Creek</a>, is starting to thaw. I had a day off the other week, so I decided to go for a walk around the creek, which is when I noticed something interesting - it's thawing in a very particular way that <a href="http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/brh010/research/fluvial_geomorphology.html">crazy river people</a> would notice and get a little too excited about. See if you can spot it:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">You might notice there is open water on either one bank or the other, which is correct - the ice seems to be melting along certain parts of the stream. This might not seem very significant, but it is! Like most things geological, the fun part is learning "why."</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Water flows down stream channels, which aren't often very straight [citation needed]. When the water reaches a meander or bend in the stream, physics steps, and a few important things begin to happen. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Firstly, as you can see from the above image, the bank on the outside of the bend is where the incoming water "collides" with the bank, resulting in erosion of the bend (rightfully called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cut_bank">cut bank</a>). As you could imagine, this would cause the outside bend to meander outward even more, creating a sharper bend, which would cause the water to erode the bank even greater, and so on. This is called a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positive_feedback">positive feedback loop</a>, in which A increases B, and B increases A, which goes on forever until something breaks. Once a bend begins in a river, it will grow until it becomes so big it eventually cuts itself off, usually leaving behind an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxbow_lake">oxbow lake</a> and other really cool landforms.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Birth and death of a meander bend, resulting in an oxbow lake</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Whoever said nobody crosses the same stream twice wasn't kidding</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Secondly, if you imagined the mass of water moving through the stream as a group of runners going around a track, in order for everyone to stay in a group, the person on the outside runs faster than the person on the inside of the turn, as they'd have to run a greater distance to keep up. For the stream, this means that the water flowing along the outside of the bend not only hits the bank more directly, but is also moving faster, which also increases erosion. In contrast, water moving around the inside of the bend slows down. A stream's ability to transport sediment is a result of how fast it is flowing, so the inside of a river bend is where a lot of the sediment is deposited (called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_bar">point bar</a>), making it shallow. If you're ever in Alaska panning for gold, this is where the flakes are. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In the end, the different velocities resulting in either deposition or erosion around a river bend means that the channel profile is lopsided. If you were to measure the depth of a river across the channel around a meander bend, it would look like this:</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4XiKjU673aLzz3_75ww56C8q4pUtelcWW50-4SReP5DOs2LVWDiJ7Ox37gGmtV9nNg6x5r9X-ss-WSG3kFQv6uHCNfPWgutcT8KDHZpjUZ_HeUqqyGV1QNtH05cJ1mx1MVQtF-Q_5phE/s1600/03_14_01.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4XiKjU673aLzz3_75ww56C8q4pUtelcWW50-4SReP5DOs2LVWDiJ7Ox37gGmtV9nNg6x5r9X-ss-WSG3kFQv6uHCNfPWgutcT8KDHZpjUZ_HeUqqyGV1QNtH05cJ1mx1MVQtF-Q_5phE/s1600/03_14_01.gif" height="384" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cross-section of a stream channel. Note the asymmetrical depth of the river.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The deepest part of the river is called the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thalweg">thalweg</a>, which is one of my favorite geo-words. It is due to focused erosion from increased stream velocity and the physics of fluids flowing around a bend. When rivers are used as political boundaries, the thalweg is often used to define that boundary. From the air, the thalweg would be drawn like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In fairly straight streams, the thalweg is near the middle of the channel, while in very bendy streams it alternates from one bank to the other. This above diagram (specifically the bendy example) is what came to mind when I saw the preferential melting of Minnehaha Creek - the thalweg of the creek is what is melting first. This makes sense, as the water there would be deeper and faster, and therefore more able to transport heat and melt and carry away the ice. In one of the photos, you can even see the thalweg switch banks from one bend to the other:</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">First ice melting in Minnehaha Creek is concentrated at the thalweg.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I think one of the reasons streams are always so cool is because, geologically speaking, they're very dynamic - that is, they change a lot, and in human lifetimes. They're also scale-able, so you can simulate how large rivers form by looking at small rivers, or even making your own in labs. My undergrad geology department had an Emriver, which is basically a large adjustable sandbox with hoses and dyed water.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This allowed us to create and destroy our own rivers, and see how changing things like slope and water velocity would reshape the stream. It was always very zen to watch. You can really see the concepts I describe above in action with the formation of cut banks and point bars in this time-lapse video.</span><br />
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<br />Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-18389434954650867512015-03-30T10:24:00.000-07:002015-03-30T10:24:36.362-07:00Flight over the Driftless(?) AreaBeing an enthusiast for both the earth sciences and aviation sciences, I always try to book my flights with a window seat, preferably behind the wing. That way, between watching the ground and the clouds, I get to watch all the flaps and ailerons working on the wing. I never get bored.<br />
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On a flight to Philadelphia the other week, I took a few interesting shots of the Mississippi River on the leg from Minneapolis to Chicago. Since it's such a short flight between the two, it didn't seem like we got too high before we had to start making our way down. Getting the chance to take some photos of this area was extra meaningful for me, as it's in the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driftless_Area">Driftless Area</a>, which is where I first learned to be a geologist and a pilot.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Just out of Minneapolis airspace, eastbound, before we turned southeast. I wanted to get a shot of the Moon above the frozen </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Pepin" style="font-size: medium;">Lake Pepin</a><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></td></tr>
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The formation of Lake Pepin is one of my favorite geology "stories". If you look on a <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/place/Lake+Pepin/@44.4023582,-91.9905419,11z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x87f84b0e2aa0471b:0x5389ecd4b069320">map</a>, the Mississippi River gets very narrow on the downstream side of the lake. This is due to the smaller, sediment-rich Chippewa River flowing into the Mississippi and dropping its sediment, causing a delta. This creates a natural dam, which then backs up the Mississippi River upsteam. This has two interesting effects on the local waterflow.<br />
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First, since the water backs up upstream, the river both widens (Lake Pepin) and the velocity drops (<a href="http://www.fsl.orst.edu/geowater/FX3/help/8_Hydraulic_Reference/Continuity_Equation.htm">Q=VA</a>, A increases, so V decreases). This creates a large, gently flowing area for boaters, which there are plenty of. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_City,_Minnesota">Lake City</a> is said to be the birthplace of water skiing. Due to the larger body of water, which also flows slower, the lake also remains frozen longer into the spring than the adjacent sections of the river, which has historically affected river boat traffic to the Twin Cities from more southern ports. The city of Reads Landing is so name because this is as far as ferries could go, and would have to land there, then take land routes the rest of the way north.<br />
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Secondly, the bottle-necking of the river from the delta causes the stream to narrow and flow faster (again, Q=VA, now the A decreases, increasing the V). This means that the section of the Mississippi River through the delta, in contrast to Lake Pepin, <i>never</i> freezes. This creates the perfect place for bald eagles to hunt for fish in the middle of winter. There are a number of spots along the river to stop and watch some eagles (link <a href="http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/birds/eagles/winter_wabasha.html">here</a>). Thanks to places like these and efforts by groups like the <a href="http://www.nationaleaglecenter.org/">National Eagle Center</a>, the eagle population in this area has grown quite a bit, and has helped bring bald eagles off the threatened species list. I took this route along the river between Minneapolis and Winona countless times as an undergrad, and got to see firsthand the population of eagles in this area slowly increase.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL87EGRH5f53lKNfS4ZQq6VdOQTMCvVn-puyRIi5FPiTdqtZ9aiu8tFyBZK6phuuE9i4DmJ-lDpp1FBu-js7dpckyd-g-PbYfjQ4nDxaK5BNvGgWCWKdk-pHDwtQSTH0HRV3xBgB-FW8A/s1600/B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL87EGRH5f53lKNfS4ZQq6VdOQTMCvVn-puyRIi5FPiTdqtZ9aiu8tFyBZK6phuuE9i4DmJ-lDpp1FBu-js7dpckyd-g-PbYfjQ4nDxaK5BNvGgWCWKdk-pHDwtQSTH0HRV3xBgB-FW8A/s1600/B.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A frozen section of the Mississippi River, southeast of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Note the deeply incised tributary valleys along the river valley.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDCpgfoDjw9kY6J6lJt2X3kdkI5JhMjyj1ktk9_D5RFCOrPb5FflQpBAHQS5VyDnowRV1Tnzw6N9T5mBNce78ZxmC0dteFDmZcfqoAnoI2HFC0JH29aqmsXUO9YTinLrzIhvwfmwTzKnY/s1600/C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDCpgfoDjw9kY6J6lJt2X3kdkI5JhMjyj1ktk9_D5RFCOrPb5FflQpBAHQS5VyDnowRV1Tnzw6N9T5mBNce78ZxmC0dteFDmZcfqoAnoI2HFC0JH29aqmsXUO9YTinLrzIhvwfmwTzKnY/s1600/C.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">North of a frozen Lake Pepin, looking south. The Mississippi River widens here due to the channel becoming constricted from an influx of sediment from the Chippewa River forming a delta bottleneck (on the left of the photo). Since the water backs up and slows down, it also stays frozen longer into the spring, delaying riverboat traffic into the Twin Cities above this point.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoA5BRkKKbrFuHIr9jK5sf6dtlll4LFuhmzUtxGVevWHAq76zQ6dV1TTgbNkG2xlBfLQMm_sc8TE_EbOUnb4bGjgKLN2Bs6rkGUEMnG-7nlA0YYVAYDvdQUva-q-Y0iqR5DBDxlyrYDE/s1600/D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHoA5BRkKKbrFuHIr9jK5sf6dtlll4LFuhmzUtxGVevWHAq76zQ6dV1TTgbNkG2xlBfLQMm_sc8TE_EbOUnb4bGjgKLN2Bs6rkGUEMnG-7nlA0YYVAYDvdQUva-q-Y0iqR5DBDxlyrYDE/s1600/D.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Flying over western Wisconsin. The incised stream valleys all retained a bit of snow despite the recent warmer weather. So much for being "driftless"(!). </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU4YQnviN3-eg4ERnXbjFLYz-QODZLAjcD8i2gzxJTuIqHVIOWZSCI_u_W832cVeSrX7yARAAX2fvwwDH6jOXi7enAQOcOf601ponKIthdfXFd5T6wQWWFyqPDVcnPdE0XxOa5XvJVNDM/s1600/E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU4YQnviN3-eg4ERnXbjFLYz-QODZLAjcD8i2gzxJTuIqHVIOWZSCI_u_W832cVeSrX7yARAAX2fvwwDH6jOXi7enAQOcOf601ponKIthdfXFd5T6wQWWFyqPDVcnPdE0XxOa5XvJVNDM/s1600/E.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I zoomed in a bit on one of the rivers below because of all the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxbow_lake" style="font-size: medium;">oxbows</a><span style="font-size: small;">. Everybody likes seeing oxbows from the air.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxIQVdfnVR3ZEmLoNmstfoLeGX-trITayF4Z4kNIs26vRx_-D-C0Kccuw1vDdJ-obIDm6Vfm1aLAdSXPQuDgtsIe6FGPWJCD5OI6LsE5kaQxNkjK62_QL4Hiwb60_AoefNA95Vkp6tuM/s1600/F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjxIQVdfnVR3ZEmLoNmstfoLeGX-trITayF4Z4kNIs26vRx_-D-C0Kccuw1vDdJ-obIDm6Vfm1aLAdSXPQuDgtsIe6FGPWJCD5OI6LsE5kaQxNkjK62_QL4Hiwb60_AoefNA95Vkp6tuM/s1600/F.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">As we made a turn towards Chicago, the Mississippi River started to fall away from us, and I realized I wasn't going to get a chance to take a photo of my old stomping grounds near Winona, which is just out of view along the river.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlFTn9LdVjT13vPLMZAJl_tGcNT1ryZT-stuUa9EGa1vjjmdmPI_JfNB-qvsgoTQFuFq9-Qxa4URZhwlrcKIniaWjLrAWa-TEf_pl2iwSFnataAA_RwRB-qxW5k9aCI6OWQl5U0gXS3c/s1600/377367_10100118326230539_221099989_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlFTn9LdVjT13vPLMZAJl_tGcNT1ryZT-stuUa9EGa1vjjmdmPI_JfNB-qvsgoTQFuFq9-Qxa4URZhwlrcKIniaWjLrAWa-TEf_pl2iwSFnataAA_RwRB-qxW5k9aCI6OWQl5U0gXS3c/s1600/377367_10100118326230539_221099989_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">In contrast/continuation of the above photo, here is one I shot of Winona while flying in to visit during the summer. Also, a bit lower than an airliner!</span></td></tr>
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<br />Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-77473566023717302802013-10-30T12:03:00.001-07:002013-10-30T12:03:09.404-07:00Accretionary Wedge 61 - What do I do as a sourcewater protection hydrologist?This month's Accretionary Wedge #61 topic, hosted by <a href="http://www.geomika.com/blog/">GeoMika</a>, is asking <a href="http://www.geomika.com/blog/2013/10/01/61-october-2013-what-do-you-do/">what exactly everyone does in the real world as a geoscientist</a>. When students ask, "what can I do with this degree?", it's difficult to answer, because there are so many ways to be a geoscientist. For this month's post, we're answering that question with "well, you can do a lot of things - but this is what I do". So, I will tell you about what I do as a sourcewater protection hydrologist.<br />
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Specifically, I work for the State of Minnesota, tasked with protecting potable groundwater throughout the state. This is my first "real" career job out of school, so everything I've done is a new experience - especially figuring out which aspects of my education I actually use and which I don't. I'll point them out as I go. I have a basic undergraduate geology degree (obtained while in Minnesota), and a master's degree focusing on karst hydrology and GIS (from down in Missouri).<br />
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To summarize, my hydrological duties consist mostly of officework with a minor component of fieldwork. I will focus on the officework for this post.<br />
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My main ongoing task is performing and writing groundwater protection reports for the many small cities throughout the state. Each city that has a municipal drinking water system gets one of these reports every few years (to account for changing conditions or updated information) describing the flow of groundwater towards their wells. By knowing where the groundwater is flowing from, an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wellhead_protection_area">area on the land surface</a> can be drawn to protect the water they drink, called the wellhead protection area. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoA_b1OOBOKdrYZlfsYDaTzKLz1ezBJet1S3uCuPJfnIXoLEhr4y0jA46a_sAxXbXBB4rhhdisYHbJaUTG7aJ4mPcRZJE46DLfb9al2cDrmI50fNCCR4pGYV2Z-d7addE8FkKGchrMq8/s1600/AG_WHPA.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="449" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoA_b1OOBOKdrYZlfsYDaTzKLz1ezBJet1S3uCuPJfnIXoLEhr4y0jA46a_sAxXbXBB4rhhdisYHbJaUTG7aJ4mPcRZJE46DLfb9al2cDrmI50fNCCR4pGYV2Z-d7addE8FkKGchrMq8/s640/AG_WHPA.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Illustration of a Wellhead Protection Area, showing where on the land surface recharges groundwater for a well.</span></td></tr>
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This is accomplished through groundwater modeling. There are many types of methods and software to do this. As the saying goes in science, "all models are wrong, but some are more useful than others". To run these models, I need varying amounts of the following information: pumping rates of wells, aquifer properties (thickness, material, flow boundaries) and hydrologic properties (conductivity, water levels, flow gradient). In other words, data mining to start with followed by looking at all the important data to describe the local hydrology and geology. Luckily, our state has an extensive <a href="http://mdh-agua.health.state.mn.us/cwi/cwiViewer.htm">well GIS database</a>, with each well providing important information, such as water level and stratigraphy from driller's logs.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIyZgwkvn1CuZle2RkuDPIheDo00kwhxZ_i4HLTS_2Doi11DPwSXe0n3rHguee6SI1-IHdL3dJOzRjs6c4fL_byWz49MfumFpHUaiQW_ov7XwlWe6UGe3Q1vWwk1DWLm0p055cNZzdOiQ/s1600/AG_MN_CWI.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIyZgwkvn1CuZle2RkuDPIheDo00kwhxZ_i4HLTS_2Doi11DPwSXe0n3rHguee6SI1-IHdL3dJOzRjs6c4fL_byWz49MfumFpHUaiQW_ov7XwlWe6UGe3Q1vWwk1DWLm0p055cNZzdOiQ/s640/AG_MN_CWI.jpg" width="506" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">There are over 260,000 wells in Minnesota's County Well Index, each with much useful information, such as aquifer type. No shortage of data here for the GIS-savvy.</span></td></tr>
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One of the early steps is producing a basic groundwater flow field near the area I'm studying . Almost every geology student will perform something similar to this in a lab - usually hand contouring water levels on paper. The same principles apply here - groundwater flows from high to low water level elevations and perpendicular to the contours. A rough version of this can be created in ArcMap by selecting the nearby same-aquifer wells and then using the geostatistical tools on the recorded water levels. This requires a basic understanding of hydrology and handiness with ArcMap (definition queries, geostatistical tools, editing).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8C8ONiRNXX2LbIXGeqWewK6A-2RHmfCFnYaZyKwRMQVDjzZNDkPy36x9X69iBRvA9eKhLVunVc9xF0NFszGP6uBuJIxLcs0TZZ3mD-BRXSLaW1wlHzZx84RBMBUc90FBLr0F-rkIpe50/s1600/AG_contouring.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="414" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8C8ONiRNXX2LbIXGeqWewK6A-2RHmfCFnYaZyKwRMQVDjzZNDkPy36x9X69iBRvA9eKhLVunVc9xF0NFszGP6uBuJIxLcs0TZZ3mD-BRXSLaW1wlHzZx84RBMBUc90FBLr0F-rkIpe50/s640/AG_contouring.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Local groundwater flow field produced from contouring well water elevations using geostatistical tools in ArcMap.</span></td></tr>
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My favorite part of this process is describing the local geology through cross-sections from well logs and published materials. There is always plenty of information to start with - chances are good that either the well driller or the city already know what kind of aquifer they are drawing from (glacial sands, igneous bedrock, sedimentary bedrock, etc.), so I know which maps to refer to. One or two cross-sections are planned to best describe the subsurface.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhiHQNegM2JHKhU77naES34MWk714DFYnyxNeuXHci04h5kbQU_N0NVNn2qCy5cwuVnJR2v7eAzcRywYMEbhuquTmZgvJWZnYg7EK2FLZFxGFGgJ818tw8XlDi7s4pMElSBt70kblG6w/s1600/AG_bedrock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrhiHQNegM2JHKhU77naES34MWk714DFYnyxNeuXHci04h5kbQU_N0NVNn2qCy5cwuVnJR2v7eAzcRywYMEbhuquTmZgvJWZnYg7EK2FLZFxGFGgJ818tw8XlDi7s4pMElSBt70kblG6w/s640/AG_bedrock.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Shaded bedrock map with cross-sections A and B. The line A-A' represents the cross-section below.</span></td></tr>
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There is a lot of room for interpretation here, as well logs contain the information recorded while drilling the well, and drillers sometimes have their own unique vocabulary and varying attention to detail (from the supremely uninformative "rock" to redundant "clayey-clay"). It's also where you get to be artistic. A crude cross-section can be made from the well logs alone, but is better refined by then referring to any published geologic maps or shapefiles. Everything but the drawn geologic units below is quickly created using the GIS tools and well data available to us (the vertical lines are driller's logs with colors representing different units or rock/sediment types. It even puts in the elevation lines and topography - it's almost too easy!). <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4frPoKCt76DXQ9Tl1Ll3PcUIEwnBvCaFrwWHWkW8eTw3dqXC6e71ew95kpkHM7gTzYfwXEd4-8DqCFaJtBzXfNArxAdZXY9zhSMDzNm58TB7cmcvbdm08H3pVcPu6tJvvL4LfANmTmYo/s1600/AG_Xsection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4frPoKCt76DXQ9Tl1Ll3PcUIEwnBvCaFrwWHWkW8eTw3dqXC6e71ew95kpkHM7gTzYfwXEd4-8DqCFaJtBzXfNArxAdZXY9zhSMDzNm58TB7cmcvbdm08H3pVcPu6tJvvL4LfANmTmYo/s1600/AG_Xsection.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A geologic cross-section drawn from driller's logs. The
aquifer used in this region is the combined dolostone (blue) and
sandstone (yellow) units. Not the irregular bedrock topography due to
glaciation and pre-glacial stream valleys.</span></td></tr>
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By combining the flow field with the cross-sections, I get a basic understanding of the local hydrogeology. For this site, the wells draw from both of the dolostone units (light and dark blue) and the sandstone (yellow). Both units are buried under nearly 200 feet of Quaternary glacial sediment (which includes lots of clay), so the aquifer is well protected from rapid surface recharge - a good thing. I always like seeing the buried valleys in the bedrock - remnants of the last Ice Age. This requires handiness with ArcMap (again), basic stratigraphic principles, and some artistic and interpretive license (there is no standard to how these are made - some hydrologists settle for crude, choppy, black-and-white affairs. I take pride in my color schemes).<br />
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The fact that the well above draws from two types of sedimentary bedrock; a dolostone and a sandstone, is important, as groundwater flows differently in these different rock types. Water flows between the sand grains in the sandstone unit, while water flows through fractures in the dolostone. Both bedrock types require different modeling techniques, so more than one model is run for the well to account for this.<br />
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After identifying aquifer thickness, type, hydraulic conductivity (from pumping tests, or calculated in other ways), and pumping rates from wells, I can insert this information into one of many different groundwater modeling programs. These programs attempt to emulate the local flow conditions by incorporating the regional groundwater flow lines with gradients produced from pumping wells (like how a black hole warps gravity, drawing nearby things toward them).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15HfRQYJ_EuFsjymn3a1uPjM_GK3MfZYrzDiZo-3f_CftDrmFaOk4v0SXV2gnWHrQYRG6UeZjUBp_sYdSDWn2hulYw6f-S0k3jhAXuonvyqA5akWONKnovl0i6NSbJzmevDsmce6MHps/s1600/AG_model1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi15HfRQYJ_EuFsjymn3a1uPjM_GK3MfZYrzDiZo-3f_CftDrmFaOk4v0SXV2gnWHrQYRG6UeZjUBp_sYdSDWn2hulYw6f-S0k3jhAXuonvyqA5akWONKnovl0i6NSbJzmevDsmce6MHps/s640/AG_model1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A groundwater flow field model incorporating pumping information from nearby wells. Note how the wells warp the regional flow lines.</span></td></tr>
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From there, I just specify which well I want to draw some flow pathlines to, and the travel time (say, 15 years). This will work backwards to show the extent of particle lines feeding that well for that amount of time (everything in that area will reach the well in 15 years). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepyiin4jOa7CxqEWrBkzURXn3_PDv9I9aLalF5ZgiULpWUqfuDFq-_DGr2t0rQ3hHqlAWMUmE64xzffH2_9yxxqbRH15xeT1lev8NYebFKftD0ZqYSHad-UnmQ8q0c2tPmI8Hg5VYioE/s1600/AG_model2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiepyiin4jOa7CxqEWrBkzURXn3_PDv9I9aLalF5ZgiULpWUqfuDFq-_DGr2t0rQ3hHqlAWMUmE64xzffH2_9yxxqbRH15xeT1lev8NYebFKftD0ZqYSHad-UnmQ8q0c2tPmI8Hg5VYioE/s640/AG_model2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Simple model of particle lines (purple) flowing to a well for a given time. Groundwater flow is from bottom left to top right.</span></td></tr>
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The better I understand the local geology and hydrology, the better the resulting model. I had no real background in groundwater modeling before starting here, but most of these programs are easy to learn, though difficult to master. A willingness to learn is the basic requirement for this part of my job, although some knowledge of numerical hydrology will go a long way. The end result from this modeling is the Wellhead Protection Area (see
illustration towards the top of the post) which is converted into a
Drinking Water Source Management Area (see below, made by enclosing the Wellhead Protection Area in with notable surface features, such as roads or political boundaries). This information is available to the public, and you can even look up the groundwater protection area for your city <a href="http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/water/swp/swa/swainfo/default.cfm">here</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcA52-RNeTsOW8Vveo5pSMG4SvCBbwWy46Rt2pW5rm7pFNWHS6maHy4rLkh2bJw3xzrPaislCiuECcdpp-Rl9zPQlIdAmzJqWOGcVzgaKuBnFiLv8FHYn5gyUZ6EV3_z9upbjozqkU0Q/s1600/mound_dwsma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNcA52-RNeTsOW8Vveo5pSMG4SvCBbwWy46Rt2pW5rm7pFNWHS6maHy4rLkh2bJw3xzrPaislCiuECcdpp-Rl9zPQlIdAmzJqWOGcVzgaKuBnFiLv8FHYn5gyUZ6EV3_z9upbjozqkU0Q/s640/mound_dwsma.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Drinking Water Supply Management Area for Mound, Minnesota. The aquifer is deemed Not Vulnerable based on water chemistry and geologic information.</span></td></tr>
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In order to do what I do on a daily basis, I regularly rely on what I learned in hydrology, structural geology, stratigraphy, and GIS courses; some fairly basic coursework. Each of these reports is like a mini research project, so having performed an undergraduate project and a master's thesis is important. But aside from those points, I there was one class which have especially helped me be better at my job, while not being necessary to doing it.<br />
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<span style="color: #f3f3f3;"><b>One of the most useful geology classes I ever took was one of my first</b>.</span> It was called Minnesota's Rocks and Waters - a geology class for non-majors. I took it along with the Introductory to Geology class, just as a filler. It was one of those large classes that people took to get a science credit. It was a fairly in-depth look at all of Minnesota's unique geological regions, and what got me inspired to pursue geology as a career.<br />
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Despite being a low level class, it laid down a foundation which allowed me to have a head start on all of the geology trips I would go on throughout the state. It woke me up to the world of geology by making it local - to learn about why there are igneous and metamorphic rocks here, or why there are sandstones and limestones there, and why there are rolling hills of glacial clay and sand throughout most of the state - information I still use today. Whenever I start a new groundwater protection report in another part of the state, I get to remember what I learned in that first class years ago, and why I fell in love with geology. It didn't introduce me to any advanced geologic topics, but it was informative, and I get to use that information daily, which makes it useful. I always keep the text from that class nearby.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-92211174502985657432013-06-30T19:43:00.000-07:002014-02-20T08:47:29.868-08:00Missing Record<div style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgneQGkpS0YE_qdpsO8Mmxt12H5kZ58lSYw_SJrCYaqhuB99HNnSixse6UKeisyUhWPtjcj3Cxc2fq2Opmc_Ho2aYzUu_PIY0ArkVSpx_GMz1cfdxgfjsktacRIoesu1HbCWtzNgpcXgZ4/s1600/Mn_strat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="alight: right; clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgneQGkpS0YE_qdpsO8Mmxt12H5kZ58lSYw_SJrCYaqhuB99HNnSixse6UKeisyUhWPtjcj3Cxc2fq2Opmc_Ho2aYzUu_PIY0ArkVSpx_GMz1cfdxgfjsktacRIoesu1HbCWtzNgpcXgZ4/s1600/Mn_strat.jpg" /></a>
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Once in a while, I run across some super useful geological figure or diagram. I ran across this little gem while perusing through a report on the Paleozoic rocks of Minnesota.<br />
Now, I have strat columns of the Minnesota hanging around, but this isn't a traditional strat column (it's much cooler, oh yes). It shows a number of things which a regular strat column doesn't.<br />
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A strat column will show the names, vertical positions/thicknesses, and symbology of each geologic unit. So does this diagram. Where they are differing, though, is that the vertical axis on a strat column is "thickness" while the vertical axis on this diagram is "time".<br />
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The first fun thing to point out is that they don't mean the same thing. These are all sedimentary rocks, yes, which take time to deposit, I know, so thicker rock units obviously took more time to form, right? Well, not exactly. One rock unit which formed from rapid deposition over a short period of time may end up being the same thickness as one that formed from slow deposition over a long time. Geology is tricky like that sometimes.<br />
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A convenient example of that last point is seen by comparing the Jordan Sandstone and Oneota Dolomite (at the Cambrian/Ordovician boundary). They're almost the same thickness in many places (the Jordan is slightly thinner at about 100 feet, compared to the Oneota's 125-150 feet). But in terms of time of deposition (based on the diagram) the Jordan Sandstone formed more rapidly; only about a million years, compared to the Oneota's five million years. Just doing basic math (forgive me for oversimplifying sedimentation), that means the deposition rates are something like:<br />
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Jordan Sandstone - 70-100 feet per million years<br />
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Oneota Dolomite - 25-30 feet per million years<br />
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Getting to the basics of what these rock types are, this relationship makes perfect sense to me. The Oneota is a carbonate rock formed from marine organisms in gentle, shallow, offshore environments (like the Caribbean). Deposition would be slow, but fairly constant. Carbonates need some pretty hospitable conditions to form, so rates are easily affected if the right conditions aren't met. As for the Jordan Sandstone, formed by the deposition of sand in a near-shore environment (like a beach) by sediment grains being washed in from the highlands, the conditions don't need to be friendly. In fact, the Jordan Sandstone tends to have some fairly thick and pronounced cross-bedding, indicating some large tidal events or storms. Although deposition would not be constant, when it happened, it would be in fairly large bursts.<br />
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The second thing I like to notice is how much of time has no rock record (the gaps between rock units). These represent periods of time in which either 1) deposition and rock formation didn't occur, or 2) deposition and rock formation occurred but was then eroded away. This happens when sea level drops and the rocks are exposed to weathering and erosion.<br />
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Another thing which finally made a lot of sense upon seeing this diagram (which I wish I could have seen in Sedimentology/Stratigraphy class) were the Cratonic Sequences (or Sloss Sequences) on the right side of the diagram (the Sauk, Tippecanoe, etc), about episodes of deposition and erosion of the Paleozoic rock units in North America. My professor would just show us <a href="http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Publications/Bulletins/169/Sloss/gifs/fig2.gif">this</a> eye-sore of a diagram and go "get it?" and we'd go "no". But when I saw this diagram, I saw (because of the vertical axis being time) the "groups" of sedimentary rock units separated by the gaps with no rock record:<br />
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1. The seas rise, flooding the continent. The first units to form are formed from eroding the basement rock, making them clastic and sandy (the <a href="http://aerialgeologist.blogspot.com/2013/02/old-rocks-cold-rocks-mid-winter-outcrop.html">Mt. Simon</a> (which I've talked about)/Honckley/Fon du Lac Sandstones). Seas rise, shoreline progresses inland, water gets deeper, and then the shaley units form (Eau Claire/Franconia/St. Lawrence Formations). More sea level rise, and finally you get the carbonates (Oneota Dolomite/Shakopee Formation). This is a typical <a href="http://www.ocean.odu.edu/~spars001/geology_112/laboratory/session_04/transgression.jpg">transgressive sequence</a>, something you learn as a first year geology student. More specifically, this is the Sauk Sequence in Minnesota.<br />
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2. The seas recede and expose the previously deposited rocks to erosion. These can be short-lived recessions (like between the Oneota Dolomite and Jordan Sandstone) or large (between Sloss Sequences).<br />
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3. The seas advance again; first forming the clastic rocks (St. Peter Sandstone) then grading upward through the shaley units (Glenwood Shale, Decorah Shale) and into the carbonates (separately indicated on the diagram, but overall referred to as the Galena Group). This is the Tippecanoe Sequence.<br />
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4. Seas recede again for a while, and when they advance again, deposit the Kaskaskia Sequence (which only occurs in a small part of southern Minnesota, so I've never seen it in any well logs yet).<br />
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All these sea advances and recessions occurred in Minnesota in what is called the Hollandale Embayment - a depression which allowed the sea to advance "upward" into the otherwise highland of the area. Since Minnesota was fairly high above sea level at the time, only the largest sea advances "reached" us, making the Paleozoic rocks here generally thin and representing short periods of time. This is opposed to, say, Missouri, which was closer to the edge of the continent and therefore developed a much thicker and more complete sequence of sedimentary rocks (while Minnesota's sed-rocks end in the Devonian, Missouri has another 70 million years worth of rock on top spanning through the Mississippian and Pennsylvanian periods, including the 4th Sloss Sequence, the Absaroka Sequence, which is absent in Minnesota). The strat columns of these two states therefore share equivalent rock units at some places; sometimes with the same name (St. Peter Sandstone, Glenwood Shale), sometimes with different names but stratigraphically the same (Mt. Simon Sandstone in MN = Lamotte Sandstone in MO). But Missouri contains many sedimentary rocks that have no Minnesota equivalent, since sea level advances reached Missouri much easier, and stayed longer. <br />
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The last thing I wanted to talk about which related to what I do for work is in regards to the gap between the Oneota Dolomite and Shakopee Formation. For almost all purposes, these two units are usually just grouped together into what is called the Prairie du Chien Group - both because they look so similar in well logs, but also because there's "usually" no sense dividing them as they tend to behave as one hydrogeologic unit. But we have observed an exception - during that gap between the units, the Oneota Dolomite was exposed to the land surface, resulting in karst formation, which was then advanced over to form the Shakopee Formation. When we've looked at this boundary in downhole camera video and depth-specific sampling, we can see this paleokarst boundary as small caverns and sand. This boundary acts as a groundwater conduit which we've seen increased water flow and even different water chemistry.</div>
Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-19917428086387360962013-05-02T17:51:00.003-07:002013-05-03T13:23:10.714-07:00Cancun Trip - Cenote SnorkelingMy family recently went on a trip to Mexico – more specifically, Cancun, in the Yucatan peninsula.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVGWe5N2cjvvGMkNf0jElAh9P22YkkxvJU6dcoVQpvft6LBpCbbBG1g6Wju7lyQHafCH9IHR5bNvw4JdDe2H1UsmaTvuv350V0FJIrpeWQ_KEHEtmrmZDk9thJdesvqJ4cZQ7NzvR-c4/s1600/cancun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="470" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVGWe5N2cjvvGMkNf0jElAh9P22YkkxvJU6dcoVQpvft6LBpCbbBG1g6Wju7lyQHafCH9IHR5bNvw4JdDe2H1UsmaTvuv350V0FJIrpeWQ_KEHEtmrmZDk9thJdesvqJ4cZQ7NzvR-c4/s640/cancun.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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We went back to a resort we had gone to two years ago for my brother’s wedding, and had liked it so much, we decided to go back. Although I enjoy the whole sun and relaxation thing, ever since I discovered the world of geology (pun!), every new place I visit I appreciate the “place” as much as the “vacation” (Oh god, I sound like a geographer…).<br />
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Trips to tropical seas are always interesting for geologists, especially those that ever studied limestone (limeston forms in shallow tropical seas). I went to graduate school at Missouri State, and my research focused on local rocks, which was basically…<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkq1XebeWUJvp82gI7UslWUdwTelSVpN-dFKPKPnZxgi8N2OsORMNBVHcFAVpDnMu41MM0v4TZlwkacdAaipj20nrBTNWLc0Qna3CI8JfXIB993fIywfbHQNLnrJRurbihXIa4XIW7nw/s1600/limestone_everywhere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdkq1XebeWUJvp82gI7UslWUdwTelSVpN-dFKPKPnZxgi8N2OsORMNBVHcFAVpDnMu41MM0v4TZlwkacdAaipj20nrBTNWLc0Qna3CI8JfXIB993fIywfbHQNLnrJRurbihXIa4XIW7nw/s320/limestone_everywhere.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Missouri geology</td></tr>
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Limestone is the dominant rock type around where we stayed in Mexico. The difference between the limestone in Mexico and the limestone I’ve usually looked at is the age:<br />
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Cancun limestone – 2-24 million years old (after the dinosaurs, mammals/humans evolving)<br />
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Missouri limestone (Burlington Limestone) – 350 million years old (pre-dinosaurs, ocean life dominant)<br />
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Minnesota limestone (Prairie du Chien Group) – 480 milion years old (first fish evolving, trilobites everywhere)<br />
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Geologically, the limestone around Cancun is very young. The environment in which the limestone formed is not much different than the local environment there now. This is not the case for Missouri and Minnesota, which are (unfortunately) no longer home to shallow tropical seas. It’s always fun to connect the locations together geologically, separated by time; Missouri and Minnesota used to look like Cancun, and someday Cancun may be hundreds of feet above sea level with hobbit-like Midwest weather (which I got to escape from for a week).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAVDCwn8KYicDGLgdfhEz3ImzGcIloFVWHdO16rxedMd0KhnrWG6o17hgbHuP6lSIR2QOblHbr801XfOvRGbXgO5x7Ml3X18PG60jVFPnr1WYmcsnN6LAYEk90gb6D9uLWekB2yOZ6HJw/s1600/second_winter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAVDCwn8KYicDGLgdfhEz3ImzGcIloFVWHdO16rxedMd0KhnrWG6o17hgbHuP6lSIR2QOblHbr801XfOvRGbXgO5x7Ml3X18PG60jVFPnr1WYmcsnN6LAYEk90gb6D9uLWekB2yOZ6HJw/s320/second_winter.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What about Maysies? Thundersnow? June frost?</td></tr>
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Although we could have contentedly never ventured out of our all-inclusive resort, some of us wanted to go exploring. Our options were to check out the Mayan ruins of Tulum, or do some snorkeling. The snorkeling involved two parts – in the ocean, and in some caves. I was sold on the cave snorkeling. Besides, I figured I could come back and see the Mayan ruins some other day, unless the world ends in 2012 (awkward).<br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cenote">Cenotes</a> are collapse sinkholes which are filled with groundwater. Sinkholes typically come in two flavors: 1) “Slump” sinkholes, or soil depressions formed from soil being siphoned into an underground passageway (think of the dimple that forms in the sand of an hourglass), or 2) “Collapse” sinkholes, an open hole that forms as the roof of a near-surface cave suddenly collapses (this is the type that's been in the news a lot lately, attacking people while they sleep). Since the cave can form deep underground and slowly grow closer towards the surface, when it does finally collapse, it will suddenly reveal a large open cavern. Often, these caverns are connected to other caves or cenotes through smaller passageways. Knowing this, you can’t help but look at all the solid rock around you and realize it’s all basically Swiss cheeserock.<br />
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After snorkeling with some turtles in the ocean, we headed to the cenotes, involving a little walk through the jungle. One thing our tour guide talked about which I really liked was that of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motmot">motmot bird</a>, named for its distinct call. While walking on a trail to one of the cenotes, we saw a motmot flying between the trees ahead of us. These birds are known to specifically hang around cenotes. When the Maya would travel through the jungle, they could listen for the motmot’s call to guide them to a source of water.<br />
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The cenote first appears to be a small pond randomly in the middle of the jungle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2m6US96No21kBWEp8YuT7jYX63K-toyQGvMtWaNRuTyrzIpzGi2PjIfgUa_nxQvJkQ4YjEo0Fx81JN8oK822romoH-qHlKB05yh-nwpK3mfim9js8cLsRw6683ovZYjhPwXa5WBAyI0/s1600/001+(13).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm2m6US96No21kBWEp8YuT7jYX63K-toyQGvMtWaNRuTyrzIpzGi2PjIfgUa_nxQvJkQ4YjEo0Fx81JN8oK822romoH-qHlKB05yh-nwpK3mfim9js8cLsRw6683ovZYjhPwXa5WBAyI0/s640/001+(13).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">First glimpse of the cenote from the trail</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7X3UxmuFM9nssasXOufbXZIf3M6DCBDWFGzsQiuyaKlCbjivZBfWmnv0ihtHaLsHJzLybrWejddrJc88ho-TXIGQ_38lfkp1dhboZT-1S6MRacma-O6NhHTsLU0njZH1657pjQ3IM10/s1600/001+(65).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG7X3UxmuFM9nssasXOufbXZIf3M6DCBDWFGzsQiuyaKlCbjivZBfWmnv0ihtHaLsHJzLybrWejddrJc88ho-TXIGQ_38lfkp1dhboZT-1S6MRacma-O6NhHTsLU0njZH1657pjQ3IM10/s640/001+(65).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A view of a cave passage near the edge of the cenote</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5uX0DX4F4WwH9r59LgqTNCktJGzka3I20nPkqJd6ussmI4fQeKf8gwg2V5wHNMJizGsfnEiLQUXOQHJ0n6-q4uGpZvrci3yf5Nx4FA2wr3ECTpWznl7mbugpuiCjQ0ZUwtzfoUWYoYQ/s1600/GOPR0058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP5uX0DX4F4WwH9r59LgqTNCktJGzka3I20nPkqJd6ussmI4fQeKf8gwg2V5wHNMJizGsfnEiLQUXOQHJ0n6-q4uGpZvrci3yf5Nx4FA2wr3ECTpWznl7mbugpuiCjQ0ZUwtzfoUWYoYQ/s640/GOPR0058.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A view from within the cenote</span></td></tr>
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Once we got into the water (which was MUCH colder than the ocean), we began to explore, and on one side of the pond, went into a cave system. Although we were very close to the ocean, the water here is freshwater, although in some places you can get the freshwater mixing with saltwater. We also encountered a few scuba divers while we were snorkeling around - there was plenty of cave passage for them to go into.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6aZ996SLOw0H4D8846f_xgK4gqSQY7310azunfxKG14BHaErg1BrPC45UrwDhv_sM85a7A9LkJ6ermkY_UxRy3OeJqHN56SJ-n3bltqXGVQWZrhHwDkz2B3Dpv3W0D6lE5sfWbix6SwA/s1600/001+(64).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6aZ996SLOw0H4D8846f_xgK4gqSQY7310azunfxKG14BHaErg1BrPC45UrwDhv_sM85a7A9LkJ6ermkY_UxRy3OeJqHN56SJ-n3bltqXGVQWZrhHwDkz2B3Dpv3W0D6lE5sfWbix6SwA/s640/001+(64).JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">First look into the cave passage. The water is much deeper than it looks</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TVwdZZTpsSFD3TEHLLCx-U-Aab15y939-NvhBRTmslNJ2L0DHEqDdFHFluu9PKAxMLbNQda6L8ywzaOrVZ8PLk-8voXHhssUm1HWvTlXNfJyKWsEZcOQaRCHKNNHzwu8WiMOvmjiyiE/s1600/GOPR0090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8TVwdZZTpsSFD3TEHLLCx-U-Aab15y939-NvhBRTmslNJ2L0DHEqDdFHFluu9PKAxMLbNQda6L8ywzaOrVZ8PLk-8voXHhssUm1HWvTlXNfJyKWsEZcOQaRCHKNNHzwu8WiMOvmjiyiE/s640/GOPR0090.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Underwater shot in the cenote cave</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Diving to the bottom</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlGs_CyFXmikNR6mI7ONfojv8kwPVOZ-xaUbPfcMhJ7VAnw3kQtub4kmO1UfD7TLS3GfUVFMdItrznZnmqdJUXrC1v5EUDzrvrMmeDAiCexR9bI-hWhStH8nc5aWB7oDUQFduyu7hWhA/s1600/GOPR0086.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVlGs_CyFXmikNR6mI7ONfojv8kwPVOZ-xaUbPfcMhJ7VAnw3kQtub4kmO1UfD7TLS3GfUVFMdItrznZnmqdJUXrC1v5EUDzrvrMmeDAiCexR9bI-hWhStH8nc5aWB7oDUQFduyu7hWhA/s640/GOPR0086.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Exploring the edge - I couldn't see where the cave went</span></td></tr>
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We also encountered this tree…well, the roots of it, actually…while in one of the cave passages. At first I thought they were some kind of strange speleothem, but getting closer we saw they were tree roots. Each root came down through the cave ceiling in what looked to be a perfectly sized hole for each root. I had known that roots can pry rocks apart, but these didn’t always look that way. We were told by the tour guide that the roots release a type of enzyme which dissolves the limestone away. By doing this, the roots can grow downward and reach a source of water.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC22WUQ32se_mKJ-F2AMKycq4wmopO1bAJx8HmaHdua-HmV4XcRgYmXcUJufG3uDWp5asS8wn8I6XuamC_taLkktI0cJGKHrWrxAHUJRC6YBvaCDxPRIeUVvlx74xflRoXMbVqi8E4q1I/s1600/112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC22WUQ32se_mKJ-F2AMKycq4wmopO1bAJx8HmaHdua-HmV4XcRgYmXcUJufG3uDWp5asS8wn8I6XuamC_taLkktI0cJGKHrWrxAHUJRC6YBvaCDxPRIeUVvlx74xflRoXMbVqi8E4q1I/s640/112.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Within a dry section of one cenote. Note the tree roots growing from the cave ceiling to the floor.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYRZweSAMSFQWXJZz2NjsMkE2d19vAGKOOHmkcZzdTT641YEmS9oneCwOKVJHaBMkT04eaQ_rfCLebdJTQtaHWgfwMNFAOda0IWxvXIzzym_hWZhgTaTXzs1IHgMQD8n3FEHhf4tm7EN0/s1600/A1+%252825%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYRZweSAMSFQWXJZz2NjsMkE2d19vAGKOOHmkcZzdTT641YEmS9oneCwOKVJHaBMkT04eaQ_rfCLebdJTQtaHWgfwMNFAOda0IWxvXIzzym_hWZhgTaTXzs1IHgMQD8n3FEHhf4tm7EN0/s640/A1+%252825%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Roots growing down from the cave ceiling into the water</span></td></tr>
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Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-87132966453695777892013-02-17T22:15:00.001-08:002013-07-09T08:12:13.942-07:00Old Rocks, Cold Rocks: Mid-winter Outcrop of the Mt. Simon Sandstone A good friend of mine has been working on a research project to better define the stratigraphy of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_Elm_Disturbance">Rock Elm Crater</a> in west-central Wisconsin, a crater the result of an Ordovician-aged meteor impact. A characteristic of meteor impacts is a "rebound" of the underlying material, forming a central peak.<br />
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<img src="http://www.asu.cas.cz/~jklokocn/www_impakty/0_MAIN_WWW/obrazky/impact_britannica.gif" /><br />
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Due to extensive erosion that has occurred in the Upper-midwest since the Ordovician (especially recent glaciation), these features are topographically obscurred. Recently, though, a sandstone unit was found where the central peak would have been. Due to the suspected age of the impact, and the <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-HiK7wikcHpJd1Vy7RvACtJ09K3o-sMjjV87F__M1oFUYX_Xkd_ZXPEyD-HANTJLEQuzZig1yxH0d2LRc4QGCyGHGtIbgs0ZLPlNhni31HnSt-_fTc_635Zm1Ei3_G3IM1xIec1ooCzk/s1600/minnesota_bedrock.JPG">local stratigraphy</a>, it's likely the central peak is composed of the Cambrian <a href="http://igs.indiana.edu/compendium/comp0i04.cfm">Mt. Simon Sandstone</a>, a medium- to coarse-grained, poorly to moderately sorted, pebbly, white-to-gray, quartz sandstone, which tends to be cross-bedded towards the top. <br />
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My friend was then tasked with comparing this sandstone in the crater to exposures of the Mt. Simon Sandstone elsewhere. Being the basal sedimentary unit throughout the Midwest, buried under hundreds of feet of sedimetary rocks, glacial sediment, or both, outcrops are limited. With the help of a road guide, though, we took a day to go explore some outcrop in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, near the rock unit's northern extent (The Mt. Simon Sandstone is named after <a href="http://www.eauclaire-info.com/outdoor-recreation/city-parks/mount-simon-park.html">a hill</a> in Eau Claire, Wisconsin).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpeDwR_bKOL8T9W1SL0hNaww1jKI8IUsRuwDDnH7bmUykyKjqdcZMwCoSPN32oP331_gJbweqdjxsEJWptpu3wT1ctiWpjR6fAIHzuXR2_fQIqoT9J7copT52komBfqI-Cwg5yjKf086I/s1600/mtsimon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpeDwR_bKOL8T9W1SL0hNaww1jKI8IUsRuwDDnH7bmUykyKjqdcZMwCoSPN32oP331_gJbweqdjxsEJWptpu3wT1ctiWpjR6fAIHzuXR2_fQIqoT9J7copT52komBfqI-Cwg5yjKf086I/s640/mtsimon.jpg" width="486" /></a></div>
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I jumped at the opportunity to see a rock unit which I'd never seen in outcrop before, although I've come across it many times in other ways. During my early undergrad geology years, I had learned about the Mt. Simon being an important local aquifer, since it's the lowest stratigraphic sedimentary unit around. I also learned that its recharge area is around Eau Claire, Wisconsin (right next to Chippewa Falls), which makes sense considering it outcrops around there. I started working as a hydrologist for the state a few months ago, and I've already had to model groundwater flow through the Mt. Simon, so I've seen it before...in well records, usually a few hundred feet down. Most of my work has been along its north-western edge (in south-central Minnesota), the edge of the Hollandale Embayment, which the Minnesota DNR recently finished a <a href="http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/publications/waters/south_central_mn_gw_monitoring.pdf">report</a> on to better define the western edge.<br />
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I've seen the Mt. Simon's stratigraphic equivalent during graduate school in Missouri - the <a href="http://mo.water.usgs.gov/projects/mining/images/crosssect.gif">Lamotte Sandstone</a>. The Lamotte outcrops around the St. Francois Mountains (which I've described in <a href="http://aerialgeologist.blogspot.com/2012/02/st-francois-mountains-trip-missouri.html">a previous post</a>). Around Springfield, where I went to school, it was fairly deep (I don't recall the exact depth, but must have been close to 2000 feet below surface). It's not used as an aquifer in that area - it's too deep to be practical, so there are aquifers above it to use, and it tends to be saline. A few friends of mine did their graduate research on an ongoing study to use the Lamotte Sandstone as a carbon sequestration reservoir. <br />
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This trip took us to <a href="http://www.enjoyeauclaire.com/irvine-park.html">Irvine Park</a>, where the Mt. Simon Sandstone is exposed along the banks of Duncan Creek. The outcrops were surprisingly easy to access, being just off of the footpath that crosses the creek. We did have to trudge through some snow, but it is February, and this is Wisconsin.<br />
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The first thing we did was ignore the signs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gasp!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the name of science!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Crossing the half-frozen Duncan Creek.</span></td></tr>
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The most noticeable feature of the sandstone, even from a distance, was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-bedding">cross-bedding</a>. Cross-beds are structures formed from sediments being deposited at an incline; either underwater from ripples and wave action, or on dry land as dunes. A group of inclined layers is called a "set". This is one of those few cases in geology where the apparent tilting of beds isn't the result of the beds being deformed - they were deposited at that angle. The boundary between the sets is nearly horizontal. The sets here ranged from a few inches to a few feet thick. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMU3uj8dWjfS7oqVz7bXhzu-cUmHVr-1uTgjeKazvRQaU605LxjZI9qe_cFNt2JAB1MkS5QUVfJ4AvbbUxJr8vdPLoEI688CcLjSaHDfQz0TdoUAjapGKyTFLsN7TncNCI0YavqDyb5ms/s1600/DSC03148.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMU3uj8dWjfS7oqVz7bXhzu-cUmHVr-1uTgjeKazvRQaU605LxjZI9qe_cFNt2JAB1MkS5QUVfJ4AvbbUxJr8vdPLoEI688CcLjSaHDfQz0TdoUAjapGKyTFLsN7TncNCI0YavqDyb5ms/s640/DSC03148.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Diligent note-taking.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjKX0YuwETDSl5vRMSwqgyk4dG8O-n_jnKf4-r1_lCUVcBzDZIvtmvmlm1PrBygJKLvG3aXFA7TgoB6UbHZlD6F-_JR7Adn1sb6mPjU6CFySjXdTMBqUso0NdvWnLjkIIbPYUfj0FA_FI/s1600/grainflowAnimation.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><br />
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</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYqPIRDUVjojl40llQehgaPy6fZB6R5GJ0MUDeFL9OyFtNisFQBOySic-isbVXJIyBLkesrqWfFFmKHrbUytBKYUzai_X-6EY8s-18eLDlPCQMhhqALcf4daRrupJRQc8QHOIrW9dRHI/s1600/DSC03133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkYqPIRDUVjojl40llQehgaPy6fZB6R5GJ0MUDeFL9OyFtNisFQBOySic-isbVXJIyBLkesrqWfFFmKHrbUytBKYUzai_X-6EY8s-18eLDlPCQMhhqALcf4daRrupJRQc8QHOIrW9dRHI/s640/DSC03133.JPG" width="456" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Examining a cross-bed set in the Mt. Simon Sandstone. The direction of flow for the bottom set is to the right (southeast).</span></td></tr>
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Cross-bedding is useful because it gives an indication of both the direction and intensity of flow when the sand was deposited. This all translates to an understanding of the environment in which it formed.<br />
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Up close the cross-beds alternated white to orange and were about 1 centimeter thick.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhG276dkzuv8UI6g1e8HbCi8WJpszTlz19FiFJqGFFKHsFDz9YER-6oz_zzv-CjCVKZBanNN5aA1E44kXRdWNmv_IN4O-w5dnjyy0nl6MNyJGP479jBF9tKp8Qly959Af9IHqU2Idvhw/s1600/DSC03116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGhG276dkzuv8UI6g1e8HbCi8WJpszTlz19FiFJqGFFKHsFDz9YER-6oz_zzv-CjCVKZBanNN5aA1E44kXRdWNmv_IN4O-w5dnjyy0nl6MNyJGP479jBF9tKp8Qly959Af9IHqU2Idvhw/s640/DSC03116.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cross-bedding in the Mt. Simon Sandstone. Hand indicates the orientation of the set.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Same as above, but hand now indicating the orientation of the cross-strata within the set.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbouqcXKw1JvUM56v_uvOt42n_iE3HSp8bleQTmwPx2hAi_YFuaDc5-n9mTfJNVLu0gLodTpY0MtszQEsB3L6OfqgMMX5G1KfPzmdRXxnLF_iQ34etsL-nn7mPIqvm2aCKKcYE5aOU_5s/s1600/DSC03136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbouqcXKw1JvUM56v_uvOt42n_iE3HSp8bleQTmwPx2hAi_YFuaDc5-n9mTfJNVLu0gLodTpY0MtszQEsB3L6OfqgMMX5G1KfPzmdRXxnLF_iQ34etsL-nn7mPIqvm2aCKKcYE5aOU_5s/s640/DSC03136.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pointing out orientation of the sets and the cross-strata. Almost all of the cross-sets indicate flow direction was to the right.</span></td></tr>
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My friend noticed that the orange layers tended to be coarser than the lighter layers. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QqTbLUvYob4dZUXNMKYTl6MhP0EbkXCMOuUKHtQV9s6GAL1y159NxRfkjFaR7ayMINyIT8TWM6vrcNK3J9ZyF8_JQXVwmrYObM7c632bV88RjH67XMmHRkfLiTmG8eeZeO7zd9Wmadw/s1600/DSC03118.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QqTbLUvYob4dZUXNMKYTl6MhP0EbkXCMOuUKHtQV9s6GAL1y159NxRfkjFaR7ayMINyIT8TWM6vrcNK3J9ZyF8_JQXVwmrYObM7c632bV88RjH67XMmHRkfLiTmG8eeZeO7zd9Wmadw/s1600/DSC03118.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div align="left">
<span style="font-size: small;">Alternating finer-grained/white and coarser-grained/orange layers within the Mt. Simon Sandstone.</span></div>
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</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgdKznV9kDM3rlHOuYw_GYYzk74aAFjYz4GvXzxZ20IokfIDW_PB9NYSEN5pWrchxIiLjzsDweJQ-NdwYjbiERu-2hHz1saE5p43DbcmE5eou6947xr__sIvoCc3dTKBlqbWgkLTIlgg/s1600/DSC03140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivgdKznV9kDM3rlHOuYw_GYYzk74aAFjYz4GvXzxZ20IokfIDW_PB9NYSEN5pWrchxIiLjzsDweJQ-NdwYjbiERu-2hHz1saE5p43DbcmE5eou6947xr__sIvoCc3dTKBlqbWgkLTIlgg/s640/DSC03140.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">When one set deposits over another, it truncates the bottom set's cross-strata, forming a discrete horizontal contact which highlights the cross-strata.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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As we went along we came across an area where the grain sizes became more divided between either fine or coarse grained. The fine grained sand appeared lighter, while the coarse grains were darker and mixed.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZivvEaTiyr-X6xLiNVjpx53nWEK3p3zKv6MS0StCGikpDBER3zCOoSCgir09nACRUYkozzF8pnqsefkOxPqYFd6tRj1YJiOhWUsT6dXXjKnthg-ymcBSyn_lY0nJa3s_3UhrhnoFHJB8/s1600/DSC03155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZivvEaTiyr-X6xLiNVjpx53nWEK3p3zKv6MS0StCGikpDBER3zCOoSCgir09nACRUYkozzF8pnqsefkOxPqYFd6tRj1YJiOhWUsT6dXXjKnthg-ymcBSyn_lY0nJa3s_3UhrhnoFHJB8/s640/DSC03155.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Contact in the Mt. Simon Sandstone between fine-grained layer (top) and a coarse/pebbly layer (bottom).</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2cgs9CiO6_GMvezXMQ0TRSHGwl4g3hI5QeY7UXzx92uRb1Q3um_zE-zUf1WWMUDdCMuKnUEEeXRGxiuOJBf87B_eAGZR4hgSTZQT7aBkL6oQHVPu9N_Gx4KpwzbnytK8S8NtM_dR3Y0/s1600/DSC03137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig2cgs9CiO6_GMvezXMQ0TRSHGwl4g3hI5QeY7UXzx92uRb1Q3um_zE-zUf1WWMUDdCMuKnUEEeXRGxiuOJBf87B_eAGZR4hgSTZQT7aBkL6oQHVPu9N_Gx4KpwzbnytK8S8NtM_dR3Y0/s640/DSC03137.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Wavey bedding in the Mt. Simon Sandstone. Some layers were fine-grained, while thers were pebbly. Cross-bedding was less obvious.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtRzYXTEKJojMRtE7LfFltmn-vNuZ9NFAKUo5JCaNS6UJJ0dnL4QAKUCdZDelByZ5ylR7RY-gGjGtGvVceWeN6epOcfRKpDebPvmjwDuDQJPdXBoLO72_CKx5cngxb6q-KbEczPCq9_4/s1600/DSC03119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTtRzYXTEKJojMRtE7LfFltmn-vNuZ9NFAKUo5JCaNS6UJJ0dnL4QAKUCdZDelByZ5ylR7RY-gGjGtGvVceWeN6epOcfRKpDebPvmjwDuDQJPdXBoLO72_CKx5cngxb6q-KbEczPCq9_4/s640/DSC03119.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pebbles stuck out on the weathered surfaces.</span></td></tr>
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This location provided a pretty good way to check out some textural variation in the Mt. Simon, and provided some great examples of cross-bedding. The literature description of this rock unit matched what we saw - a fine- to pebbly, cross-bedded sandstone. These tended to look fairly similar to some exposures of the Lamotte Sandstone I remember seeing in Missouri. Hopefully this provides some useful information for determining the stratigraphy in the Rock Elm Crater.<br />
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We also saw a frozen waterfall!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRPar5RXl7DxM5mtgSNMjeGHiCBrNZMFR6H8tVIFEmCY1RTAXtEQ3j0ZmMIOvWoVeRNqMUpHX8g3agOAqPzTtikBJt9gN0mw8OYub1fJhyphenhyphenFE5eB0xM18CzYWCeqSnXUGI_nWBvG0_Bv3A/s1600/DSC03145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRPar5RXl7DxM5mtgSNMjeGHiCBrNZMFR6H8tVIFEmCY1RTAXtEQ3j0ZmMIOvWoVeRNqMUpHX8g3agOAqPzTtikBJt9gN0mw8OYub1fJhyphenhyphenFE5eB0xM18CzYWCeqSnXUGI_nWBvG0_Bv3A/s640/DSC03145.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-47270513671530357862012-09-03T00:03:00.004-07:002012-09-03T00:03:42.430-07:00Accretionary Wedge #49: Optical Mineralogy in Space!Time for another Accretionary Wedge, this month hosted by <a href="http://freethoughtblogs.com/entequilaesverdad/2012/08/14/call-for-posts-accretionary-wedge-49-out-of-this-world/#comments" target="_blank">En Tequila es Verdad</a>, the topic being Out of This World - extraterrestrial geology. For this post I'm looking back to my undergraduate optical mineralogy/petrology and planetary geology classes, when we had the unique treat of participating in NASA's <a href="http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/Education/thinsections.cfm" target="_blank">Lunar and Meteorite Petrographic Thin Section Program</a>. This allowed us to examine thin-sections and small samples of space rocks, ranging from meteorites collected on Earth (mostly from Antarctica) to Moon rocks and regolith brought back from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_program" target="_blank">Apollo Program</a>. With the recent passing of astronaut Neil Armstrong, I thought this would be a relevant subject. As a pilot I also have a thing for the whole NASA/Space Travel thing. But for even longer than I've been a geologist and pilot I've been a space nerd, so pardon while I nerd out. The following specimen pictures were taken by myself and fellow classmates.<br />
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As most of you probably know (but some might not), you can learn a lot about a rock by gluing it to a piece of glass and polishing it down very thin until it is transparent (a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thin_section" target="_blank">thin-section</a>). I recall botching a few of these... <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQTnxmnYoaOHYBYL6igUs0oXK_sL33AYhE9gxGcvo60ucxM_IaL5_vDnt0J_7-Whg9weQ4SJLh3hzlEI6VKDCotvCv6qjP8Pud9MvvzrLI3kwZiRNDhi7cFaNf38d_EBzGrHmCj9Qj1s/s1600/flying_billets.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkQTnxmnYoaOHYBYL6igUs0oXK_sL33AYhE9gxGcvo60ucxM_IaL5_vDnt0J_7-Whg9weQ4SJLh3hzlEI6VKDCotvCv6qjP8Pud9MvvzrLI3kwZiRNDhi7cFaNf38d_EBzGrHmCj9Qj1s/s400/flying_billets.jpg" title="KA-POW!!" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the grinding machines tended to throw the small block of rock being sectioned (the billet) across the lab...</span></td></tr>
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I couldn't imagine the pressure on whoever was preparing the Lunar Samples! Once they're in thin-section, you take a look at them through a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrographic_microscope" target="_blank">petro-scope</a>, a fancy microscope with special filters for distinguishing minerals by their optical properties.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2C8hoSsPTABJuSx2_IP8rceLdIH_1LfphdVLJMFyqg5CA6mHg-wLtebwnQ7AObEk6IeN0PUf8mcJvYZLAYrkgqz-9zOVyymHwn9NkDcvhXkcBFiuwzmoNkOkp3mh3B2KA-CUzz9IVN4/s1600/Petro_scope2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi2C8hoSsPTABJuSx2_IP8rceLdIH_1LfphdVLJMFyqg5CA6mHg-wLtebwnQ7AObEk6IeN0PUf8mcJvYZLAYrkgqz-9zOVyymHwn9NkDcvhXkcBFiuwzmoNkOkp3mh3B2KA-CUzz9IVN4/s640/Petro_scope2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Petro-scope and colored pencils - the tools of the optical mineralogy student.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_RjxnDcVnfK4OMu7HOgbrlKyGjcoWjJUxZk_Oku9eZfq2dS-fWHQCRYgaTSiw80-D74ZbcYYNolmbTF_GuLQBL3AwtZ7Sa3RM9qnO5F5yAV-L_uRbMlEYfaVuyJZSu8HJ-sphk0bpkU/s1600/petro_scope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI_RjxnDcVnfK4OMu7HOgbrlKyGjcoWjJUxZk_Oku9eZfq2dS-fWHQCRYgaTSiw80-D74ZbcYYNolmbTF_GuLQBL3AwtZ7Sa3RM9qnO5F5yAV-L_uRbMlEYfaVuyJZSu8HJ-sphk0bpkU/s640/petro_scope.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">On the high-magnification lens it is possible to accidentally focusing "into" and break the thin-section, so the NASA samples were prepared on extra-thick glass.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Now, to the good stuff!<br />
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<u>Meteorite Samples</u><br />
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The kit came with some hand samples of meteorites for us to look at to learn about the different meteorite types. The range usually has to do with the iron and carbon content.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3fU1C5AgedQcGB2vkGIDXI-oC64Dx2eSu1E4iPvtezbreCq6atBltyrGFH4cBRCRKBARCyfpedsCYHyWOijTtbVhogrbT-q9fL00qEsnKZGboieU1tf40JO4a-9ubuisNAiTa35xQMM/s1600/Meteorite_varieties.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht3fU1C5AgedQcGB2vkGIDXI-oC64Dx2eSu1E4iPvtezbreCq6atBltyrGFH4cBRCRKBARCyfpedsCYHyWOijTtbVhogrbT-q9fL00qEsnKZGboieU1tf40JO4a-9ubuisNAiTa35xQMM/s640/Meteorite_varieties.jpg" title="NASA meteorite kit" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some meteorite varieties in the NASA educational kit.</span></td></tr>
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One of the samples was of the highly prized high-iron variety showing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widmanst%C3%A4tten_pattern" target="_blank">Widmanstätten patterns</a>, the result of large iron crystals growing in the parent body which the meteorite originated from. It takes millions of years of cooling to grow iron crystals this size. We just had fun trying to pronounce it (vit-min-shtot-in?)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLcDq_82JtU4c4SYUn5YOrkYc6er3NSGVRXqH307UiVVZ0dPGrRWQ1mGR5Uy76vFuZQfVqM0DyHnmjcTVRWpb5qWbQYc3_IvK-LM_CTouO8Gt0JazSw6MxNLUUyeOi3gcaqfthQFq5yw/s1600/Iron_meteorite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoLcDq_82JtU4c4SYUn5YOrkYc6er3NSGVRXqH307UiVVZ0dPGrRWQ1mGR5Uy76vFuZQfVqM0DyHnmjcTVRWpb5qWbQYc3_IvK-LM_CTouO8Gt0JazSw6MxNLUUyeOi3gcaqfthQFq5yw/s640/Iron_meteorite.jpg" width="424" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Iron meteorite with </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Widmanst%C3%A4tten_pattern" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Widmanstätten patterns</span></a><span style="font-size: small;">.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Also high in iron, but also high in olivine crystals, was the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pallasite" target="_blank">pallasite meteorite</a>. While the iron meteorites above are thought to have cooled in the iron core of a small sort-of planets early in the history of the solar system which then broke apart, these pallasite meteorites represent the boundary between the iron core and the olivine-rich mantle of that planet. This is my favorite meteorite type.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgarBW42oQWFUBp8OS_MroCu-PKRbTHvjEhi5xO_GNTRF2pppIDeOAMiIefV9oT3E7uwwvaF-18D3NIqAfbImaXBYxkVJ0H1cutktFfwQXw8Tz3NxPTXfZaUNXxEOw7ijXY0wC3bsQwqDU/s1600/Pallasite_meteorite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgarBW42oQWFUBp8OS_MroCu-PKRbTHvjEhi5xO_GNTRF2pppIDeOAMiIefV9oT3E7uwwvaF-18D3NIqAfbImaXBYxkVJ0H1cutktFfwQXw8Tz3NxPTXfZaUNXxEOw7ijXY0wC3bsQwqDU/s640/Pallasite_meteorite.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pallisite metoerite sample containing iron (silver and red) and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olivine" target="_blank">olivine</a> crystals (green). This formed near the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Core%E2%80%93mantle_boundary" target="_blank">boundary</a> between the iron core and olivine mantle of a small planet early in the solar system's history which then broke apart. Which then fell to Earth. And someone found it, and then it made it's way to our classroom. Quite a journey.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Ok, I lied. The next meteorite is probably my favorite. It was a very small sample but it continually blew everybody's mind:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUpCJvxczuJyG5AfoOopJudHeAondYoFunhfaei7gmmlNUB2sxJOTHTWe5Hkt4fnEzI8kJ1pNwlZdEbZOp_axWsTKU9p-u8mX80AKsitbY2AR9VJ5B2zw2GJ7VkWl1hm0Tx8qw24G1Wo/s1600/Shergottite_meteorite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnUpCJvxczuJyG5AfoOopJudHeAondYoFunhfaei7gmmlNUB2sxJOTHTWe5Hkt4fnEzI8kJ1pNwlZdEbZOp_axWsTKU9p-u8mX80AKsitbY2AR9VJ5B2zw2GJ7VkWl1hm0Tx8qw24G1Wo/s640/Shergottite_meteorite.jpg" title="Shergottite meteorite....!!!" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">This inconspicuous rock is a </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_meteorite" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Shergottite meteorite</span></a><span style="font-size: small;">, aka a Martian Meteorite. No, this was not brought back from some sample mission to Mars. It was found in Libya in 1998. These rocks from the Red Planet make it to Earth by asteroids impacting Mars and ejecting rocks into space, which eventually makes it to Earth. I knowwwww!</span></td></tr>
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As for the scopes, I spent most of this time looking at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chondrule" target="_blank">chondrules</a>. These are spheres in the meteorites from molten droplets which cooled in space during the early formation of the solar system. Just looking at little crystals which formed when the Earth did ~4.5 billion years ago, no big deal. Since they haven't changed much since their formation, these are the samples which geologists use to <a href="http://www4.nau.edu/meteorite/Meteorite/Book-Chondrules.html" target="_blank">understand</a> the age and chemistry of the early Earth.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHujSWxiSgdKO4LVdEz6ptRuOw754HnxC4vLfZEYIFsOV682HpD0f86DCJEGxIDHd5kXtUvhyzHFL7oHijbSaNYxbcB2KXqgct4vopsYx2jiyNWrsvlRb_kXBzZr5fafQugWacn5yDkos/s1600/Regular_and_shocked_chondrite_xpl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHujSWxiSgdKO4LVdEz6ptRuOw754HnxC4vLfZEYIFsOV682HpD0f86DCJEGxIDHd5kXtUvhyzHFL7oHijbSaNYxbcB2KXqgct4vopsYx2jiyNWrsvlRb_kXBzZr5fafQugWacn5yDkos/s640/Regular_and_shocked_chondrite_xpl.jpg" title="Pyroxene chondrules; in-tact and shattered" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Meteorite thin-section, showing two chondrules of radial <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyroxene" target="_blank">pyroxene</a>; the left chondrule is still in tact, while the bottom chondrule has shattered. XPL, 2mm across.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It was apparent to us that the meteorites were mafic in composition; quartz was not present in any samples. This was an important thing to bring up, since having felsic rocks containing quartz is unique in the solar system, and requires the geologic refining process of plate tectonics. Another interesting thing was seeing how minerals which formed in low pressure and zero gravity look.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhpaOiywwODATzlw03UYm5H_3Fn4RggGdKGz7Mky6jT9gbt3O2sn1odM1TuFGlBJlYYDDNHH8y7syjwAH7UObFwTAnWBKcbQafLk83x0wV0lBaIp1Orf09j9aY17k5mK5Ipx9pBDlx5A/s1600/Barred_olivine_meteorite_xpl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghhpaOiywwODATzlw03UYm5H_3Fn4RggGdKGz7Mky6jT9gbt3O2sn1odM1TuFGlBJlYYDDNHH8y7syjwAH7UObFwTAnWBKcbQafLk83x0wV0lBaIp1Orf09j9aY17k5mK5Ipx9pBDlx5A/s640/Barred_olivine_meteorite_xpl.jpg" title="Barred olivine chondrule" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Meteorite thin-section with a chondrule containing barred olivine; the yellow and red bunches which intersect at a right angle. Terrestrial olivine crystals are usually more <a href="http://serc.carleton.edu/images/NAGTWorkshops/petrology/olivine.jpg" target="_blank">amorphous</a>. XPL, 2 mm across.</span></td></tr>
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One interesting topic of planetary geology is the presence or absence of liquid water. We generally thought of liquid water as being unique to earth, so this next thin-section came as a bit of a surprise to all of us:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKJ-KIeRnAliujIvI5R4zekIYmzJ-b4JVIE2VNDPdNqV3mmeHXPMBP9iSyOzWxina_jjCxGd__6h3ciKRVsWGzcMaRvhn4kSq39Uxwh0kDqgkBhh86b0e5pDmmGjsuVT4v1n5nws03Cw/s1600/Serpentine_PPL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFKJ-KIeRnAliujIvI5R4zekIYmzJ-b4JVIE2VNDPdNqV3mmeHXPMBP9iSyOzWxina_jjCxGd__6h3ciKRVsWGzcMaRvhn4kSq39Uxwh0kDqgkBhh86b0e5pDmmGjsuVT4v1n5nws03Cw/s640/Serpentine_PPL.jpg" title="Serpentine in a carbonaceous chondrite meteorite" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Meteorite cross-section; the mineral grain in the cross-hair is <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serpentine_group" target="_blank">serpentine</a>, a mineral which forms from the reaction of mafic minerals with water. Liquid water must have then been present in space to form this serpentine. The dark matrix is due to the high carbon content, making this a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbonaceous_chondrite" target="_blank">carbonaceous chondrite</a>. PPL, 2 mm across.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJk-7LoN72glao-UJ3Fhyphenhyphen-ySJu0ydRDCpfQ5YDOlOJuNB8MZeXWX8DPKsBzt3EWnlsIVO1O88giCIKwEGM-M_Sq1TCEFsPDDkdalKlS3OynqzKfIWj9OhyphenhyphenMLAPZT3BWsuovbn2bqIT1EU/s1600/Twinned_chondrule.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJk-7LoN72glao-UJ3Fhyphenhyphen-ySJu0ydRDCpfQ5YDOlOJuNB8MZeXWX8DPKsBzt3EWnlsIVO1O88giCIKwEGM-M_Sq1TCEFsPDDkdalKlS3OynqzKfIWj9OhyphenhyphenMLAPZT3BWsuovbn2bqIT1EU/s640/Twinned_chondrule.jpg" title="Twinned chondrule" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some chondrules were twinned, such as this one, containing two seperate optically continuous grains of olivine.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUh242y5JypgKJLrlYUbpnFK6glbeHZWyNCLQ3RgHtepE8uuuZOZbIa5fTgHfIfELCnq_74fQk3F2CGRA02O_Yq1dL17Tqgjj_xs9xNV8iWd0G4Sde3NHleSiiWV_9fw89yEJS6g24ewQ/s1600/Relic_chondrule.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUh242y5JypgKJLrlYUbpnFK6glbeHZWyNCLQ3RgHtepE8uuuZOZbIa5fTgHfIfELCnq_74fQk3F2CGRA02O_Yq1dL17Tqgjj_xs9xNV8iWd0G4Sde3NHleSiiWV_9fw89yEJS6g24ewQ/s1600/Relic_chondrule.jpg" title="Relic chondrule" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">An example of a relic chondrule - the original chondrule has overprinted by recrystallization, so it is not really visible in PPL (top), but can be seen in XPL (bottom).</span></td></tr>
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<u>Lunar Samples</u><br />
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These were samples of Lunar <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regolith" target="_blank">regolith</a>, the fine-grained sandy material on the surface of the moon (Moon dust). This regolith forms from the constant bombardment of meteorites on the Moon's surface combined with a bit of strange volcanism. The mineral grails were usually large enough to identify. For anyone who has done some sand petrology, you'll probably notice how extremely angular these grains are (as explained in this clip from the "Moon Hoax" episode of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTYCz4ft8yw" target="_blank">Mythbusters).</a><br />
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The first set of samples were mare soil collected from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_17" target="_blank">Apollo 17</a> on December 11, 1972, landing at Taurus-Littrow. This was the last Apollo mission to visit the Moon, and also the only mission to have an astronaut who had a PhD in geology and didn't serve in the armed forces, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrison_Schmitt" target="_blank">Harrison "Jack" Schmitt</a>. I saw Jack Schmitt present at the National GSA Meeting in Denver in 2010 - it was strange hearing someone describe Moon craters from "having stood in one".<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfeCQJZSSG-2FXva5r31T659ymkbIEB0LLixw_FsQvLVhvHJZ45sldtxzmEwohJwDvhoSAfikOKDjYEOWXPEarhkq8t3CFeUf6717TK-lhtslcRKyR_U2ymJQ5pXWWnFJsv_5tMr8JIs/s1600/Apollo_17_site.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglfeCQJZSSG-2FXva5r31T659ymkbIEB0LLixw_FsQvLVhvHJZ45sldtxzmEwohJwDvhoSAfikOKDjYEOWXPEarhkq8t3CFeUf6717TK-lhtslcRKyR_U2ymJQ5pXWWnFJsv_5tMr8JIs/s640/Apollo_17_site.jpg" title="Apollo 17 landing site" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apollo 17 landing site (left) and collection site for our regolith (right).</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmaDBhpjmdsKGmWe3SsyqaxDhEGmseNGbMjtQ-YJ1RDNzm1caoSJnELeLUAVdhoF131c9GdWXoMZp_UdZ0jNDKIIhq_os1BZO34A2WKJJK5zvtMH4kEz197jqfkqtbs3X4Pk7qGDcr_28/s1600/Apollo_17_slide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmaDBhpjmdsKGmWe3SsyqaxDhEGmseNGbMjtQ-YJ1RDNzm1caoSJnELeLUAVdhoF131c9GdWXoMZp_UdZ0jNDKIIhq_os1BZO34A2WKJJK5zvtMH4kEz197jqfkqtbs3X4Pk7qGDcr_28/s640/Apollo_17_slide.jpg" title="Apollo 17 mare soil slide" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apollo 17 mare soil slide.</span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBaPKHrnNPrr2hObhOryM-WDi1-iMXZSPn1ADa_NEnvSj_KO79RI1GaCmKM98wTZP2SEjwbDsOuclL8woKzwzk-_dGqj7LuBS4aLH1zoysAv3ROaPlk0r8cZeGxykswNYjlwj0-Kktja0/s1600/78101_regolith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBaPKHrnNPrr2hObhOryM-WDi1-iMXZSPn1ADa_NEnvSj_KO79RI1GaCmKM98wTZP2SEjwbDsOuclL8woKzwzk-_dGqj7LuBS4aLH1zoysAv3ROaPlk0r8cZeGxykswNYjlwj0-Kktja0/s640/78101_regolith.jpg" title="Apollo 17 regolith grains" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Regolith grains in the microscope. Lunar regolith at this site consists mostly of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagioclase" target="_blank">plagioclase feldspar</a> (good sample just to the left of the cross-hair with twinning), breccia grains (messy blue/yellow/opaque grains), and volcanic glass (yellow). 2 mm across, PPL.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3AnuNTOmeYXpct4KJ-QPzPYB9EoxfWveo8iSyTvYzKXk-E-rZc9_XQwcyyXD1rggDFeu2yH7ZTI5EJT1827g-DhuFjF7664SmjVFTzpk5P27sm-d06WfR27hriRD05Y0Ru2IF1dO5RI/s1600/78181_regolith.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc3AnuNTOmeYXpct4KJ-QPzPYB9EoxfWveo8iSyTvYzKXk-E-rZc9_XQwcyyXD1rggDFeu2yH7ZTI5EJT1827g-DhuFjF7664SmjVFTzpk5P27sm-d06WfR27hriRD05Y0Ru2IF1dO5RI/s640/78181_regolith.jpg" title="Volcanic glass grain" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">High-magnification view of a volcanic glass grain. The yellow portion is the "glass", while the clear spaces are olivine and ilmenite crystals. The fuzzy black feathery-looking things are some kind of strange oxide which grew into the glass from the olivine and ilmenite.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEB5TxwhPJRECT37002FKAMtB-raScNDknJVYSuW17noKY-4KHzDiafARqpe1ZsA0e5hiR9ZtDYdRaF-ToXcanDjVrtgS9Lhq5Pixg_vZO-x681urVwJKrwpfno509itdSrt8PJc_cRfk/s1600/Apollo_17_site_orangeglass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEB5TxwhPJRECT37002FKAMtB-raScNDknJVYSuW17noKY-4KHzDiafARqpe1ZsA0e5hiR9ZtDYdRaF-ToXcanDjVrtgS9Lhq5Pixg_vZO-x681urVwJKrwpfno509itdSrt8PJc_cRfk/s640/Apollo_17_site_orangeglass.jpg" title="Apollo 17 regolith under the petroscope" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some samples of the regolith had these orange volcanic glass spheres which were </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo_17_orange_soil.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">visible as orange soil</span></a><span style="font-size: small;"> by the Apollo 17 astronauts. These spheres formed from "fire fountains", volcanic vents which spewed magma droplets which cooled into spheres before falling back to the Moon. The other grains are plagioclase and breccia.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKf2iD7SxKSHwYxmA5OQVkKYlJ9HHWnL6e3hqOP11GdN5e9TO-mk_Cp4MGXiSYQ1OnhRfLEzgr2VoMJgS767wl0VTRRFXBts2LXihlyIhwsqWoNJP8b2HtVN-Q_2wWvEli2F2OZ9vnEU/s1600/Lunar_volcanic_soil.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDKf2iD7SxKSHwYxmA5OQVkKYlJ9HHWnL6e3hqOP11GdN5e9TO-mk_Cp4MGXiSYQ1OnhRfLEzgr2VoMJgS767wl0VTRRFXBts2LXihlyIhwsqWoNJP8b2HtVN-Q_2wWvEli2F2OZ9vnEU/s640/Lunar_volcanic_soil.JPG" title="Orange Lunar soil" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Some samples were lousy with the orange soil (orange grains). Apparently the regolith on the Moon only falls on one extreme or the other of the angularity classification.</span></td></tr>
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The next collection site was from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_16" target="_blank">Apollo 16</a> on April 27, 1972 (I'm not going in chronological order). The type of regolith here is referred to as highland soil.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJxvP2l8yMf631sw2lRaSw4FB-V7bK7ELqhPw7-BPTX2PAQCfvzYoY1tx2qdqKXXDWbfQehINv6XdUzwBF4WzSepEhLRSyJsH6n12F1kWsLmp97aXOPj9JYDcbqnpefEn4oN7GNXqaLA/s1600/Apollo_16_collection_site.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJxvP2l8yMf631sw2lRaSw4FB-V7bK7ELqhPw7-BPTX2PAQCfvzYoY1tx2qdqKXXDWbfQehINv6XdUzwBF4WzSepEhLRSyJsH6n12F1kWsLmp97aXOPj9JYDcbqnpefEn4oN7GNXqaLA/s640/Apollo_16_collection_site.jpg" title="Apollo 16 landing site" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apollo 16 landing site (left) and the Apollo 16 collection site for the following samples (right).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSJdHoMNdGKYEvDkHG2tAV0yAcOuN9DmF7j4jKSI5I3FYo2YkONKIUHnkkEX4mbphx8-WXuXDROqCZw3z765GoCiDcJhyT_e6jcoGOp-AnkdD5zmajixoeDXOOu1Ciq98Vsgdl7KdWCY/s1600/Apollo_16_slide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVSJdHoMNdGKYEvDkHG2tAV0yAcOuN9DmF7j4jKSI5I3FYo2YkONKIUHnkkEX4mbphx8-WXuXDROqCZw3z765GoCiDcJhyT_e6jcoGOp-AnkdD5zmajixoeDXOOu1Ciq98Vsgdl7KdWCY/s640/Apollo_16_slide.jpg" title="Apollo 16 highland soil regolith slide." width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apollo 16 highland soil regolith slide.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvE14dJxcbxrm0QgVo-DpADR10ahZPL5A8t7qvAwuW-ZRvZtGbmORslsvejJ2DS3dJ0H5zsne5DzAuuCbet3GspA6WLglSA5KjN1HSHHrNSq4vT-NTmeoV3dT3xZ30ot9BJCvnSe4daF8/s1600/Apollo_16_breccia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvE14dJxcbxrm0QgVo-DpADR10ahZPL5A8t7qvAwuW-ZRvZtGbmORslsvejJ2DS3dJ0H5zsne5DzAuuCbet3GspA6WLglSA5KjN1HSHHrNSq4vT-NTmeoV3dT3xZ30ot9BJCvnSe4daF8/s640/Apollo_16_breccia.jpg" title="Apollo 16 regolith" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apollo 16 regolith, consisting of plagioclase feldspar (magenta/yellow twinned grain toward the bottom), volcanic glass (yellow), lunar breccia (dirty opaque grains), and even a chondrule (center). XPL, 2m</span><span style="font-size: small;">m across.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuy-XPrbOCW1kxuL5BFa6ikb0hOvmv2RzGRWcFsACfJ8zBjLQd8I013b2KEd1Bn4N76QHmq2mhJBaaRoiUAASoFuBEIsgIzVgDtBENRg3YclOgZFrMFcNnO70juKahUeZpTU90Bodwqv8/s1600/Apollo_16_regolith_chondrule_PPL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuy-XPrbOCW1kxuL5BFa6ikb0hOvmv2RzGRWcFsACfJ8zBjLQd8I013b2KEd1Bn4N76QHmq2mhJBaaRoiUAASoFuBEIsgIzVgDtBENRg3YclOgZFrMFcNnO70juKahUeZpTU90Bodwqv8/s640/Apollo_16_regolith_chondrule_PPL.jpg" title="Magnified view of the chondrule from the previous image." width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Magnified view of the chondrule from the previous image. The circular shape means this cooled and formed in zero-gravity before returning to the surface of the Moon. The angular crystals inside grew inward from the edges.</span></td></tr>
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The set of samples was from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_15" target="_blank">Apollo 15</a>, July 30th, 1971. These samples were more regolith which showed high deformation due to impacts.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOq-VNAQ4JOb9-uvXFZ1PCyjDSi2IcHBIrHtGLKBwFAXW2u6jS7H633OGgY_IsoKycxeQ_Z0Vf6mO7h33QkvfMivDOkRYgv12315e_GOPFV2QrDw164_nyLbGj7QGZPCxKVMSBBRJz3pk/s1600/Apollo_15_site.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="304" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOq-VNAQ4JOb9-uvXFZ1PCyjDSi2IcHBIrHtGLKBwFAXW2u6jS7H633OGgY_IsoKycxeQ_Z0Vf6mO7h33QkvfMivDOkRYgv12315e_GOPFV2QrDw164_nyLbGj7QGZPCxKVMSBBRJz3pk/s640/Apollo_15_site.jpg" title="Apollo 15 landing site" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apollo 15 landing site (left) and sample collecting (right).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZJc5DRh-QkIaIAjFhMw9GhZzl8iaTWA3FXGqLcC8XG1S9wHN8j3gHuXP_mqUtoyxM6MbPQTBHrnfT9thSVaRmHcXBmjKaojCBFDxKnamnbJ-Ec93e4H8R9hpA0Gl4DNZ2n38j9aPMCM/s1600/Apollo_15_slide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="370" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZJc5DRh-QkIaIAjFhMw9GhZzl8iaTWA3FXGqLcC8XG1S9wHN8j3gHuXP_mqUtoyxM6MbPQTBHrnfT9thSVaRmHcXBmjKaojCBFDxKnamnbJ-Ec93e4H8R9hpA0Gl4DNZ2n38j9aPMCM/s640/Apollo_15_slide.jpg" title="Apollo 15 regolith slide" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apollo 15 regolith slide.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVHQNrJ9xTyEivWw24CQFPuevF3IXidCscKYvvRk_BUT5zpJWnKCjufNgkY5KUHKDE7HxRIt7EeChHpf2-zdSvUgJ2rvguyMHkKeIeLVGR17U1QuCeXx11RwtLUbaKO62tlmsd8Y9a6eE/s1600/Apollo_15_regolith_glass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVHQNrJ9xTyEivWw24CQFPuevF3IXidCscKYvvRk_BUT5zpJWnKCjufNgkY5KUHKDE7HxRIt7EeChHpf2-zdSvUgJ2rvguyMHkKeIeLVGR17U1QuCeXx11RwtLUbaKO62tlmsd8Y9a6eE/s640/Apollo_15_regolith_glass.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apollo 15 regolith. In the cross-hair is a volcanic glass sphere which has been shattered due to impacts on the Lunar surface. The rest of the sample is breccia. PPL, 2mm across.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwZ8-l1HdDscDTOkOvVrrhFfbBHQDm2TpcRHz2ou4CxD0b99aQZ4ET60me6-6jLqVhNgCMCbyx5E41udBU-Mf0yLN3cWG9XeY5H7nyKrNTDHpRdfxitCT949cOrHKb3d3QLje8HdjkJ4/s1600/Apollo_15_regolith_glass_ninjastars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="520" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRwZ8-l1HdDscDTOkOvVrrhFfbBHQDm2TpcRHz2ou4CxD0b99aQZ4ET60me6-6jLqVhNgCMCbyx5E41udBU-Mf0yLN3cWG9XeY5H7nyKrNTDHpRdfxitCT949cOrHKb3d3QLje8HdjkJ4/s640/Apollo_15_regolith_glass_ninjastars.jpg" title="Apollo 15 volcanic glass grain with ninja-star oxides" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Apollo 15 regolith with a large volcanic glass grain (yellow). This sample was unique because within the volcanic glass grain were these strange ninja-star shaped iron oxides (hard to see in the photo) which were only present in some of the glass. Although our sample guide pointed out the ninja-stars, it said why they were present in some and not all wasn't fully understood. The grain is surrounded by more breccia.</span></td></tr>
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All in all, it was a unique and amazing experience for us to get a chance to examine these space rocks under the petroscope. The minerals were identifiable by us, while at the same time not typically looking like anything we had seen from our Earth rocks. It really was interesting to see how quartz is non-existant in space rocks.<br />
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<strong>Meteorite minerals summary</strong>: mafic minerals (olivine and pyroxene) with varying amounts of iron, carbon, and serpentine. The age of these meteorites (~4.5 billion years old) and chemistry are generally regarded as the snapshot of the age and makeup of the early solar system.<br />
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<strong>Lunar minerals summary</strong>: regolith made of plagioclase feldspar and volcanic glass. Plagioclase is very common on the surface of the Moon, and is also the most abundant mineral of the Earth's crust, which is one of the reasons behind the current idea regarding the formation of the Moon, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_impact_hypothesis" target="_blank">the Giant Impact Hypothesis</a>.<br />
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Yay space!Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-7017841194367539232012-08-27T03:35:00.001-07:002013-12-11T07:33:34.987-08:00Aerial Geomorphology #3: Minnesota River Valley and Glacial River WarrenOnto Aerial Geomorph #3, although a similar flight along the MRV in the future will result in an Aerial Geology post - there is some very interesting geology within the valley (<u>very</u> old rocks).<br />
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This flight's purpose was to check out the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_River" target="_blank">Minnesota River</a> and <a href="http://www.mnrivervalley.com/" target="_blank">Minnesota River Valley</a> just southwest of the Twin Cities. Like the Mississippi River, this river has an interesting glacial and geomorphic history. Also, this is one of those specific topics early on in my geology education that got me hooked.<br />
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Although this flight was to explore the Minnesota River, it was really a story of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacial_River_Warren" target="_blank">Glacial River Warren</a>. The Minnesota River is an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misfit_stream" target="_blank">under fit stream,</a> which means it occupies a valley that is too large for it. The Minnesota River Valley was carved out previously by the much-larger Glacial River Warren. A nice explanation with figures can be found <a href="http://mrbdc.mnsu.edu/mnbasin/fact_sheets/valley_formation" target="_blank">here</a>, but to summarize, the glacial river was fed by the draining of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Agassiz" target="_blank">Glacial Lake Agassiz</a> at the end of the most recent glaciation (just about 10,000 years ago). This enormous discharge of water removed a lot of overlying sediment and rock and in some parts of the valley some very old rocks are exposed (see <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton_Gneiss" target="_blank">Morton Gneiss</a>, <a href="http://gsabulletin.gsapubs.org/content/81/12/3671.short" target="_blank">Montevideo Gneiss</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sioux_Quartzite" target="_blank">Sioux Quartzite</a>, and so on).<br />
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A friend of mine came along since she'd never been in a small plane before. Most of the following pictures are courtesy of her. We took off from Flying Cloud Airport in the trusty Cessna 152, flew southwest along the Minnesota River, stopped quickly at Le Seuer Airport, then flew back to Flying Cloud.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSw04ARZDkCf9akVSgquU7Bo7agXk_u8IYpZ8GkNzEFBv1Wiy1BCRDvRyIz8B_6LDXgqRSlzwt8s3qNcmxaQWcnSN6-9nNH5-qyBQzTdgxxmsXlJyWlVMWuWven2f3IxVRO_bwb2KGPEQ/s1600/MRV_flight_Airplane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSw04ARZDkCf9akVSgquU7Bo7agXk_u8IYpZ8GkNzEFBv1Wiy1BCRDvRyIz8B_6LDXgqRSlzwt8s3qNcmxaQWcnSN6-9nNH5-qyBQzTdgxxmsXlJyWlVMWuWven2f3IxVRO_bwb2KGPEQ/s1600/MRV_flight_Airplane.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Geo-plane.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xF8dUSaGuGFa8NXcXNqrk1l7sn5NOK8wWCNoGZ4JLXBCRDa4CQ4fESNTERdFqBLO2yRz9OBtlyyZs0r20_m2PUmwgq1uyFvWX-l5qEt5TTV29xWlURH-aegcjyjFZkSmte1ekgm9kdM/s1600/Flight_sectional.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1xF8dUSaGuGFa8NXcXNqrk1l7sn5NOK8wWCNoGZ4JLXBCRDa4CQ4fESNTERdFqBLO2yRz9OBtlyyZs0r20_m2PUmwgq1uyFvWX-l5qEt5TTV29xWlURH-aegcjyjFZkSmte1ekgm9kdM/s1600/Flight_sectional.bmp" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Flight path (red line) for MRV Flight #1, starts at Flying Cloud Airport (KFCM), southwest along the Minnesota River to Le Sueur Airport (12Y), then back to Flying Cloud.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8h0Lxtja7OTej2Em7xoWFgKIbkrNZ8dlFIHtmf_YIUWEOGem7mNMtqKJzeef_Y99qkNMZIacwuZQvtaQER0PCJ6ZWoW0IP-AhLtk4osL4FXmpnIHMMOXmIJYz9aP_P3cdJny9okNoqM/s1600/Flight_topo.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI8h0Lxtja7OTej2Em7xoWFgKIbkrNZ8dlFIHtmf_YIUWEOGem7mNMtqKJzeef_Y99qkNMZIacwuZQvtaQER0PCJ6ZWoW0IP-AhLtk4osL4FXmpnIHMMOXmIJYz9aP_P3cdJny9okNoqM/s1600/Flight_topo.bmp" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Flight path (red line) along the valley between where it turns northward and the Twin Cities.</span></td></tr>
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The first glimpse into the size of this huge former river became apparent near the city of Jordan, Minnesota.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-p9EnXXqzfzW0LnAsSD1FwkYMFylomnUacIqLN56Py607rgytLVdSAds_SH2zVZDQNrbEpqXobeJfG84R7ivZxo4eKrFD5MqbXqt6DZRUv8MD68DUdwL9V1Ndxzq83IL1QNZEloszlk/s1600/MRV_flight_Jordan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf-p9EnXXqzfzW0LnAsSD1FwkYMFylomnUacIqLN56Py607rgytLVdSAds_SH2zVZDQNrbEpqXobeJfG84R7ivZxo4eKrFD5MqbXqt6DZRUv8MD68DUdwL9V1Ndxzq83IL1QNZEloszlk/s1600/MRV_flight_Jordan.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Northwest aerial view of Jordan, Minnesota, with US Highway 169 on the bottom left, and Minnesota River on the other side of the city. </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNpqVLrqHFXt4FggEIADEBlJw8S0GRbtR_gCUI1dchxWEhWyakwqC9dK-CoEHAmul87OpUd11ZDXZST_qypoHJvufq-bDtk4Mrumm2Qn7HMQky6S0v911VfzL4PzFE76FU2Xbmlet6e8/s1600/MRV_flight_oxbow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNpqVLrqHFXt4FggEIADEBlJw8S0GRbtR_gCUI1dchxWEhWyakwqC9dK-CoEHAmul87OpUd11ZDXZST_qypoHJvufq-bDtk4Mrumm2Qn7HMQky6S0v911VfzL4PzFE76FU2Xbmlet6e8/s1600/MRV_flight_oxbow.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Aerial view of a textbook version of an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxbow_lake" target="_blank">oxbow lake</a> in the Minnesota River, upstream from Jordan. A gravel pit is in the background, just on the other side of the oxbow.</span></td></tr>
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Although it wasn't clearly apparent, using Google Earth allowed for a great way to illustrate how the Minnesota River compares to the current valley, and a look into how both rivers have affected the building of cities and roads. Below is a cross-section made using Google Earth (and some stratigraphic information) across the above photograph of Jordan. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShGWyxjdQNYspMGlBf4z5wo84jhIYqQay-mvyZZ5kx8WlKUv9jIGFlmjhXnv5txSWh9Dxc6W6FvrT4g9WvLV1ehijnl4wADIggvcgHBnpWOkSoIeWohintM2YJhwCN346PQk9w1I1BwA/s1600/Jordan.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgShGWyxjdQNYspMGlBf4z5wo84jhIYqQay-mvyZZ5kx8WlKUv9jIGFlmjhXnv5txSWh9Dxc6W6FvrT4g9WvLV1ehijnl4wADIggvcgHBnpWOkSoIeWohintM2YJhwCN346PQk9w1I1BwA/s640/Jordan.bmp" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Geologic cross-section near Jordan, Minnesota.</span></td></tr>
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The Minnesota River Valley near Jordan is about 3 miles across. The city of Jordan and US Highway 169 are built upon a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluvial_terrace" target="_blank">fluvial terrace</a> (former flood plains which are now above the current flood plain). These terraces, while providing convenient flat ground to construct
roads and cities, are also remnants from glacial activity causing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rejuvenation_%28river%29" target="_blank">stream rejuvination</a>. The Jordan Sandstone outcrops near Jordan, named so after the city (rock formations are typically named after the location which they were best described, called a <a href="file:///p://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_locality_(geology)">type locality</a>). The current Minnesota River is very small in relation to the valley it occupies. The Glacial River Warren occupied the entire valley during its existence. The glacial sediment thickens toward the northwest, while the stream itself is at nearly bedrock-level. Numerous <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravel_pit">gravel pits</a> occupy the highland on the north side of the river, mining aggregates (sand and gravel) deposited from glacial activity. Needless to say, it is one of Minnesota's main natural resources. In 1997, over $180,000,000 worth of aggregate was mined in Minnesota (MnDOT). <br />
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Upstream from here provided another good view of the Valley near Henderson, Minnesota. This was a good spot to really visualize the size of River Warren.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrcpchUI_ur2OTIrDhe25LPxrzpRmxJwQACBzxd8iHLa8sAbnVcN1T3Adfb16KEnZkQTqeOyimzVLHlMAd2RK4Fzgw4tgcEOZ64yqDn__XFdKH4sRRiTmmGJh2DpqpycYvZ40rk1j9M8/s1600/MRV_flight_Henderson.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKrcpchUI_ur2OTIrDhe25LPxrzpRmxJwQACBzxd8iHLa8sAbnVcN1T3Adfb16KEnZkQTqeOyimzVLHlMAd2RK4Fzgw4tgcEOZ64yqDn__XFdKH4sRRiTmmGJh2DpqpycYvZ40rk1j9M8/s1600/MRV_flight_Henderson.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Northwest aerial view up the Minnesota River Valley near Henderson, Minnesota (left edge of photograph). The Minnesota River flows from bottom left to upper right, turning around a bend and going northeast. The valley is distinguished by the tree cover, and the highlands are cropland or fields.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cross-section across the Minnesota River Valley by Henderson, Minnesota (see photo above). The valley is about 3 miles wide at this point. Henderson appears to be built upon a small terrace, with another smaller terrace uphill from it.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cross-section of Minnesota River Valley near Henderson, Minnesota, showing the size of Glacial River Warren (defined by the width of the valley) to the current Minnesota River.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Zl_ret1FOItT7n410ULeBTwUoACW7q2sJAJGxBvk3g42hFEDOqEQi4u4pWx82Uu8r59a46uGZNOEJQZ_Ed_DT0ZVo9CLq0lgNJyTYbkXWdQkgluax9iTubZwndeLTMs-ErcTI_fT3A8/s1600/Henderson_aerial_River_Warren.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-Zl_ret1FOItT7n410ULeBTwUoACW7q2sJAJGxBvk3g42hFEDOqEQi4u4pWx82Uu8r59a46uGZNOEJQZ_Ed_DT0ZVo9CLq0lgNJyTYbkXWdQkgluax9iTubZwndeLTMs-ErcTI_fT3A8/s1600/Henderson_aerial_River_Warren.bmp" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Masterful artistic rendering of what the Glacial River Warren may have looked like to Early Holocene pilots flying around Henderson, Minnesota.</span></td></tr>
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The above illustration is what I had envisioned in my mind during the flight. Parts of the Amazon River get this wide.<br />
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Content I had seen what I wanted to see, we proceeded to return back home. Since it was such a nice day for flying, we took plenty of additional pictures.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJSgLEP6mSYj4u70kCOcdW6_p8qkARRo1SHDwOTXR9hFZXSt2NkBwsZV0PRmb965n4qpSclgNJlRQveNm_kaVb9agn-eyPWePmNxHYHelzgU39nYQlj89bQ7liBNH-s1h4dYTkQHkJ7M/s1600/MRV_flight_LeSueur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJSgLEP6mSYj4u70kCOcdW6_p8qkARRo1SHDwOTXR9hFZXSt2NkBwsZV0PRmb965n4qpSclgNJlRQveNm_kaVb9agn-eyPWePmNxHYHelzgU39nYQlj89bQ7liBNH-s1h4dYTkQHkJ7M/s1600/MRV_flight_LeSueur.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Aerial view of Le Sueur, Minnesota, along the Minnesota River.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoaqsdwwJtvWOwWXhKpft2pM7kHjjJZZqtlESHyag-xqQ1K5ymq5NmSEBnzJrwoXYtXyP7O7T-h9P5B1_6j54UgDFHD0SBIJswVv1MGAP2M7gcrXnboyl7215m-r5hrtaZIrFP7srGXbY/s1600/MRV_flight_landing_LeSueur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoaqsdwwJtvWOwWXhKpft2pM7kHjjJZZqtlESHyag-xqQ1K5ymq5NmSEBnzJrwoXYtXyP7O7T-h9P5B1_6j54UgDFHD0SBIJswVv1MGAP2M7gcrXnboyl7215m-r5hrtaZIrFP7srGXbY/s1600/MRV_flight_landing_LeSueur.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Landing at Le Sueur Airport.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksRSMv5A4M7DPareX4kfZOMxoUTC4w8cg_ESvITCBQi9xU5A8o3Y_5rXMEUXJtgC3ettSDXSNuMMxNQA4s7ta0i9RocJiBFCsYKPEV5RaWUN0K-i6piBuqmrBqgMtYTUn3PagSHL04XA/s1600/MRV_flight_valley1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjksRSMv5A4M7DPareX4kfZOMxoUTC4w8cg_ESvITCBQi9xU5A8o3Y_5rXMEUXJtgC3ettSDXSNuMMxNQA4s7ta0i9RocJiBFCsYKPEV5RaWUN0K-i6piBuqmrBqgMtYTUn3PagSHL04XA/s1600/MRV_flight_valley1.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Aerial view of meanders, meander cut-offs, and point-bars along the Minnesota River. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">From the air is a good place to see and learn fluvial geomorphology.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRw4OkGg2kNeB48eTCoK8MC8enG057LG-1z-X_03A5NrUwSaq_zh1ilj0-hTwnfl3_TEZkOdvcEQaw5bCWo92sy47zh95Tvrp6snghGF4sVMAJG8GeK4iKLlp_5P-AJ0qwZ0Dnec3oSO4/s1600/MRV_flight_valley2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRw4OkGg2kNeB48eTCoK8MC8enG057LG-1z-X_03A5NrUwSaq_zh1ilj0-hTwnfl3_TEZkOdvcEQaw5bCWo92sy47zh95Tvrp6snghGF4sVMAJG8GeK4iKLlp_5P-AJ0qwZ0Dnec3oSO4/s1600/MRV_flight_valley2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I see some <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_woody_debris" target="_blank">LWD</a></span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaG88B1mbiy_b4mCF5zaydoYqbHLjnk9kTJbDypXivZ-paP2wkp84c648y7iaY4Saxt3YZtoV-jjeb4p2rGVKrZ9eNrN8FS-flGM40_8n2yQ_GjlY9p6QIqVMv2pwbuVWI1kZNvOVXtcg/s1600/MRV_flight_valley3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaG88B1mbiy_b4mCF5zaydoYqbHLjnk9kTJbDypXivZ-paP2wkp84c648y7iaY4Saxt3YZtoV-jjeb4p2rGVKrZ9eNrN8FS-flGM40_8n2yQ_GjlY9p6QIqVMv2pwbuVWI1kZNvOVXtcg/s1600/MRV_flight_valley3.jpg" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHp4Krte_2nSmEs5CKsDVuXLUnlyvlW73BKYyBObIevf-xBXyEh4pwz4YxXQHFiMY2RH4EXPeRgPjmT1glYsUvGzHc1SG4BSOLDQxY9arr5AQ2SsTVvy9Hx7KUPn_U1pQsbhq_fxyzyI/s1600/MRV_flight_valley4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLHp4Krte_2nSmEs5CKsDVuXLUnlyvlW73BKYyBObIevf-xBXyEh4pwz4YxXQHFiMY2RH4EXPeRgPjmT1glYsUvGzHc1SG4BSOLDQxY9arr5AQ2SsTVvy9Hx7KUPn_U1pQsbhq_fxyzyI/s1600/MRV_flight_valley4.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Aerial view of the Minnesota River. Even though you learn about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point_bar" target="_blank">point bars</a> forming on the insides of river bends, I'm still amazed that the textbooks are right.</span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI95k0Dv12LYfZMXZakyptPB_ZBvOth3OMtZiiMhwhAl2xPNGBdxmbzDGlusU9c-mgqeQ7flmeqAlvakGbkaLAL7NaeAhyphenhyphen65ZU8rmLZDVDOMbKd6s7L7RH4veMTUrdqDEsR-3FVeJ3UEQ/s1600/MRV_flight_PriorLake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI95k0Dv12LYfZMXZakyptPB_ZBvOth3OMtZiiMhwhAl2xPNGBdxmbzDGlusU9c-mgqeQ7flmeqAlvakGbkaLAL7NaeAhyphenhyphen65ZU8rmLZDVDOMbKd6s7L7RH4veMTUrdqDEsR-3FVeJ3UEQ/s1600/MRV_flight_PriorLake.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Prior Lake, a good geographic marker to contact air traffic control.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTgmLKqxNq765eniEA8BiZHUn4vVea82iPN-qskLEB-TmjlIgoe2Bikz5WFLXAtt7dNAIB6pFvuPmxGR6aJpNfMhrNeVcYyypKeyNOzEKasswOqWm_URZo9RzvbGTtXMJiW_A9kVqviU/s1600/MRV_flight_Minneapolis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkTgmLKqxNq765eniEA8BiZHUn4vVea82iPN-qskLEB-TmjlIgoe2Bikz5WFLXAtt7dNAIB6pFvuPmxGR6aJpNfMhrNeVcYyypKeyNOzEKasswOqWm_URZo9RzvbGTtXMJiW_A9kVqviU/s1600/MRV_flight_Minneapolis.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">View of Minneapolis in the distance</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQFJq3P2CYs6floN1xvRausbsQJP_BLxiY0oA1YtAVz-9R2YkWnTrsLiIq_d06O1UU50g5s1YRWP6pEVPuEcBXkPbiMeb3ick3R2U62UekyPUXQn0rD8AnXz-6m7r59G1ewIYJG0wJ28/s1600/MRV_flight_pilot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnQFJq3P2CYs6floN1xvRausbsQJP_BLxiY0oA1YtAVz-9R2YkWnTrsLiIq_d06O1UU50g5s1YRWP6pEVPuEcBXkPbiMeb3ick3R2U62UekyPUXQn0rD8AnXz-6m7r59G1ewIYJG0wJ28/s400/MRV_flight_pilot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Crazy Pilot</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNdwqZuIvWmWA6wM461Sn4PkU9zLtCLcUVAYIpLRSJNnrFFWZdlwN7xIetTWQtR1YLpAYPBavaEn4qHx8a9RX8WQ-6z8VxzlJOh7RgBlKo28cRqDdbwJlMLzrS2BC2gQ6uPfnQP6WB5M/s1600/MRV_flight_copilot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaNdwqZuIvWmWA6wM461Sn4PkU9zLtCLcUVAYIpLRSJNnrFFWZdlwN7xIetTWQtR1YLpAYPBavaEn4qHx8a9RX8WQ-6z8VxzlJOh7RgBlKo28cRqDdbwJlMLzrS2BC2gQ6uPfnQP6WB5M/s400/MRV_flight_copilot.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Crazy Copilot</span></td></tr>
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Good day for some aerial geology! And I got brownies!Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-86387649396296307382012-07-09T22:03:00.005-07:002012-07-09T22:07:56.246-07:00Aerial Geology #1: First ContactAt last, I've used my powers of flight to make a geologic observation from the air. This is an exciting first to my blog, and I look forward to more of the same. <br />
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This last weekend I flew down to a Fly-in/Drive-in breakfast and air show that is held every summer in Winona, Minnesota. For the few years I worked, went to school, and learned to fly there, I would volunteer for this event and it was always a thrill. I've missed the last two, on account of being in Missouri for grad school, so it was great to be able to fly there from the Cities. Also, it was nice to get in some cross-country flight time. I took the trusty Cessna 152 I've been hopping around in lately.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRg84uXxg_arygXr6nJbiXiom0nXUj-PXdznKWPF8DgV8m4RKqrh7BxCAy6u57cpFzptfvoK1bG9-7oDN9hUFWsOJELfE3nJSz0pC2Lgn8YJjV3FCV7xquzYBfgzIH8GH8Dg3m7nJWi8/s1600/DSC02792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTRg84uXxg_arygXr6nJbiXiom0nXUj-PXdznKWPF8DgV8m4RKqrh7BxCAy6u57cpFzptfvoK1bG9-7oDN9hUFWsOJELfE3nJSz0pC2Lgn8YJjV3FCV7xquzYBfgzIH8GH8Dg3m7nJWi8/s640/DSC02792.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">My trusty steed, 100x stronger than the average horse</span></td></tr>
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I learned to fly along the Mississippi River, so it was great to re-visit my roosting grounds. And of course, you can't beat the view.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixpOCXAxoj9lYwXFu_GaG4Moq8CMANpxBtxu4Ue-tR6g6MdlbiwrSCzFR7oQqR0QnyIT6jA0Ly1xmqDxF72o9gOwu2hyE8Bn6OYVGHufBZky29x7Z4WEArE6hVVNTurwJkutsVjvkjo1s/s1600/resized2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixpOCXAxoj9lYwXFu_GaG4Moq8CMANpxBtxu4Ue-tR6g6MdlbiwrSCzFR7oQqR0QnyIT6jA0Ly1xmqDxF72o9gOwu2hyE8Bn6OYVGHufBZky29x7Z4WEArE6hVVNTurwJkutsVjvkjo1s/s1600/resized2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Composite photograph of view from the Cessna 152 flying up the Mississippi River; </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">stream valleys (left view), Mississippi River and Highway 61 (forward view), and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lock_and_Dam_No._5" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Lock and Dam #5</span></a><span style="font-size: small;"> (right view)</span> </div>
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<br />Now, for the geology. On the way back to the Cities I noticed a decent sized quarry down amongst the little stream valleys. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpIVPGOeQLdYO3n8alB_agUaBhZZqQ4el7MOGZ-fIi8D2hJXnwqZAFipb1JNfm2k3sQf95KZ4nwQQIdjpJVCV23Yro0gZa-3ICpny9J2Qghm2hXRB-1hd__ye-sxzW8Sx1FzjjMd3sG8/s1600/DSC02802.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTpIVPGOeQLdYO3n8alB_agUaBhZZqQ4el7MOGZ-fIi8D2hJXnwqZAFipb1JNfm2k3sQf95KZ4nwQQIdjpJVCV23Yro0gZa-3ICpny9J2Qghm2hXRB-1hd__ye-sxzW8Sx1FzjjMd3sG8/s640/DSC02802.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Now, I've seen quarries from the air before, but after looking closer (especially in the photograph), I noticed something obvious: there were two distinct formations in that outcrop; an orange lower unit and a buff-gray upper unit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOOS7Uzaje7YaBePG4bKF69K1UfhSs2oZZWgioSf3nug9qUkHmHqO2B94873N1jAGfgPCjEQDUZ99VB_PLt_iQ0yJqzIp2-NITLIpVs8on1LBS-Akl5dWb7kPcjUIk8yuh12KyvrMzJU/s1600/quarry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtOOS7Uzaje7YaBePG4bKF69K1UfhSs2oZZWgioSf3nug9qUkHmHqO2B94873N1jAGfgPCjEQDUZ99VB_PLt_iQ0yJqzIp2-NITLIpVs8on1LBS-Akl5dWb7kPcjUIk8yuh12KyvrMzJU/s640/quarry.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Outcrop near Winona, Minnesota, showing Cambrian-Ordovician boundary as the sharp contact between the Jordan Sandstone (orange, lower unit) and Oneota Dolomite (gray, upper unit)</span></td></tr>
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I think any other place and I would have just dismissed it, but that combination of rock colors in that sequence, and for this region, represents a geologic contact that is well-known to every geologist and geology student in the area. The bottom orange-tinged unit is the Jordan Sandstone, and the upper gray unit is the Oneota Dolomite. The contact is the Cambrian-Ordovician unconformity.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFSa9ZzcUrEWO-zq7NsbOuEzrMLrthftj8DZgZOWqC1kV4Q0-kxI_zkNN55hLFPBaxpBqTEw3kyfo5qpJjMGdQ4N7nGMf-e5LzQqY6c3EWFgjM-hua0Q_jLj2lw-ET8MYKo4hK2xJEOE/s1600/minnesota_bedrock.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFSa9ZzcUrEWO-zq7NsbOuEzrMLrthftj8DZgZOWqC1kV4Q0-kxI_zkNN55hLFPBaxpBqTEw3kyfo5qpJjMGdQ4N7nGMf-e5LzQqY6c3EWFgjM-hua0Q_jLj2lw-ET8MYKo4hK2xJEOE/s640/minnesota_bedrock.JPG" width="409" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Stratigraphy of Minnesota</span></td></tr>
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<br />All geology students recognize the Jordan Sandstone because it tends to break easily and stains your hands and clothes a rusty-orange. There is a large outcrop of rock that students are brought to which we just call "Homer", and the Jordan Sandstone is part of the sequence of rocks exposed there.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Roadside geology at Homer Ridge; me (left), fellow geologist Laura, and Jordan Sandstone (right)</span></td></tr>
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The Oneota Dolomite, above the Jordan Sandstone, is known around the area for making up the resistant caprocks for the bluffs. Around Winona everyone sees this formation all the time as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Loaf_(Winona,_Minnesota)" target="_blank">Sugar Loaf</a>, the pinnacle of rock seen from almost anywhere in the city, even at night (they light it up), as a remnant from quarrying. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sugar Loaf bluff, Winona, Minnesota</span></td></tr>
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<br /></div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-33559276820725465462012-07-05T18:46:00.001-07:002012-07-05T18:50:19.033-07:00Aerial Geomorphology #2: Twin Cities FlightAfter moving to the Twin Cities I recently began flying out of Anoka County-Blaine and Flying Cloud Municipal airports. I had my biennial flight review in a Cessna 172, and also got checked out in a Cessna 152, which was a bit of a change for me, since almost all my single engine time is in a Piper Warrior II.
The one advantage of the Cessna 172 and 152 is the high-wing design allows for better downward visibility, and therefore, better aerial photography. In the spirit of my blog, I took a friend up flying the other day, both because she had never gone flying in a small plane before, and also to get some nice pictures of local geomorphology.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The pilot</span></td></tr>
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The plan of the flight was to take off from Anoka and fly east towards the St. Croix River and back while checking out the many lakes and streams along the way.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://vfrmap.com/?type=vfrc&lat=45.145&lon=-93.0&zoom=11" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: small;">Flight planning</span></a></td></tr>
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This route took us over lots of the smaller lakes, and it seemed like everyone with a boat had it out that day. It had been really warm lately, so I don't blame them.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Center City, Minnesota</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">South Center Lake (bottom half), North Center Lake (top half), and Little Lake (far back, right)</span></div>
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<a href="http://goo.gl/maps/7COV"><span style="font-size: small;">http://goo.gl/maps/7COV</span></a> </div>
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After flying around my friend looked down and said, "Hey, meandering stream!". This turned out to be the Sunrise River, and it meadered quite a bit, even had some cutoff meander bends. Aerial geomorph gold! We followed it for a while as it flowed into some larger pools which became streams again.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgnj_DgKRbCByMGrRZ4EghrbCvXzPtQONTp3ksa6Zk6iM_pv2Wq407IglXLdzIozQMyVPat0RvJ_N9TXYGJL_QtLFRpFa-SWrbiYK4HqSLZMPZwG6oVKWeG09p_JatzYlX1l8SFYzodk/s1600/488017_10151008084504784_942986981_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgnj_DgKRbCByMGrRZ4EghrbCvXzPtQONTp3ksa6Zk6iM_pv2Wq407IglXLdzIozQMyVPat0RvJ_N9TXYGJL_QtLFRpFa-SWrbiYK4HqSLZMPZwG6oVKWeG09p_JatzYlX1l8SFYzodk/s1600/488017_10151008084504784_942986981_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sunrise River, complete with meander cutoff bends</span></div>
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<a href="http://goo.gl/maps/dfbs"><span style="font-size: small;">http://goo.gl/maps/dfbs</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sunrise River, with good examples of meander cutoff bends</span></div>
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<a href="http://goo.gl/maps/dfbs"><span style="font-size: small;">http://goo.gl/maps/dfbs</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sunrise River, Sunrise River Pool #1 (left), Mud Lake (background)</span></div>
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The Sunrise River flowed into the Pool, where it branched and part of it went southward and another part of it went westward. We followed the westward branch, which eventually flowed into Martin Lake. All along the way the river had lots of meander cutoffs.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sunrise River flowing into Martin Lake</span></div>
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<a href="http://goo.gl/maps/F2wr"><span style="font-size: small;">http://goo.gl/maps/F2wr</span></a></div>
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It's nice to be flying again, and after years of geology education I love to notice the interesting landforms and stream types. Time to plan some other flights! </div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-73029193306292885712012-06-24T02:11:00.000-07:002012-06-26T03:12:52.815-07:00Megafault reviewUsually 2 A.M. is my bed-time but when I see something called "Megafault" playing on the Syfy channel, well, sleep will have to wait. The following are my observations of hilarious quotes and situations as they happen in this cinematic masterpiece starring Brittany Murphy as the heroine seismologist.<br />
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(Brittany puts an aluminum case on the ground) "This is a tri-axial seismometer, it measures changes in the ground". While this is a ridiculous statement, on second thought it's fairly realistic. After being asked a hundred times what I'm doing when performing geophysical surveys I tend to say things like that.<br />
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(observing growing fault from helicopter) "The earthquake is still moving!"<br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">(observing growing fault from helicopter) "Look! That's at least a 7.0 on the Richter scale"</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Apparently earthquakes make helicopters shake. While they are in the air.</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">They constantly interchange the terms "fault" and "earthquake".</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"The worst is over...for now". Sooo then the worst isn't over?</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"It's possible this fault could continue to rupture indefinitely and tear apart the United States!"</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"Air traffic control in the midwest has been wiped out"...."that means every airplane in the midwest is now flying BLIND".....(cuts to to military cargo jet, flying through patly cloudy skies) "Indianapolis ATC, we need a visual, we're flying blind!" (jet starts to nose dive, then runs into another plane, I think, apparently lack of ATC causes parts of your plane to explode at random).</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"I don't just blow things up" right after he blows up a port-a-john as a distraction so they can steal a helicopter.</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">(Scene of cargo jet crash) Father and daughter, with only slightly dirty faces, walk away from the burning wreck.</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">(To military-guy) "What are you going to do, declare war on an earthquake?"</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">(Military guy explaining a secret satellite) "This tectonic-weapon fires a laser at the earth's surface and re-crystallizes the water table" I can't even remember this whole quote, he said a lot and it was so horrible that I can't even piece it back together.</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">(After deciding to use the tectonic-weapon) "Sir, after this works you'll need to fly me home"...."M'am, if this doesn't work you won't have a home to fly to"</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">(Semi-truck driving wildly, dodging nothing, across a dirt road as random explosions occur around it)....Passenger, "We have to stop!"....Driver, "No way, we have an earthquake on our tail!"</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">Semi-truck passenger crawls across side of truck, while it is moving, with random earthquake-explosions all around, in order to disconnect the trailer, which is loaded with petroleum. They can't stop or the earthquake will catch up with them.</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"So, that's the epicenter of the fault?" </span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"Can the USGS confirm your megafault hypothesis?"</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"What we plan to do is trigger a second earthquake to rob energy from the main one"</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"After diverting the earthquake, the Grand Canyon will absorb all its power"</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">(They detect an RV with airborne radar) "What, ground traffic? This airspace is supposed to be clear!"</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"P-waves at zero percent!"</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"Sir, the tectonic weapon has destabilized the mantle!"...."Mantle? What mantle?"</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">People randomly start catching on fire around Yellowstone because of the 'destabilized mantle'</span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"The earthquake is headed towards the Yellowstone Caldera! Do you know what that means??"...."Hey, man, she doesn't care, she just wants to get home to her family"</span></span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"Now the earthquake is moving north. It's like lighting a fuse thats big enough to blow up the entire planet"</span></span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"We can't move the Grand Canyon"...."Why not?" They then discuss a plan to build a new Grand Canyon with some explosives.</span></span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">(Brittany nervously eyes a few crates in the back of the Osprey as they fly west) "Are you sure we have enough explosives to build a trench the size of the Grand Canyon?"...."Yes, this should be enough"</span></span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"Sir, the quake has entered Vail!" (the earthquake now manifests itself as a snow avalanche even though there are no mountains nearby with much snow. The town is wiped out)</span></span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"We've installed an infared sensor on the triggering mechanism." This line is all by itself. It has no context or explanation. </span></span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"What's wrong?".....(Brittany, suddenly quiet, senses something) - "The quake is hitting Denver". They are in Wyoming.</span></span><br />
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<span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text"></span><span class="commentBody" data-jsid="text">"At the end of the day, all you have are two things: your family, and the choices you make."</span>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-44997410223450279482012-06-20T17:56:00.000-07:002012-06-20T17:56:06.266-07:00Brass CompassI recently graduated with my master's degree in geology and as a bit of a graduation present one of my good friends, who is also a graduate student, gave me a little treasure he had obtained while overseas in the Army. This present is a brass compass, very similar to a Brunton.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WAOmLbEmHAkXKJqICOAJ9n9BxhKiOb0VH4aYggQj_q0wv0HDoHzP-_WycdPVAcPoqiQfoDIkb1-UcoEoJ-VNj5WF5VupmOhWC3ixIUz76dfoD3i7_8DY0-nlOyDDLFvJLtmpA36fiK8/s1600/DSC02642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8WAOmLbEmHAkXKJqICOAJ9n9BxhKiOb0VH4aYggQj_q0wv0HDoHzP-_WycdPVAcPoqiQfoDIkb1-UcoEoJ-VNj5WF5VupmOhWC3ixIUz76dfoD3i7_8DY0-nlOyDDLFvJLtmpA36fiK8/s640/DSC02642.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The compass part of it still works great, and the dip-bubble works, although the leveling bubble is off-center, but I don't mind. The thing is more of a classy desk piece than a field tool (although I'd still use it). I believe it's made of brass because it's a good deal heavier than a regular Brunton compass. The pictures don't do it justice, it shines like a slightly tarnished penny.</div>
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Although the giver of this gift didn't know it, this meant a lot to me for a specific reason. At my undergraduate geology program they would award a gift to two graduating students based on their performance. They can choose between a Brunton Compass or a GPS. I chose the GPS because I'm really into the whole GIS/GPS thing, but the field geologist looks back sometimes and wonders why I didn't choose the compass. Receiving this antique showpiece brass compass has gone a long way of curing that, on top of the fact that it is a wonderful desk piece and conversation starter that has traveled across the world and given to me by a good friend.</div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-7544275114142363812012-04-08T14:48:00.000-07:002012-04-09T11:32:33.047-07:00"They will beat their swords into plowshares..."While on a recent week-long geology trip through Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico, my group had the pleasure of being given a small tour of an interesting little project near Carlsbad, New Mexico. We were driving through some of the dusty backroads around the brine pits and oil rigs to the east of Carlsbad when we reached a dead end with a concrete marker and plaque.<br />
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The marker read:<br />
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<strong>"The first nuclear detonation in the Plowshare Program to develop peaceful uses for nuclear explosives was conducted below this spot at a depth of 1,216 feet in a stratum of rock salt. The explosive, equivalent to 3,100 tons of TNT, was detonated at the end of a horizontal passage leading from a vertical shaft located 1,116 feet southwest of this point. Among the many objectives was the production and recovery of useful radioactive isotopes, the study of heat recovery, the conduct of neutron physics experiments, and the provision of a seismic source for geophysical studies."</strong><br />
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Below the spot we were deciding to have lunch for the day, a nuclear device was detonated on December 10, 1961. This detonation was called <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Gnome" target="_blank">Project Gnome,</a> part of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Plowshare" target="_blank">Operation Plowshare</a>, a program to use nuclear explosions for peaceful projects. We were told by our guide that the distinction between a "nuclear weapon" and "nuclear device" is the intent in which it is used (basically as a weapon or not). This location was chosen because of the very thick salt layers in the subsurface which are known for essentially repairing themselves (since the salt flows somewhat), making salt domes and rocks good for storing harmful materials.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgilJ-jx0RBx_oIYFOggC81ZiUEqrqbnDmJCdbAzbnPzQQSb4dbum1SJgZmmTKtCKH-YQgNmA6PdY1wv3SWH6MbBhGpeeNtmZAEQWXF9tEtpqifrtngJ5RwayliNbpPECe5hPuDE79TWQ/s1600/Gnome-Coach_Site.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgilJ-jx0RBx_oIYFOggC81ZiUEqrqbnDmJCdbAzbnPzQQSb4dbum1SJgZmmTKtCKH-YQgNmA6PdY1wv3SWH6MbBhGpeeNtmZAEQWXF9tEtpqifrtngJ5RwayliNbpPECe5hPuDE79TWQ/s400/Gnome-Coach_Site.bmp" width="400" /></a></div>
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Other than the fact that we were essentially standing about 1000 feet from where a nuclear explosion occurred, my favorite part was the name of the project, "Plowshare Program" or "Operation Plowshare", named so after a verse from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Micah" title="Book of Micah">Micah</a> 4:3...<br />
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<strong>"And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more"</strong><br />
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The concept of "swords into plowshares", or turning weapons into peaceful tools, seemed very fitting for the project. <br />
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While we were touring the site, we were informed that a very small amount of radiation leaked from one of the wells after the detonation, but didn't cause any harm or contaminate any other sites. No radiation has leaked since then, and the area is protected from drilling. This was shown to us to illustrate the potential success of the nearby <a href="http://www.wipp.energy.gov/" target="_blank">Waste Isolation Pilot Plant</a>, which stores harmful materials underground (basically, if a nuclear explosion could be contained in the salt rocks, then a harmful chemical storage facility should have no problems). <br />
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After returning home and reading more about the project it seemed there was much more negativity towards the explosions, and it seemed as if the radiation leak was taken more seriously by the public than the scientific community. Our guide fully supported the Gnome detonation, but on the internet it seemed it had much more negative publicity by the non-scientific community. But I suppose that's how these things tend to be. The guide was extremely knowledgeable about not only this project but almost any geological question we asked him, which biases me towards his judgement.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-70659589882425493092012-03-01T13:19:00.002-08:002012-03-01T13:30:20.964-08:00Accretionary Wedge 43: My favorite geologic illustrationIn response to the Accretionary Wedge #43 hosted by <a href="http://plantsandrocks.blogspot.com/2012/02/call-for-posts-accretionary-wedge-43-my.html" target="_blank">In the Company of Plants and Rocks</a>:<br />
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Although I have many geologic illustrations which I would like to show, the one which has the most meaningfulness to me is the geologic cross-section of Minnesota from the Minnesota Geological Survey.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8rBzMobjiXDZJIpyslSxERSbEkmgiigGriWsYP7YSz_SLkaPHoKXFWB_0PyhLaNN9wdn5mqTeIUAwMbkSlxLf6t2kD4Z0G6JDcJNsh3JKCIwyT2Q3WJjBPLjANuiAifIl0hTR2vlzXs/s1600/mn_geology_xsec.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8rBzMobjiXDZJIpyslSxERSbEkmgiigGriWsYP7YSz_SLkaPHoKXFWB_0PyhLaNN9wdn5mqTeIUAwMbkSlxLf6t2kD4Z0G6JDcJNsh3JKCIwyT2Q3WJjBPLjANuiAifIl0hTR2vlzXs/s640/mn_geology_xsec.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.mngs.umn.edu/Minnesota%20Geology%20Images/images/geologic%20terrane%20cross%20section%20Minnesota%20geology_jpg.jpg">http://www.mngs.umn.edu/Minnesota%20Geology%20Images/images/geologic%20terrane%20cross%20section%20Minnesota%20geology_jpg.jpg</a></td></tr>
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As far as cross-sections go, there isn't much here which couldn't be seen in other parts of the world. The reason this means so much to me is because it started the process which "awakened" me to the world of geology. In my third year of undergraduate studies (while declared as a physics major but not really into it) I decided to take the Introductory Geology and Geology of Minnesota classes, both taught by the same professor. The beginning of both classes was the same: basics on rock types, geologic processes, etc. But even still, all those concepts were things that happened "somewhere else". Geology was still something that happened in some mountain somewhere else on earth.<br />
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This cross-section was eventually shown to us (probably the first geologic cross-section I had ever seen. The idea of a cross-section was so foreign to me, how could we possibly "see" underground like that?). It was displayed by itself on the screen for a good while as the professor talked. This illustration declared, "Geology is closer than you think, it's right beneath you, all around you, is not all the same and tells a fascinating story". Even Minnesota, a state I always considered to be rather boring (flat farmland or flat forest), was interesting underground. The school I went to was down in the Paleozoic sediments, but eventually I would see all the other parts of the state, with evidence of the Midcontinent Rift, the <a href="http://aerialgeologist.blogspot.com/2012/01/foreign-rocks-are-foreign-concepts.html" target="_blank">St. Cloud granites</a>, and so forth. It was diagrams of local geology like this one which got me so interested in geology in the first place.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-32375712001175462602012-02-29T14:25:00.001-08:002012-02-29T14:25:51.925-08:00Geology MugWhile attending a fellow graduate student's daughter's birthday party, I had the opportunity to explore my creative side by painting a mug. Since I am no artist, I resorted to the only thing the last 5 years of my life has prepared me to "draw": geologic sketches. This was also partly brought on by many of the paint samples which looked like certain rock types. I was the last to finish, and maybe had more fun than was expected of an adult at a kid's party.<br />
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The "rock types" go, from bottom to top, granitic basement (dark red), immature sandstone (speckled pink), gradational shale (black to brown), limestone (tan), mature sandstone (speckled white), then either vegetation (green) or basalt and magma (speckled black or red). I also threw in some structure, including two normal faults making a horst and an unconformity between the limestone and mature sandstone. The handle is a basalt porphyry mafic dike (one of the more creative ideas I had during the whole process) connecting to the erupting volcano.<br />
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Although I had no specific locale in mind, I would say the base is mostly based off of Missouri geology. The granite is the <a href="http://www.graniteland.com/stone/missouri-red" target="_blank">"Missouri Red"</a> granite that I've seen near the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Francois_Mountains" target="_blank">St. Francois Mountains</a> that I've discussed <a href="http://aerialgeologist.blogspot.com/2012/02/st-francois-mountains-trip-missouri.html" target="_blank">before.</a> The knob is some of the Precambrian topography associated with these granites, as they are older than the sedimentary rocks above them. The immature sandstone above the granite is the Lamotte Sandstone which tends to be immature and conglomeritic at the base (and is therefore full of feldspar and rather pinkish: more of an arkose than a sandstone). Above that I just wanted to transition through the typical transgressional sequence of rocks that <a href="http://higheredbcs.wiley.com/legacy/college/levin/0471697435/chap_tut/images/nw0050-nn.jpg" target="_blank">every geology student learns about.</a> And, of course, the classic "warning" of seeing a limestone (no specific one in mind here: would probably be a dolomite in this sequence if I was trying to stay true to the deeper Missouri geology) next to a sandstone (indicating a regression, erosional surface, and deposition of a sandstone, forming an unconformity). I'm going to go ahead and call the mature sandstone the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Peter_Sandstone" target="_blank">St. Peter Sandstone,</a> which I always enjoy looking at (since it exists both up in Minnesota, the land of my undergraduate studies, and in Missouri, the land of my graduate studies). And of course the horst. I just really like drawing horsts and grabens. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The graben (left) and the mafic dike (the handle). I wanted to have the shale be gradational, although in hindsight I would have reversed it (assuming sort of an overall transgression the shale would be getting darker as it was deposited in deeper water). My sed/strat professor would be disappointed. Also, the basaltic volcano is too steep.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A good view of the rock layers. I inentionally added a little granitic "knob" without faults, as a sort of Precambrian topography.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mafic dike handle connecting to the volcano (which is erupting, of course). The speckled black paint made for a good basalt porphyry.</span></td></tr>
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I mostly drew this as I went, so there are some things which are not "accurate". I could always show it to someone as a sort of "spot the geologic inaccuracies" game.Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-32806168682512779132012-02-13T22:09:00.000-08:002012-02-13T22:19:57.199-08:00St. Francois Mountains Trip - MissouriAs one of the duties of a geology lab instructor, last spring I went on a trip to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Francois_Mountains">St. Francois Mountains</a> in southeast Missouri. These are a range of Precambrian igneous rocks which stand in slight contrast the surrounding sedimentary rocks.<br />
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These igneous rocks formed around 1.5 billion years ago. In contrast, the surrounding sedimentary rocks are Cambrian in age, around 500 million years old. This results in a large buttress unconformity between the older igneous and younger sedimentary rocks. Both intrusive and extrusive igneous rocks are found throughout the "mountains", which is the remnant of largescale volcanic and intrusive activity.<br />
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<u>Stop 1: Johnson's Shut-Ins State park.</u><br />
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The first stop of the trip was to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnson's_Shut-Ins_State_Park">Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park</a>. This is a popular visitor site in the area, but was closed between 2005 and 2009 due to the Tom Sauk reservoir breaking and flooding the park. The evidence of this flood is still seen near the visitor center in the form of a land scar, with missing trees and large boulders strewn about the field.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihd_YOAVzistVclCQJdeRkhHTw__bbFvHlH1dNt6ykg3v37YBvn2JKyG9Uj-mTBB7O_ewY5W9yhRxeb2GgwJO7_Ox__Or52CF41JOGQ8mRFxF90j0HIbo3X7CaGv-uPhtJtEPkKU2g0ss/s1600/scar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihd_YOAVzistVclCQJdeRkhHTw__bbFvHlH1dNt6ykg3v37YBvn2JKyG9Uj-mTBB7O_ewY5W9yhRxeb2GgwJO7_Ox__Or52CF41JOGQ8mRFxF90j0HIbo3X7CaGv-uPhtJtEPkKU2g0ss/s640/scar.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The scar from the flood due the failing of the hilltop reservoir. The boulders in the field were carried by the floodwaters.</span></td></tr>
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Part of the lawsuit winnings against the company that owned the reservoir have gone to current and future part improvements. One of the interesting details of the visitor center was the types of rocks used in the construction, which represent the local geology.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WZuhZQAk11fe5Z42Bx4hyphenhyphenkmxEwofY5paBg_HTnk-z6ZATkky5y01GIipZdE8t47bF_MX4IoBxV9rCBJGUK7Wjif25Nw1clCQ7J2Ha3RDvPDXT3cq62pjC5CS5oetxuvAuKc3okv8Kis/s1600/stairs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5WZuhZQAk11fe5Z42Bx4hyphenhyphenkmxEwofY5paBg_HTnk-z6ZATkky5y01GIipZdE8t47bF_MX4IoBxV9rCBJGUK7Wjif25Nw1clCQ7J2Ha3RDvPDXT3cq62pjC5CS5oetxuvAuKc3okv8Kis/s640/stairs.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rock types used for the Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park Visitor Center. The purple rocks are the local rhyolite, while the overlying rocks are sedimentary. This shows the contrast between the igneous rocks and the flat-lying sedimentary rocks.</span></td></tr>
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Many of the ground tiles around the park are inlaid with interesting rock types. Although these are not local rock types, they are still fun to look at.<br />
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There was only one improvement which bothered me...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJsUaGz6S_11JhXy3yt9fECEb6YGTn3kjjRSwKtOXatmLPyHb2vxzoMBZUCDShaGXoo_uss4oORCSVxcgSPnMLTXBTnzQmKAD7ThU4a6SSqxQV-a4tlWEwOn05jiYC1FZiBs00d1bpIs/s1600/rhylite.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnJsUaGz6S_11JhXy3yt9fECEb6YGTn3kjjRSwKtOXatmLPyHb2vxzoMBZUCDShaGXoo_uss4oORCSVxcgSPnMLTXBTnzQmKAD7ThU4a6SSqxQV-a4tlWEwOn05jiYC1FZiBs00d1bpIs/s640/rhylite.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rhylite..?</span></td></tr>
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From the visitor center we walked up to the actual Shut-Ins. Along the way, we were reminded of the dangers posed by the reservoir.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQBqmGlkGq5M2keH_fUuzH_GWq867v9SmMZ54qNNyfBp4uuNifDHfK36U895LuUO-GHYUhMr59OJ_azR2zVitpN3DXCf_JFd8PLc8DDadElPG4SvlxVqc9_ETx2WzuoEGooIGchbqnbI/s1600/warning.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvQBqmGlkGq5M2keH_fUuzH_GWq867v9SmMZ54qNNyfBp4uuNifDHfK36U895LuUO-GHYUhMr59OJ_azR2zVitpN3DXCf_JFd8PLc8DDadElPG4SvlxVqc9_ETx2WzuoEGooIGchbqnbI/s640/warning.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">200 steps. No more, no less.</span></td></tr>
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The Shut-Ins are a result of the East Fork Black River eroding down through the originally overlying sedimentary layers (which are easily eroded) and eventually hitting the igneous rock below, which is more resistant to erosion. Due to this resistance, a "shut-ins" occurs, or a section of stream which is channeled through a narrow gorge. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Z0MqhHDWyWIwAma85RFLEuwXTgB2Xh5c7yw3LnDkJFeTqs6B7ld1w5y8lVkdCowvIrvCZCafman0xBXGR0Yz-VlqQbD1H7d-4ICP8EbHeHTus8C8A_fjBY8rVCrcG_Q_d86Rsf9PLPI/s1600/johnson_shutins_topo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="604" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Z0MqhHDWyWIwAma85RFLEuwXTgB2Xh5c7yw3LnDkJFeTqs6B7ld1w5y8lVkdCowvIrvCZCafman0xBXGR0Yz-VlqQbD1H7d-4ICP8EbHeHTus8C8A_fjBY8rVCrcG_Q_d86Rsf9PLPI/s640/johnson_shutins_topo.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Topographic map of Johnson Shut-Ins State Park. The East Fork Black River is shut-in, forming a narrow canyon, due to contact with the more resistant igneous rocks. The reservoir is also shown.</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_EUQbRqRmq6UlVlrweecYPCpp3Tea30NWx1e9Kib8Ux6u1fdjafUW1gtzRQ43yfWsCAEgNJyNKjDcJNSUsHieKa2vgkH6m94gQt-c7eTk6HoOiB-G0Zfku9mVSCwQBxIqDq5cQZnK9o/s1600/eastfork_upper.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc_EUQbRqRmq6UlVlrweecYPCpp3Tea30NWx1e9Kib8Ux6u1fdjafUW1gtzRQ43yfWsCAEgNJyNKjDcJNSUsHieKa2vgkH6m94gQt-c7eTk6HoOiB-G0Zfku9mVSCwQBxIqDq5cQZnK9o/s640/eastfork_upper.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">East Fork Black River, upstream from the Shut-Ins</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9swwwBsecO1EBsZnJfXAodTKQpWliudt_XQUme8hyphenhyphen1ZqLnJr04fYXeBj0c7q_2bmaZkW0OVIGW47i9MS6XWoRByEPRve9pR5QEGSVFykjI3NtGADFWDuN5_dPyj0-PuE8VjezWCBeJac/s1600/eastfork_lower.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9swwwBsecO1EBsZnJfXAodTKQpWliudt_XQUme8hyphenhyphen1ZqLnJr04fYXeBj0c7q_2bmaZkW0OVIGW47i9MS6XWoRByEPRve9pR5QEGSVFykjI3NtGADFWDuN5_dPyj0-PuE8VjezWCBeJac/s640/eastfork_lower.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">East Fork Black River, downstream is the Shut-Ins, where the stream gets bottle-necked</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnZLkXyA23GXKckdKcd92AIPiiIUYE-WANPYJohFaxm-rDrC6WpDJ-JDImGHHIAXQAP3ishAoqetELXZt2mhm5SXNIWyYHNa3uyJ5QIX9KxFrmOi4HMlCuTkpWizhfKbr3qZqlTtta2E/s1600/rhyolite_porphyry.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQnZLkXyA23GXKckdKcd92AIPiiIUYE-WANPYJohFaxm-rDrC6WpDJ-JDImGHHIAXQAP3ishAoqetELXZt2mhm5SXNIWyYHNa3uyJ5QIX9KxFrmOi4HMlCuTkpWizhfKbr3qZqlTtta2E/s640/rhyolite_porphyry.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Rhyolite porphyry make up Johnson's Shut-Ins. This rock type forms during volcanic eruptions.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxs2I5jIKG_CTsZANGp3FjuE7WGwR6sqZ8bAufi3j9gPWtKaV8RsnxO8ojmXQVsOpcqxo5pwbS1gQPCa3doSY3Q3qQjyEboN_Qzf80KzxncJMfMHzPV59Ufwe9R-Dd58CkRNlWYwz1Y6A/s1600/shutins1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxs2I5jIKG_CTsZANGp3FjuE7WGwR6sqZ8bAufi3j9gPWtKaV8RsnxO8ojmXQVsOpcqxo5pwbS1gQPCa3doSY3Q3qQjyEboN_Qzf80KzxncJMfMHzPV59Ufwe9R-Dd58CkRNlWYwz1Y6A/s640/shutins1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The rocks of Johnson's Shut-Ins are heavily fractured. These fractures are nearly vertical.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-OaaZgxoSiu8oiz_aSB-ki82oK1CgjKtVp4QRrAQPmzDQF-CjV-XrLIHa3s7MWEgmjCvyWOFlEN1afvB58pYBY_hF_fkSaAMlQPtEE_ECvL3hbZsKFiQxoOPLtQWVEv0LXM4Mqs1sxwk/s1600/shutins2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-OaaZgxoSiu8oiz_aSB-ki82oK1CgjKtVp4QRrAQPmzDQF-CjV-XrLIHa3s7MWEgmjCvyWOFlEN1afvB58pYBY_hF_fkSaAMlQPtEE_ECvL3hbZsKFiQxoOPLtQWVEv0LXM4Mqs1sxwk/s640/shutins2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Water erodes along zones of weakness. For this rock, it is the vertical fractures. The Shut-Ins contains many small falls and riffle pools.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYfu_YrM7SNCDE5lIYqQmv_wWAheETwx26mJlu2HBjjWBV97YVjwbmF8iBT45QjE4AeravPoV-HdLdfnp_csbOz7-y2Rv7uHqbaxM9s44KZPGVwr6_omg_tp9cwxRC5BS_SqbH5bt2-M/s1600/shutins3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIYfu_YrM7SNCDE5lIYqQmv_wWAheETwx26mJlu2HBjjWBV97YVjwbmF8iBT45QjE4AeravPoV-HdLdfnp_csbOz7-y2Rv7uHqbaxM9s44KZPGVwr6_omg_tp9cwxRC5BS_SqbH5bt2-M/s640/shutins3.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Geology students: time to leave the path</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVeZujgzclfZTP4MXzys5WSFGgPmAyHNoOUvUvJGdl3FCgJovr8ya1Q0r7bkjj84L-QVdQQcBEGVHZnqYDuTBiedqLdUCGU5FAR6qOsa9uZ_oY34Jv9N-rikgCBecarrkW9x5uQ35IQo/s1600/shutins4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieVeZujgzclfZTP4MXzys5WSFGgPmAyHNoOUvUvJGdl3FCgJovr8ya1Q0r7bkjj84L-QVdQQcBEGVHZnqYDuTBiedqLdUCGU5FAR6qOsa9uZ_oY34Jv9N-rikgCBecarrkW9x5uQ35IQo/s640/shutins4.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Vertical fractures in the Shut-Ins rock often come in orthogonal pairs</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2S8npqcZdF1gMnAoiAReysf-J9ublaNhVZ6EPcNuGOkNcKiDdDKOvvXM3zmnUtWdOOj3BpJ06vs_KrgA0gMPR-PNLEayp74wlIoPSYggc9p7qMqsNHeDdhNFXz_Q3S-i9Zoii9z4nKlg/s1600/shutins5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2S8npqcZdF1gMnAoiAReysf-J9ublaNhVZ6EPcNuGOkNcKiDdDKOvvXM3zmnUtWdOOj3BpJ06vs_KrgA0gMPR-PNLEayp74wlIoPSYggc9p7qMqsNHeDdhNFXz_Q3S-i9Zoii9z4nKlg/s640/shutins5.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">In places the rhyolite contained these large white clasts (about 2 inches across at most) which were often eroded out as hollows. These white clasts are pumice inclusions in the rhyolite, mixed in during volcanic eruptions</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDaEwVXpTp559YHTS5niz6k0q93b0Jtx1wlxq8bSg2l4HWbReNiB4q3beCfHkjMxqYSGIKRcbxjz1gAK7m4qRFAUanStmjyZofc_CLFRhvZ1y90TU7jw7gdLw_Yr9T4XentujrxcwXSgA/s1600/shutins6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDaEwVXpTp559YHTS5niz6k0q93b0Jtx1wlxq8bSg2l4HWbReNiB4q3beCfHkjMxqYSGIKRcbxjz1gAK7m4qRFAUanStmjyZofc_CLFRhvZ1y90TU7jw7gdLw_Yr9T4XentujrxcwXSgA/s640/shutins6.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Crossing the Shut-Ins, we encountered this cross-bedding in the sedimentary rocks above the rhyolite.</span></td></tr>
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<u>Stop 2: Elephant Rocks State Park</u><br />
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The next stop was to visit <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant_Rocks_State_Park">Elephant Rocks State Park</a>. This park consists of a dome of granite which is heavily fractured. This fracturing is a result of pressure being released from the granitic rocks, which originally cooled deep underground and under high pressures but which are now exposed at the surface. This type of mechanical unloading creates both vertical and horizontal fractures in the rock, perfect for quarrying. This goes to show how much overlying rock has been removed since then. Erosion around the fractures produces large, rounded boulders which supposedly resemble elephants.<br />
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The rocks formed here are compositionally similar to the rhyolite from Johnson's Shut-Ins, but formed deep underground, as opposed to explosive volcanic processes. This results in a coarser-grained igneous rock, as longer cooling times result in larger crystals.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSe9inCGGxwICxXYkduLfG7-wy-jidYQvefKwDVSp2iTpFoOlZABkSuqRgM0rW7ESjMHUR5hXm53CoV2U3AJSmLz4bxBOREaJ3NlBwwif9f6YRo2Q9n-RcToKpGpDCyEr5JNlX0mcOIA/s1600/granite1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSe9inCGGxwICxXYkduLfG7-wy-jidYQvefKwDVSp2iTpFoOlZABkSuqRgM0rW7ESjMHUR5hXm53CoV2U3AJSmLz4bxBOREaJ3NlBwwif9f6YRo2Q9n-RcToKpGpDCyEr5JNlX0mcOIA/s640/granite1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Granite of the St. Francois Mountains, mostly consisting of potassium feldspar (pink crystals) and quartz (gray/white crystals)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYhuLd9Zedm7eX_sRJpHu6bF-vBTcH3HyKQoybMp0vmAFXBeo2YCLwbt0EyBMmyKEGFSMIt4kzoBLeo09d30uonln7v-6xRH3OvKKyKKC3BXOsWO1e5SEo6XHKSnQA_-aVZj2HVodMlDU/s1600/elephant1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYhuLd9Zedm7eX_sRJpHu6bF-vBTcH3HyKQoybMp0vmAFXBeo2YCLwbt0EyBMmyKEGFSMIt4kzoBLeo09d30uonln7v-6xRH3OvKKyKKC3BXOsWO1e5SEo6XHKSnQA_-aVZj2HVodMlDU/s640/elephant1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sitting atop the elephant rocks. The horizontal fracture is due to exfoliation of the granite from pressure unloading.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqTI6e9ratlrjsXgUFpwMCT9zAWc8p3DU6348nw1RlGYt9LY5R50vI8nv-LAQp4-0UN_HkKCZP2Bm007L4VYe8B9MgegEfoC8Kls9tzrJCtSuLSDSVhIi1w4__vFVJ_xnEkDzUwlIP28/s1600/elephants2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqTI6e9ratlrjsXgUFpwMCT9zAWc8p3DU6348nw1RlGYt9LY5R50vI8nv-LAQp4-0UN_HkKCZP2Bm007L4VYe8B9MgegEfoC8Kls9tzrJCtSuLSDSVhIi1w4__vFVJ_xnEkDzUwlIP28/s640/elephants2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Looking down from the top of Elephant Rocks State Park. The rounded boulders of pink granite were likened to elephants.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4N_ITUZsfFjTgRRPxjaUOsjKlDsudl7t9CEyHenzfiOwmXrTG7MraaHDAPc41Wyc-mPiieegHrbl3rxy2hesXMB_jJ-ybnNAx0eJ8jngpJfqpAxy-U_6EGIvOUntEH4sV1FdTkiDM1gg/s1600/elephants3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4N_ITUZsfFjTgRRPxjaUOsjKlDsudl7t9CEyHenzfiOwmXrTG7MraaHDAPc41Wyc-mPiieegHrbl3rxy2hesXMB_jJ-ybnNAx0eJ8jngpJfqpAxy-U_6EGIvOUntEH4sV1FdTkiDM1gg/s640/elephants3.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Strolling atop the pink granite.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1HOgYAosxhMCiADlZmQEJHU1J17OMd8zr5oakSsuu2cM4hbMTg061M1mPB7rPAwm75QmK4y60B-mseuEgdo6xIh6FdJ3Qjs4dCXE_jP-DbctH7hRgRVwo5cISwk_OyJxiFpjUNVUdno/s1600/elephants4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge1HOgYAosxhMCiADlZmQEJHU1J17OMd8zr5oakSsuu2cM4hbMTg061M1mPB7rPAwm75QmK4y60B-mseuEgdo6xIh6FdJ3Qjs4dCXE_jP-DbctH7hRgRVwo5cISwk_OyJxiFpjUNVUdno/s640/elephants4.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Large remnant granite boulder (the biggest elephant). Great for climbing on or crawling under and pretending to hold up in hilarious photographs</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGG5GrAv5iwdcYYM-7TCZddufnsqe0MYbIKo7PBcjIRfrWe3MJRGOS0e3kn9Uv6Q-fgMuvfLM1583aUThSMa6lBspScn4Qh_VPTnfPj9ILVOjd5C5hVdiNenzdk-nGxoekC0QqvjJdfcU/s1600/elephants5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGG5GrAv5iwdcYYM-7TCZddufnsqe0MYbIKo7PBcjIRfrWe3MJRGOS0e3kn9Uv6Q-fgMuvfLM1583aUThSMa6lBspScn4Qh_VPTnfPj9ILVOjd5C5hVdiNenzdk-nGxoekC0QqvjJdfcU/s640/elephants5.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Quarry pond down down one of the trails at the park.</span></td></tr>
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<u>Stop 3: Ignimbrite Flows</u><br />
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The next stop was to see some ignimbrite, a fine-grained extrusive rock similar to rhyolite. These included very large, very thick exposures of volcanic rock which were the result of very large and very explosive eruptions. Since this was our first stop which wasn't a public park, it was also the first time students got to use a rock hammer (finally, the chance to hit rocks with hammers!).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpBPYjn863JdRJlwxzWaYJnP_IxQ1uyoqtrsowO_X3rzrPYLbUuPcthQ5FwA-9aFSVK5BgWvcSC-3XA-IIIc-2UoUafmD37ZV4qeCe4umQSDWXt4TL1IgPFyDGdUavo1Hkyf9WweIKr8/s1600/ignimbrite.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpBPYjn863JdRJlwxzWaYJnP_IxQ1uyoqtrsowO_X3rzrPYLbUuPcthQ5FwA-9aFSVK5BgWvcSC-3XA-IIIc-2UoUafmD37ZV4qeCe4umQSDWXt4TL1IgPFyDGdUavo1Hkyf9WweIKr8/s640/ignimbrite.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A single layer of ignimbrite, deposited during a single eruption event.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JbVTjMiVZSAuZ82HWDn4uUb1Lc7jncND6O8A5BwIfb_l-RvKOXX_FuOjpeLLfcx_UI9BBMvo3D3NSTdQ2HTV3R3ooGugwKEZEonVDs97VtqnOHlFX-MHzGinSN5dzvkw9DzWr4KVnGA/s1600/ignimbrite2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="556" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JbVTjMiVZSAuZ82HWDn4uUb1Lc7jncND6O8A5BwIfb_l-RvKOXX_FuOjpeLLfcx_UI9BBMvo3D3NSTdQ2HTV3R3ooGugwKEZEonVDs97VtqnOHlFX-MHzGinSN5dzvkw9DzWr4KVnGA/s640/ignimbrite2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hand sample of the ignimbrite.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCt13OXZo6yHSWIuiHkFyjdzA_agGM9MKVotKj6rMeCKBPtff7_wz11RFL3uzoV94Ck0QSRy4E_YPEx7zTr9XKBuPUaaZ6pwj-fyIlD1VDXlvR-hgnbWCGY3IoEhd2LUA5XJCFqu5zbnk/s1600/ignimbrite3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCt13OXZo6yHSWIuiHkFyjdzA_agGM9MKVotKj6rMeCKBPtff7_wz11RFL3uzoV94Ck0QSRy4E_YPEx7zTr9XKBuPUaaZ6pwj-fyIlD1VDXlvR-hgnbWCGY3IoEhd2LUA5XJCFqu5zbnk/s640/ignimbrite3.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Important lessons on the correct way to break a rock and not the hammer</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnwXD4e400yDw-rghJWqOQ6K3Ud4Bevccuu2d8bJ6vdNoWDXracjRhUMtK_ffRyT6G9upXIAakd3Ph6yTTNi58bx4qFphYG0pweqYUw8nF6elo7u_2qYM-Ynpxino_84LjmOjMoe56ZQ/s1600/ignimbrite4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGnwXD4e400yDw-rghJWqOQ6K3Ud4Bevccuu2d8bJ6vdNoWDXracjRhUMtK_ffRyT6G9upXIAakd3Ph6yTTNi58bx4qFphYG0pweqYUw8nF6elo7u_2qYM-Ynpxino_84LjmOjMoe56ZQ/s640/ignimbrite4.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Intro geology students hitting rocks with hammers...I'll keep my distance</span></td></tr>
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<u>Stop 4: Mafic dike and the 1 billion year gap</u><br />
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The next stop was a combined geologic spectacle: a mafic dike through the felsic igneous rocks, and the gap in rock between the igneous rocks and the overlying sedimentary rocks.<br />
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A mafic dike can be seen sticking almost vertically up through the igneous rocks, up until the overlying sedimentary rocks. On the opposite side of the roadcut, the mafic dike is also seen, and the two can be traced to get an idea of the direction the intrusion spread across.<br />
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Both the overall igneous rocks and the mafic dike are truncated by the overlying sedimentary rock layer. The erosion of the igneous rocks and deposition of the overlying Lamotte Sandstone creates this 1 billion year gap.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXbaUqzEt-9iZEL4LgQ9cGjA50Fbg2KoddmMwNiJRcaAzvuoUYpDTV9YdQDUQEXPZV9JRs5lCjeAIWxxEamluL3D8S7z7yegUZIb54hrtnv48xVf-tjAL-rY1KjR_U64LyfitqMrBSSc/s1600/gap1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghXbaUqzEt-9iZEL4LgQ9cGjA50Fbg2KoddmMwNiJRcaAzvuoUYpDTV9YdQDUQEXPZV9JRs5lCjeAIWxxEamluL3D8S7z7yegUZIb54hrtnv48xVf-tjAL-rY1KjR_U64LyfitqMrBSSc/s640/gap1.JPG" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mafic dike (black, vertical feature) through the surrounding felsic igneous rock</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8KuNhxzUB7HE0NmM3kUn3nPgH_FtdVuG5QK2Os2ij2v8FzvHtXWmIwQ9sjUjb8bD-wOCy4ogGH3uhO9_gp-fga8OvOTNBmgfZXXYIyURNRKGVRpUQvWV3iDSjvx2fgxiUu4slrB5eEs/s1600/gap2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja8KuNhxzUB7HE0NmM3kUn3nPgH_FtdVuG5QK2Os2ij2v8FzvHtXWmIwQ9sjUjb8bD-wOCy4ogGH3uhO9_gp-fga8OvOTNBmgfZXXYIyURNRKGVRpUQvWV3iDSjvx2fgxiUu4slrB5eEs/s640/gap2.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The mafic dike is traced to this side of the street. As mafic rocks are more susceptible to erosion than felsic rocks, the mafic dike is eroding away and is seen as a vertical gap in the surrounding felsic igneous rocks. Atop both the dike gap and the felsic igneous rock is the Lamotte Sandstone, which is conglomeritic at the base, as evidenced in the picture.</span></td></tr>
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<u>Stop 5: Knob Lick Mountain and the Caldera</u></div>
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To wrap up what is going on geologically in this region, the next stop was up to Knob Lick Mountain, a lookout over the large caldera which has collapsed due to volcanic activity and pressure release.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY51Imkl50eI7wz-B_fXm9GH_HiDZTG-qjNOZ5ViiwGVhAJDwe3RMnXLr_HOHJ2akPijBKc8CxBeMbFhcc-TidcSNRL9dIZBn3hUH4-rC4muaXuWBTEdwnYFulgJNMe7gygLHHq4MpIBQ/s1600/knob1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY51Imkl50eI7wz-B_fXm9GH_HiDZTG-qjNOZ5ViiwGVhAJDwe3RMnXLr_HOHJ2akPijBKc8CxBeMbFhcc-TidcSNRL9dIZBn3hUH4-rC4muaXuWBTEdwnYFulgJNMe7gygLHHq4MpIBQ/s640/knob1.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Scenic overlook from Knob Lick Mountain. This point is along the rim of the caldera, as are the hills in the background. The lowlands are the caldera floor, caused from the collapse of the volcano from volcanic pressure release.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">On the rim of the caldera. Lowlands in the near background are the caldera. Hills in the background are the continued rim of the caldera.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Field hat and hand lens, at the ready!</span></td></tr>
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<u>Stop 6: Silver Mines Recreation Area</u></div>
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The next stop, the <a href="http://www.visitmo.com/silver-mines-recreation-area-campgrounds.aspx">Silver Mines Recreation Area</a>, while also being a camping stop, was also chosen for its geology (of course). Next to this campsite is the St. Francis River and a former silver mine. A hike down to the river brings you across some of the local geology (more granite), but also contains more mafic dikes within the granite. This basalt demonstrates some interesting aspects of how a dike forms and cools, and was also part of a research project and <a href="http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2011NE/finalprogram/abstract_186276.htm">GSA presentation</a> by a fellow student.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dam across the St. Francis River.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Silver mine across the river, along with a tailings pile containing lots of fluorescent minerals, along with galena and sphalerite.</span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLAR-GcHd48n9gFHRoOcHwz6Cddzy_ywWTChWPaobhFcoDnh1CHoadkYfPvF96IpNRY0a7E6S_5A8HtqwAPOn6VAemIH8FGL4ZSey7W4zZ3d0w-D_JUnUJZBJ-m9ZdBKgRDCjOtEluA0/s1600/silver5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMLAR-GcHd48n9gFHRoOcHwz6Cddzy_ywWTChWPaobhFcoDnh1CHoadkYfPvF96IpNRY0a7E6S_5A8HtqwAPOn6VAemIH8FGL4ZSey7W4zZ3d0w-D_JUnUJZBJ-m9ZdBKgRDCjOtEluA0/s640/silver5.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The mine is normally accessible by walking across the dam, but not during this trip. A group of us hiked through the woods to this pile at night with black lights to hunt for the fluorescent minerals, with mild success.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Group up to learn about some geology</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Irregular mafic dike in the granite.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Large mafic dike within the surrounding granite</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A lesson in igneous intrusions within igneous intrusions.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Long day of geology = soak your feet in a nice stream atop some granite.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ZdZm1rO2OqBeCW2hVxTfzT6ZPQ6p1eRdMM8Lr8bquWuULdT5ftC2BI5dFDS_fGuGo94Y3zHtbazLqhELD_aZYAo9ACTDj1ip8JTpIDrKG6Iakt1ZIUwrrDs-Hx1I7Y0MoTq6V0oyi9E/s1600/silver9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8ZdZm1rO2OqBeCW2hVxTfzT6ZPQ6p1eRdMM8Lr8bquWuULdT5ftC2BI5dFDS_fGuGo94Y3zHtbazLqhELD_aZYAo9ACTDj1ip8JTpIDrKG6Iakt1ZIUwrrDs-Hx1I7Y0MoTq6V0oyi9E/s640/silver9.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Getting dark. Time for dinner, then, hunting for minerals via black light.</span></td></tr>
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<u>Stop 7: Missouri Mines State Historic Site</u><br />
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The final stop of the trip was to check out the <a href="http://mostateparks.com/park/missouri-mines-state-historic-site#">Missouri Mines State Historic Site.</a> This is within the Old Lead Belt of Missouri, and constains a museum in an old mine mill complex from the lead mining days. There wasn't much geology to check out, but it was interesting to see and hear about the lead mining which used to occur at this site.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisI8Vx6XCdM031iSgINP37yEJVv-DJgTGk7Z1eoZkxopHVSfaC1c-zX64SxOf6-pdBJZr0r9_5Oj_AWto6hHCP5kn-AjiB5-5V21a83drS7SLc9ryKDnsGqzOvN_0tetCYQBqny4A1i_k/s1600/lead.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisI8Vx6XCdM031iSgINP37yEJVv-DJgTGk7Z1eoZkxopHVSfaC1c-zX64SxOf6-pdBJZr0r9_5Oj_AWto6hHCP5kn-AjiB5-5V21a83drS7SLc9ryKDnsGqzOvN_0tetCYQBqny4A1i_k/s640/lead.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<u>Stop 8: Back to Springfield, Missouri</u><br />
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Overall a good trip. It's nice to see some geology in Missouri which isn't limestone. A good combination of parks (with some information regarding the mining history of Missouri) and interesting field stops to hit some rocks with.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A few more scratches on the old rock hammer</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-15543572716357893312012-01-30T16:24:00.000-08:002012-01-30T16:26:04.263-08:00Cambrian SteakFinaly aged for 500 million years<br />
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A few of my friends have these little stuffed-animal trilobites, either finding them online or buying at Geological Society of America meetings. Anyway, I think they're pretty great. Who doesn't love trilobites?<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilobite">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trilobite</a><br />
<br />Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-48250617217338011722012-01-25T16:30:00.000-08:002012-01-29T11:22:00.229-08:00Midwest Aerial GeomorphOver this last Thanksgiving I had the chance to fly back home to Minnesota. Something I really like to do is look at the landscapes through the airplane window (when I get a window seat). Although the midwest doesn't have much topography to look at, there is plenty of geomorphology to keep a geoscience-educated person entertained, along with some meteorology and infrastructure. I happened to have my camera onhand, something I'll try and remember to do more.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Shot of Springfield-Branson National Airport (KSGF) after takeoff</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" class="spotlight" height="480" src="http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/381728_824571844709_45802139_39354399_838977360_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A limestone quarry outside of Springfield. Makes you realize how much limestone there is in this state!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Just making sure the wing is still attached. Yep!</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" class="spotlight" height="480" src="http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/302043_824571969459_45802139_39354404_2020174881_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Looks to be some kind of weather front, clear on one side, cloudy on the other.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" class="spotlight" height="480" src="http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/313290_824571994409_45802139_39354405_555197601_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Again, the weather front. I like this shot because it was difficult to see the land on the clear side due to scattering, so it looked blue, making this shot look like we're flying over the edge of Antarctica, a flight I would love to take someday.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" class="spotlight" height="480" src="http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/386794_824572064269_45802139_39354406_885799858_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Begin the fluvial geomorphology! A stream with some good meander-bends. Most geologic events take places over millions of years, so sometimes it's a nice break to think about meandering streams which are very dynamic (geologically speaking) </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meander"><span style="font-size: small;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meander</span></a><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">You also don't realize how close clouds are to the ground sometimes until you see them from above.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" class="spotlight" height="480" src="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/376574_824572119159_45802139_39354408_1692427812_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Excellent example of a dendritic pattern stream in the light-colored farm square. It looks so sharp and clean probably due to the farmer plowing and planting right up to the stream bank, removing any kind of riparian zone. Although this maximizes growing land for the farmer this leads to more soil and fertilizers getting washed into the stream, a major problem in the midwest contributing to the Golf Dead Zone.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Saw these wind farms and knew I wasn't in Missouri aymore - Wind farms are common in Iowa, Minnesota, and Illinois, but are slow to start up in Missouri (I've heard some fairly negative political radio ads about wind farms here) </span><a href="http://www.bls.gov/green/wind_energy/map_1_revise.png"><span style="font-size: small;">http://www.bls.gov/green/wind_energy/map_1_revise.png</span></a></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lake Thunderbird in Illinois, a neat little water body I saw which turns out to be a reservoir. <a href="http://lakethunderbird.us/">http://lakethunderbird.us/</a> You can also really see where the smaller tributary valleys are where the dark heavy vegetation has been left untouched within the plowed lighter colored cropland.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">I used to live next to the Mississippi River in my undergrad days, so part of me will always have a thing for large rivers and small river towns. This turned out to be the town of Hennepin, Illinois.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" class="spotlight" height="480" src="http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/316331_824572383629_45802139_39354416_884906566_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A larger river town. You can definitely see the industrial district along the river. I also liked the little airport just outside of town. I wonder how long until the city envelopes it? This is the cities of Peru and La Salle, Illinois</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" class="spotlight" height="480" src="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/376875_824572403589_45802139_39354417_472252013_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The cities of Peru and La Salle, Illinois, as above, but with the winding river in view. I wonder why the city doesn't develop into that meander point?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowboxCaption" class="spotlight" height="480" src="http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/390827_824572488419_45802139_39354420_419570001_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sorry for the strange angle of the shot, but I wanted to get as much of this in view as possible to see all the little sandbar islands along the river. Getting into the heavily urbanized regions of Illinois.</span> </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A shot for the physicists. I saw this and didn't believe what I was looking at at first, but yes, that is Fermilab outside of Chicago. </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermilab"><span style="font-size: small;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fermilab</span></a></td></tr>
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<br /></div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-91815074615898996542012-01-18T23:32:00.000-08:002012-02-03T22:11:20.521-08:00Missouri AAPG Trip - Bennett Spring, Decaturville Impact, Ha Ha Tonka<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The local American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) hosted a trip to check out some interesting Missouri geology. Destinations for this trip included (in order of appearance here on in) Bennett Spring, the Decaturville Impact Structure, and Ha Ha Tonka State Park. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Our first stop was in Bennett Springs State Park.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the location of the 4<sup>th</sup> largest spring in Missouri, putting out about 100 million gallons per day (or about 150 cubic feet per second for those of you that are used to spring discharge in cfs). In comparison the springs I study around Springfield are usually less than 10 cfs. This spring flows from a conduit in the Gasconade Dolomite. Divers have descended down into this conduit for almost 200 feet before it was too small or flow was too great to continue. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">If karst hydrology isn’t your thing, this place is a big fishing spot. Even in mid-January people were fly-fishing all throughout the park (ok, it was actually about 70 degrees outside still). I love fly fishing, so I’ll have to come back out here sometime with my gear.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This was all possible due to the trout hatchery on site which keeps the spring-fed river stocked with delicious catchable fish. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Because we are geologists, while enjoying the scenery from one of the bridges which crosses the river we all had to stop and look at the rocks which made up the bridge. One of the notable rock units was a rippled sandstone (the Roubidoux Sandstone), a local rock unit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In one of the more obvious blocks we could see the ripples were nice and asymmetrical, while also being upside down (due to the rounded “crests” of the ripples, which are actually the troughs). I also took the opportunity to be creative with my hand lens. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Our next stop was to head to the Decaturville Impact Structure. This crater is a few miles wide and is only noticed in satellite imagery or by noting the unique structures in the sedimentary rocks (which are otherwise quite flat-lying in Missouri).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This crater is both recognized by its ring-shaped topographic signature…</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first roadcut is what most people refer to when they discuss the unique rock structures of the Decaturville Impact structure. Most people that study the rocks around Missouri know most of the sedimentary rocks here are basically horizontal. Structures, such as anticlines (at least obvious ones), tend to be rare. Here we see that the rocks are sometimes horizontal, then suddenly tilted, faulted, and folded at times.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Slightly dipping rocks.</div>
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Slightly more dipping rocks</div>
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Hinge of the anticline</div>
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More tilting rocks</div>
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Our fearless leader, demonstrating the thrust fault</div>
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Drag fold in the thrust fault (illustration below)</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Much of the rocks have been heavily brecciated, almost to the point that referring to the in their original name and age is meaningless (geologic maps call some of these the Gasconade Dolomite, but it should really be said that the Gasconade is just the parent rock).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Breccia with large chert clasts</div>
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More breccia. Here, a layer of rock (gray) is broken and rounded at the edges</div>
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Clasts of granite were said to be found in the breccia, although we didn't spot any</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Many of the clasts have been cored for paleomagnetics testing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Large clast with paleomag boreholes, also in the surrounding matrix</div>
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More paleomag boreholes in this deformed layer</div>
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We drove further north into the impact structure and looked at some more breccias in the rocks. </div>
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Large clasts in the breccia</div>
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Strangely enough, large clasts of shale which now weather out giving the rock a porous appearance. How do you get football-sized clasts of loose, yet intact, shale?</div>
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Calcite vug</div>
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A strange sigmoidal feature with a clast in the center</div>
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Our third spot was to check out the "caprock" in the impact structure (assumed to be due to its undeformed nature while being in the center of the crater). It was a quartz sandstone-conglomerate, white to orange.</div>
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Checking out the sandstone/conglomerate</div>
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Some places are fairly mature but it gets coarse in some areas</div>
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Shot of one of the more mature spots through the hand lens</div>
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This sandstone was very sparkly</div>
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Some spots were very conglomeritic</div>
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After leaving the crater we had lunch and headed to Ha Ha Tonka State Park.</div>
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha_Ha_Tonka_State_Park">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ha_Ha_Tonka_State_Park</a></div>
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The first part of this spot involved visiting the "castle". At the park is the remains of a sort of castle-home built by Robert McClure Snyder from the early 1900s. </div>
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Little background story behind the ruins</div>
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A series of trails around the castle structure also provided some nice views of the steep valley where the spring is located in. We first explored the ruins, then went down into the valley.</div>
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This is the water tower to provide water to the castle</div>
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View of the castle from the river</div>
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Pointing off into the distance. Also, it was very windy</div>
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Map of the park. The photo above was taken at the red star.</div>
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Another map of the park with trails. We walked on most of the trails.</div>
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The spring, from above</div>
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The spring, again.</div>
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Spring-fed river</div>
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Some background of the spring. My favorite part was the name of the spring, Ha Ha Tonka, which translates to "laughing waters" by the Osage Indians. I found this fun because this same language is used a lot in names from my home state of Minnesota (Ha Ha, such as Minnehaha Falls in the Twin Cities, and Tonka is just everywhere in Minnesota, home of Tonka Toys, and my hometown of Minnetonka). All these words (haha, minne, tonka, sota, etc) can be combined to form a lot of words. </div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">As explained by Wikipedia... "The word <i>Minnesota</i> comes from the </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Dakota_language" title="Dakota language"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Dakota</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> name for the </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Minnesota_River" title="Minnesota River"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Minnesota River</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">: <i>Mnisota</i>. The root <i>mni</i> (also spelled <i>mini</i> or <i>minne</i>) means, "water". <i>Mnisota</i> can be translated as <i>sky-tinted water</i> or <i>somewhat clouded water</i>. </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States" title="Native Americans in the United States"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Native Americans</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> demonstrated the name to early settlers by dropping milk into water and calling it <i>mnisota</i>. Many locations in the state have similar names, such as </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Minnehaha_Falls" title="Minnehaha Falls"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Minnehaha Falls</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> ("waterfall"), </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Minneiska,_Minnesota" title="Minneiska, Minnesota"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Minneiska</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> ("white water"), </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Minneota,_Minnesota" title="Minneota, Minnesota"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Minneota</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> ("much water"), </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Lake_Minnetonka" title="Lake Minnetonka"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Minnetonka</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> ("big water"), </span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Minnetrista,_Minnesota" title="Minnetrista, Minnesota"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Minnetrista</span></a><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;"> ("crooked water"), and </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="http://www.blogger.com/wiki/Minneapolis,_Minnesota" title="Minneapolis, Minnesota"><span style="color: black; font-family: inherit;">Minneapolis</span></a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;">, which is a combination of <i>mni</i> and <i>polis</i>, the Greek word for "city".</span></span></div>
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Illustration of the geology of the park. It was explained to be a very large collapsed cave/solution feature</div>
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The cliffs of insanity!</div>
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A natural bridge down in one of the sinkholes</div>
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Got back home while the sun was setting. Long day!</div>
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<br /></div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-51723648089904165002011-10-30T00:54:00.000-07:002012-01-31T13:52:19.356-08:00Radium Springs Cave, ArkansasThis last spring I had the opportunity to go caving with a great group of cavers in Arkansas. This trip was into Radium Springs Cave in northern Arkansas, sort of a final small event during Hydro Days.<br />
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This is one of those great caves that's both large and explorable, but also protected with a lockable hatch, so only certain people are allowed to get in. Even more of a plus, this was not a "show cave", meaning we had no official guide, and we could only see what we shined our flashlights at.<br />
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A short walk into the cave we first came to the locked "entrance". This metal hatch was placed over a natural bottleneck. It was quite a small entrance, and a sign to come of the claustrophobic passages we would experience.<br />
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Most of the cave was made of large "rooms" that we would spend a while in looking at really great speleothems and cave structures. Between the large rooms, though, we often had to crawl through very narrow, low, and otherwise unnervingly small passages for long distances (I had to take my backpack off just to fit along this belly-crawl passage below. It went for a good 50 feet, and we went one at a time just incase someone had to back out). Since moving to Missouri I have gone on a number of cave trips, and they all had been building me up to be able to handle this level of claustrophobia. <br />
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One of the neat cave features are these "boxwork" features, named so because they form these honeycomb shaped features on the cave ceiling which look like old fashioned post office mail sorting boxes. While most ceiling features are formed from calcite dissolution, these are calcite veins from the rock which used to be there. The veins were more resistant to erosion than the surrounding rock, so are remnant features.<br />
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Aside from those, there were plenty of the garden variety cave speleothems, as seen below. Stalagmites are the spikes on the floor of the cave. Stalagtites are the spikes hanging from the ceilings. Where a stalagmite and stalagtite grow together they form a column. The large feature on the left (which I always think look like frozen waterfalls) is flowstone, which is formed the same way as the other speleothems. <br />
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Our group would often stop in some of the larger rooms and take some fairly spectacular pictures. My little camera was nothing compared to some of the great equipment some of us had. <br />
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One of the more interesting concepts of the karst bedrock system is the way in which water flows underground in these areas. While traversing through the cave we often had to hop or otherwise tred through small streams. Underground river systems are the norm in these areas. <br />
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One of the great things about this cave being locked off from just anyone is that vandalism and over-exploration would have probably destroyed some of the more delicate formations. <br />
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I had been caving before, usually bringing my own headlamp. This was the first time I had been introduced to a carbide lamp. These are flame lamps which are powered by adding little carbide lumps with water in the reservoir of the lamp. This combination gives off a flammable gas which is lit to ignire a small flame. The lever on top controls how much gas escapes and therefore the size and brightness of the light. A little carbide seemed to go a long way, so as long as you had a source of water you had light (handy in a cave).<br />
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Below, picture of my masters thesis advisor (left) and myself (right). <br />
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I also had the opportunity to go caving with Dr. Arthur Palmer (below, right), whose textbook many speleology classes use, and is well known in the karst world. Great guy!<br />
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Despite the lack of visible light there was still plenty of life to be found underground. Below, a cave cricket. <br />
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While delving deeper into the part of the cave which is home to a colony of bats we accidentally came across a whole cluster of them. I didn't have time to get a photograph, but I promise there was a huddle of hundreds of bats on the ceiling which became startled to our arrival. <br />
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If small spaces wouldn't get you, then maybe a fear of bats might. Personally, bats don't bother me much, but I admit what followed would have caused some issues for others. A piece of advice about bats: if they start flying around, don't freak out. If you stand still and don't move suddenly, they won't hit you. Although I could feel the wind from their flapping wings just barely inches away.<br />
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Catching photographs of these bats in flight was not difficult at all. I just kept taking pictures, and there were so many bats flying around that almost all of my pictures looked like these. <br />
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I wasn't sure how large the cave was, but we spent around 3 hours underground exploring, so a good hour and a half both ways. That in itself should give you a good idea about how extensive one of these caves can be. <br />
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We finally made it back to the surface. In our absence from the surface world it had begun to rain. I couldn't even begin to guess how much extra cave this water would explore that we were too big to fit.<br />
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<br /></div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-44773851325627432192011-10-29T10:51:00.000-07:002012-07-06T22:27:51.970-07:00Petrogenesis 1:1Some of the weirdest ideas come to people that are up way too late and under stress. With that said, it's not a surprise that this following "passage" was the product of taking a Petrology class.<br />
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One of the questions asked for a given rock sample is "what is its petrogenesis?", meaning, how did it form, and where did it come from? When given such a loaded question at 2am, the only thing you can do is go off on a complete tangent. The first couple lines were made on the spot between us 3 petrology students that late night, and the rest followed later:<br />
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In the beginning, God created the heavens and the magmas. And the magmas were unfractionated and without form.<br />
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And God said, 'Let there be Bowen, so that the magma may fractionate, and order be had'. And there was Bowen.<br />
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On the second day, He spaketh unto Bowen, 'Seperate the magmas into two series, continuous and discontinuous, so that geologists may spend many hours with petrographic microscopes". And Bowen commanded it so, and there was olivine and anorthite.<br />
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On the third day, God spaketh unto Bowen, 'Thou shalst continue in the continuous series of plagioclase, replacing sodium for calcium. The Michel-Levy Method will guide the true of heart'. And there was much rejoicing.<br />
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On the fourth day, God spaketh unto Bowen, 'Thou shalst make pyroxene, which is like olivine but more complex and with cleavages' And thus the geologists did rejoice of single-chains.<br />
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On the fifth day, God spaketh unto Bowen, 'The geologists have grown arrogant in their memorization. Lo, you shalst create the amphiboles, which are complex with 60-120 cleavage'. And the geologists wailed, and there was much gnashing of teeth.<br />
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On the sixth day, Bowen prayed, and said 'I am out of calcium, what shalst I do?' and God said, 'Have faith', and there was albite.<br />
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On the seventh day, Bowen said unto God, 'May I have a rest?', and God was displeased with Bowen, and showered him with flakes of biotite and muscovite. And Bowen begged for forgiveness, and continued his series.<br />
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On the eighth day, Bowen recovered, his body having been pinched and swelled in tartain plaid. And there was microcline. And God forgave Bowen.<br />
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On the ninth day, Bowen prayed unto God, 'But I have nought but silica and oxygen left, what shalst I do?', and lo, God commanded him to take up thine rock hammer, and strike upon the earth. And forth sprang quartz, and God said, 'Its hardness shall be 7". And it was good.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6AAfdASSxa-78da7xE7ucZZEzkalrU9uGTE-ULIzQWnbZb5l9Bl2cye6xeCk7jjstP4y4WAf1uQNs2d_2Hwwq1e0o7kG6A3RDWbgDbPcxII89upOMnS-7yqZwRLwsV65OZA6JvqUPLQ/s1600/bowen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga6AAfdASSxa-78da7xE7ucZZEzkalrU9uGTE-ULIzQWnbZb5l9Bl2cye6xeCk7jjstP4y4WAf1uQNs2d_2Hwwq1e0o7kG6A3RDWbgDbPcxII89upOMnS-7yqZwRLwsV65OZA6JvqUPLQ/s320/bowen.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-82573053027007255162011-10-23T22:15:00.000-07:002012-02-02T22:58:27.893-08:00Hundred Dollar Hamburger<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of the things I had always heard about when I started flying was the concept of the “hundred dollar hamburger”, or “cheeseburger”, or whatever-food you prefer. Why so expensive? Because you fly somewhere to eat it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">“Is a cheeseburger really worth that?” you might ask. Well, no. But that’s not the point. It’s just an excuse to fly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A few years ago, while thinking of places to go and build flying time, my friends and I brought up the idea of getting a hundred dollar hamburger up at Grandma’s Restaurant in Duluth, Minnesota. I had yet to fly northward from my home base, so I might as well check off that cardinal direction. The thought of flying around Lake Superior was another appeal.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was going to fly up in the trusty Piper Warrior along with my friend Garrett who had started training recently. My other friend Alex was going to leave just before us in the Cessna 172. It was basically a straight shot north for 170 nautical miles, so would have been just under two hours if it wasn’t for the 40 knot headwind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Alex stayed a few miles ahead of us the whole time, staying in plane-to-plane radio contact. In our plan to be sneaky we had decided on the code word “pickle barrel” to be said to let the other know we were on the same frequency. I don’t think we ever ended up using it, but while listening in on the major local channels I was fully expecting to hear a quick “pickle barrel” shout out from Alex, followed by a confused center controller.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once getting close to Duluth I started hearing that Alex was having a bit of a directional disagreement with ATC. An aircraft comes with two direction indicating instruments; a magnetic compass, and a heading indicator. The heading indicator operates on a gyroscope, which maintains one directional orientation and is more stable and less susceptible to bumps than the magnetic compass. But the heading indicator only knows what direction it is when you adjust it to the magnetic compass (usually before takeoff). It is prone to drift in the long run, and after a while of flying it might drift off a few degrees, giving the pilot the perception that they are flying in the correct direction when in fact they are a few degrees off. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This must have happened to Alex, because air traffic control would tell him to fly a certain heading and notice that he was, in fact, not flying it, so they would tell him to “turn right 15 degrees” to adjust. Soon after they would give him a new heading, and again he would go off in a different direction, so air traffic control would again tell him to “turn right 15 degrees”. I could tell both Alex and the controller were getting a little flustered when the controller asked him what heading he was flying, Alex responded “I’m all over the place”.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Flying into the Duluth area was great. Clear skies above the North Shore, all the pine forests below. Because of the wind coming out of the west, we were directed to come in from the east, right over Lake Superior. I had never flown over a large body of water (ok, it wasn’t the ocean or anything). It was fun seeing the tanker ships from above, they looked so small, like toy boats in a bathtub.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Alex made it and landed just fine, but I was trailing behind. On final approach I was asked to go around because my little Piper was quickly getting overrun by an NWA airliner which was on a long final approach. I forgot this was a large airport. I made a traffic pattern to come back around and decided to land long to stay above any wake turbulence from the MD80 landing. I also noticed the halting cable at the front of the runway used for breaking fighter jets. Even aiming for the halfway point of the runway, I still had more remaining runway than I’m used to landing on (Duluth’s runway is about 2 miles long).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I taxied up to the FBO, past all the fancy Cirrus aircraft (this is their HQ) and the NWA airliner which I got out of the way for. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">They gave us a courtesy car and we went to find Grandma’s Restaurant. I recall having been there before. The cheeseburger was good, but I almost choked on it while Alex was recounting his directional problems on the way in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The whole trip was a 3-pointer. Instead of heading back to Winona directly we made a pit stop at Anoka airport just north of Minneapolis. We had taken a little more time than expected with our burgers, so we were in a little rush. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">The headwind became a tailwind which pushed us quickly down to the Twin Cities region, leaving Duluth behind. Oh, the joys of dealing with Class B airspace, hoping I wasn’t poking up into somewhere I wasn’t supposed to be, staying below the upside down wedding cake shaped airspace layering. On this leg of the trip, I got to Anoka before Alex, he had gotten stuck behind a few Cirrus aircraft. I was on the ramp shutting down when I heard Alex coming over the radio, for some reason feeling it important to state his intent to land, to “get a few drinks and leave”. We were both newby pilots. Sometimes weird things are unintentionally said to airway authorities. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Because it was getting late, we decided not to get out, but got underway leaving so we would get back before sunset.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"> Flying back to Winona from the Cities is always a breeze, following the Mississippi River the whole way down. It was getting into the twilight hours when we arrived, enough justification to turn on all the runway lights by clicking on the radio (it’s always fun doing that). Soonly afterward we saw a pair of red and green lights coming towards us on the horizon, Alex finally catching up. We were all safe on the ground and still full. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Total flight distance: 370 nautical miles, just to grab some lunch</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Price of cheeseburger: way more than $100, but worth it!</span></div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-619393263411722412011-09-10T14:32:00.000-07:002011-09-10T14:33:45.362-07:00Finding Patterson Spring<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></span></v:shapetype><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">For part of a recent dye trace I’ve been searching the area for more springs to monitor. One spring, Patterson Spring, shows up on historical dye tracing records but didn’t seem to be at the location indicated (it was an old dye trace so location coordinates were general; location was listed as being near a bridge crossing the James River, but there are 2 bridges in this area). </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CMWqLN7m0hh5rCfyiK3oabLMEvWZBvhUElG5flKh4QjGFGBPNPE0gaZIpMTiBYh-KQs67HeBVNSepZG1_tm6nV8FfTVuvZo77uHYTpaGBMFP3BGpNcyNJIQmx2FDr2j1VsWf1cwq2cM/s1600/monitoring_springs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4CMWqLN7m0hh5rCfyiK3oabLMEvWZBvhUElG5flKh4QjGFGBPNPE0gaZIpMTiBYh-KQs67HeBVNSepZG1_tm6nV8FfTVuvZo77uHYTpaGBMFP3BGpNcyNJIQmx2FDr2j1VsWf1cwq2cM/s320/monitoring_springs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I was feeling especially adventurous so I went down to figure out where the spring really was. There’s a lot of overgrowth surrounding the river and the river has carved a decent valley for itself.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02GEGmgjdtMK6ZeZYPB-GUICzjwDqC-amrJDy9xyaKzobLNt9zskUEOsAkMDqZ8XO7W7zy7PHOl3IFWKJceQNk0VO-W-svp8wbFoSZZXTbZ-vU4hU3SnPKTqf6nPuZEk89iDNkV_JJys/s1600/patterson_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj02GEGmgjdtMK6ZeZYPB-GUICzjwDqC-amrJDy9xyaKzobLNt9zskUEOsAkMDqZ8XO7W7zy7PHOl3IFWKJceQNk0VO-W-svp8wbFoSZZXTbZ-vU4hU3SnPKTqf6nPuZEk89iDNkV_JJys/s320/patterson_map.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I parked just at the intersection of S Farm Road 141 and W Farm Rd 190 by the northernmost bridge, as the bridge provided a good way to reach the river. Pictured below - my trusty field vehicle. In the background is a good exposure of the rock unit in the area which is prone to caves, springs, and sinkholes (in fact there is a cave within that hillside that was preserved when the highway department discovered it while blasting through to build that road). <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpH5TGJ8DjoTVBTboHwyfVXgto6b8tM3nNZKy7pG9kLF41FhcCWUmeOoqZul-_r4eS93VRxVHcuI6gcp7s4O830N4SjP6P_ZiQEbFmCaaUHMt7MqKlRx3fZcHu_ymH7VLGURgcMURrgg/s1600/patterson_parking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGpH5TGJ8DjoTVBTboHwyfVXgto6b8tM3nNZKy7pG9kLF41FhcCWUmeOoqZul-_r4eS93VRxVHcuI6gcp7s4O830N4SjP6P_ZiQEbFmCaaUHMt7MqKlRx3fZcHu_ymH7VLGURgcMURrgg/s320/patterson_parking.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">My one regret is wearing shorts instead of pants. Apparently Mother Nature has created her own version of barbed wire in the form of vines with incredibly sharp barbs. Also, the spiders in Missouri continue to amaze me. There is this type of large yellow spider which I’ve seen a number of times while tromping through the woods around here which I’ve been told is nonpoisonous but it provides no comfort to me. It also likes to spin its spider webs at face-height. Photo below courtesy of me (note those are inches on the bottom part of the scale).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsDWvgfvTwTKlM-UHraK4axnr37RBirGPuWAGCsdx_y8TEPm5TUtBUq-rpVKg-uiBde1eKgvEd4a-OVy1KsPKwGysEiiOVwmcpIi-WZiNeQhs3H9Jp1lcFVcdcME4YegSlXR3ykgJbMs/s1600/patterson_spider.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPsDWvgfvTwTKlM-UHraK4axnr37RBirGPuWAGCsdx_y8TEPm5TUtBUq-rpVKg-uiBde1eKgvEd4a-OVy1KsPKwGysEiiOVwmcpIi-WZiNeQhs3H9Jp1lcFVcdcME4YegSlXR3ykgJbMs/s320/patterson_spider.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">After making it down to the river we began walking upstream as this appeared to look more promising for a spring location. After about 80 feet of walking along the bank I looked down and saw water flowing into the river through a bedding plane in the bedrock. As I wasn’t actually expecting to find the spring so it was exciting to “re-discover” it. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQEaNg1Pjp_6bMnOeoc5cMH-7kPPZ8LnIDZEtscxGCu82JQUMhYDe-D7FFg06vQNaauB63T1GGvVV388EN75n0QFRxRYu9zv1zLXmvHsfksY7iK5uUkL960Gvp_vpnqn5mxsvOU2b6aLM/s1600/patterson_river.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQEaNg1Pjp_6bMnOeoc5cMH-7kPPZ8LnIDZEtscxGCu82JQUMhYDe-D7FFg06vQNaauB63T1GGvVV388EN75n0QFRxRYu9zv1zLXmvHsfksY7iK5uUkL960Gvp_vpnqn5mxsvOU2b6aLM/s320/patterson_river.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyW_ah-iIaXYIgeNRmygpDkeAMA3ZrPxs-Cy4vcswKmr7l7K0bbZrvQAzGxAzEeSCt44iRpM37-vDlqBRZWkWGot3QxRu9SkBXQ_tS5ARc2hRHvdcrxuC7B6IhE8E5_gJSfTY7asg5o0/s1600/patterson_river2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibyW_ah-iIaXYIgeNRmygpDkeAMA3ZrPxs-Cy4vcswKmr7l7K0bbZrvQAzGxAzEeSCt44iRpM37-vDlqBRZWkWGot3QxRu9SkBXQ_tS5ARc2hRHvdcrxuC7B6IhE8E5_gJSfTY7asg5o0/s320/patterson_river2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I was too preoccupied examining and recording the location of the spring with my trusty eTrex GPS that I failed to see the “rest” of the spring. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gq-wEgZQDb0YX_IhuinxOjHgtuk1roF4KXtDGj02Do7RfAQZrDJ00q1H5FY2VFDGSa3aRs9GCiVLLeYnYvG6g3TpfyF9ig5-OHtChye4xEB64842FbwUnniWEmXGeMgf-cx6yljLC8Y/s1600/patterson_river3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8gq-wEgZQDb0YX_IhuinxOjHgtuk1roF4KXtDGj02Do7RfAQZrDJ00q1H5FY2VFDGSa3aRs9GCiVLLeYnYvG6g3TpfyF9ig5-OHtChye4xEB64842FbwUnniWEmXGeMgf-cx6yljLC8Y/s320/patterson_river3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1X2fHMxrCJo-utd43ZKjGwWqejAnKeuHu6u2cvCmhUdd4q00qBoNcw9JIAiJj3QnQY-kFOqSkjzBf0KcfudIF7Sqn4sd1Rx6OPLxKo3OxZ24wnlkrZz0nkrB7V2nwrxQG0sAW0WpC6g/s1600/patterson_gps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE1X2fHMxrCJo-utd43ZKjGwWqejAnKeuHu6u2cvCmhUdd4q00qBoNcw9JIAiJj3QnQY-kFOqSkjzBf0KcfudIF7Sqn4sd1Rx6OPLxKo3OxZ24wnlkrZz0nkrB7V2nwrxQG0sAW0WpC6g/s320/patterson_gps.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">For about 100 feet upstream along the bank of the river there was water coming out of the bedding plane into the James River. It wasn’t a large volume at any given spot, flowing at around 1-2 feet per second, but the “thickness” of the sheet of water flowing out of the spring was about 4 inches, and was around 100 feet in width. Rough estimates of discharge put the whole spring at around 30-40 cubic feet per second, which is considerably more than the other springs I’ve been studying in the area (usually 1-5 cubic feet per second).<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9T57KIGcKzEDfcGJ7jgOXD_KL43rRzAwB7vuRZQGPRgfbnBb_Cu0C5Q7WrLciO2xCFjaOiLCczMNH_TAxKF4Q9rKWaeRJSNhOEyWuL94k5-PbxqYwSBvyCQDIkDWmuG3uDG_h7uCigM/s1600/patterson_fracture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb9T57KIGcKzEDfcGJ7jgOXD_KL43rRzAwB7vuRZQGPRgfbnBb_Cu0C5Q7WrLciO2xCFjaOiLCczMNH_TAxKF4Q9rKWaeRJSNhOEyWuL94k5-PbxqYwSBvyCQDIkDWmuG3uDG_h7uCigM/s320/patterson_fracture.jpg" width="248" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6Vx_m_Y24wZN-U3iUG26k2IhGcf3Hy17h3jFF2aVAPNZnHeGuB2EzM9lKSThvFukCUGy1KMfhHoaxkkOAaLuWLvqlQ_bCj067DF9KFGDiMM-HUdGkI68zq45AQ0P1b2rORz08m4VOlc/s1600/patterson_window.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge6Vx_m_Y24wZN-U3iUG26k2IhGcf3Hy17h3jFF2aVAPNZnHeGuB2EzM9lKSThvFukCUGy1KMfhHoaxkkOAaLuWLvqlQ_bCj067DF9KFGDiMM-HUdGkI68zq45AQ0P1b2rORz08m4VOlc/s320/patterson_window.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The observation that the water flows out along a widened bedding plane is important to understand for the way water is flowing in the area (it's one of the major research questions I'm trying to address). </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The river seems to prevent vegetation from growing on a large section of the bedrock and has exposed the fractures in the rock, which allowed us to look down and see the water flowing. These little “windows” were a good place to put a charcoal packet to see if the dye makes it down into this spring.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimS8wILB6QJPhyszgCujjkfHlVEkRgn9176QmuqC7aE2hMPFQq2gO-G5neCCF96Pp78C7xVA7dxS4z-nI_-5-Zc87yTVpcuF5GEbDdT9tQY88SYgeI6KkCd_x3xx2pKrX7gHw8fwaNuHs/s1600/patterson_glasses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimS8wILB6QJPhyszgCujjkfHlVEkRgn9176QmuqC7aE2hMPFQq2gO-G5neCCF96Pp78C7xVA7dxS4z-nI_-5-Zc87yTVpcuF5GEbDdT9tQY88SYgeI6KkCd_x3xx2pKrX7gHw8fwaNuHs/s320/patterson_glasses.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-86489252694993350732011-08-19T20:35:00.000-07:002011-08-19T20:35:29.561-07:00To do or dye<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As part of my masters degree I recently performed a dye trace to better understand how the groundwater flows in my study area. This is especially important in areas like mine known as karst topography, where the groundwater flows through caves and fractures in the bedrock along specific paths and in specific directions, almost like underground river systems. This I opposed to other types of ground water flow which usually involves water flowing slowly in all directions, which is usually easier to predict and monitor. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirP2Afp4PK-8kUXZ-CajB6JSxJdhjwTQCzr0pFArNTONz6-BpWPvo7GU4dVMCS5ytNrku66ISUiUXCvZHm4W3KROsuihW9WM42FM9UIwEHGpGkJVWZoBvJpqB49we4KjYQBLhEMILwWKo/s1600/karst.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirP2Afp4PK-8kUXZ-CajB6JSxJdhjwTQCzr0pFArNTONz6-BpWPvo7GU4dVMCS5ytNrku66ISUiUXCvZHm4W3KROsuihW9WM42FM9UIwEHGpGkJVWZoBvJpqB49we4KjYQBLhEMILwWKo/s320/karst.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Sinkholes in these areas are often controlled by the way groundwater flows, so understanding groundwater flow can provide some insight into sinkhole formation and hazard, such as this sinkhole which formed (in a matter of hours) only a few miles south of my study site and destroyed a house.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSVtX_rLRaZw7YN_XNHvXwWYNW28fEdbat248_NW6HdqqLmjFPMUoMwS41JRUq3WE8PvkIc9I6HJgP6GcuuU1EZ8DIDG7znfXqGLYqfrKEsx5Pw9KMJgqKUNGDGD-RKDx7KvUP6V8pY4/s1600/sinkhole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTSVtX_rLRaZw7YN_XNHvXwWYNW28fEdbat248_NW6HdqqLmjFPMUoMwS41JRUq3WE8PvkIc9I6HJgP6GcuuU1EZ8DIDG7znfXqGLYqfrKEsx5Pw9KMJgqKUNGDGD-RKDx7KvUP6V8pY4/s320/sinkhole.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Dye traces in theory are very simple. A type of fluorescent dye, either as a powder or a liquid, is dumped into a sinkhole or sinking stream, which act as inputs into the groundwater system. Springs nearby act as groundwater outputs and are monitored afterward to see if the dye begins to show up in the spring water. If the dye is found coming out of the springs, or when it doesn’t (which is also important), then connections can be made between the sinkhole and spring, giving insight into what the ground water is doing. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">A dye trace can also be taken further. Measuring how much dye is recovered from can see if dye is being pirated away to other springs. Finding out exactly when the dye starts coming out of the springs relative to when it is dumped into the sinkhole will show how long it took the dye to travel underground. With the distance known between the sinkhole and spring the groundwater velocity can be calculated. Measuring dye concentration spikes in the spring can show if the dye is traveling as one “slug”. Multiple spikes would show dye splitting along different paths and rejoining before exiting through the spring. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQn7es46Y6yHqU-ohsFmeVLT2ABzDg7znv6uKj1yjiq595WplpFeN-E2GeRRwP0u73vkSsvZkeY9HU7-uKB8xn8CkEu8piH6adw-TZAY0uIvwDRQPlBaxaO8UVZczIoCc1p0T5sLcjng/s1600/dyepeaks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijQn7es46Y6yHqU-ohsFmeVLT2ABzDg7znv6uKj1yjiq595WplpFeN-E2GeRRwP0u73vkSsvZkeY9HU7-uKB8xn8CkEu8piH6adw-TZAY0uIvwDRQPlBaxaO8UVZczIoCc1p0T5sLcjng/s320/dyepeaks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">My field site includes a number of sinkholes (numbers #1-3), springs (#5,6), and even a sinkhole in a stream (#4), which allow for a few dye tracing opportunities. Previous studies show that, generally, the groundwater flows southward. One of the sinkholes (#3) has just opened up in the last few months in the middle of a retention basin near a major highway. </span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Rhodamine WT dye was injected into the stream sink (#4) using a small pump. The idea behind this is it causes the dye to come out of the other springs at a constant, level rate. This getup was a special pump and reservoir system which we installed under a cart path.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Lissamine FF dye was dumped into the newly formed sinkhole and flushed in using a garden hose which was installed into a nearby fire hydrant. This was one of my more unique research experiences, rolling out 300+ feet of hose from a fire hydrant across a street and down into the sinkhole. Opening the fire hydrant was actually kind of frightening as it made a lot of low rumbling noises before finally opening up.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8I2sqtLoFcjgemktiQrYzojPKB1gQyeGE559Ip0n-wWx4OFirAsoXd7__0XpdEvc0LEgsgOOFvpTAR1xyMBgmSIuMLuENTg_Si8ILpG36Pxz7A40R7H1vpEhL0U4A3dtZSLjLl86Sqik/s1600/hydrant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8I2sqtLoFcjgemktiQrYzojPKB1gQyeGE559Ip0n-wWx4OFirAsoXd7__0XpdEvc0LEgsgOOFvpTAR1xyMBgmSIuMLuENTg_Si8ILpG36Pxz7A40R7H1vpEhL0U4A3dtZSLjLl86Sqik/s320/hydrant.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We flushed in the dye using about 250 gallons of water. This took about a half an hour, based on the rate of the hose. </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The whole process took about two hours to set up and complete. Unfortunately for myself and my field assistant we had no shade to rest in. As a side note, this was during some of the hottest days so far this summer in Missouri.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrZzjLaPz6EsV97-KSIZ1o8G_pF3EoaQJBvc9K2OOsrSTyPjKhmz_n5T_S4ZdhQqHBEUyhR1gRh4R5fyvxztlL0TYl9bsQSm6afHd5k9dLx6OvV3bWxDkZqBsxPMuomiOvemOpId7088/s1600/fieldsink.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTrZzjLaPz6EsV97-KSIZ1o8G_pF3EoaQJBvc9K2OOsrSTyPjKhmz_n5T_S4ZdhQqHBEUyhR1gRh4R5fyvxztlL0TYl9bsQSm6afHd5k9dLx6OvV3bWxDkZqBsxPMuomiOvemOpId7088/s320/fieldsink.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The dye from the newly formed sinkhole was detected at both of the springs to the south, which was expected but important to find out. One of the more important observations, though, relates to the dye injected at the stream sink. Although that dye shows up at both of the springs, it shows up at unequal concentrations. More specifically, it shows up as a higher concentration at spring #6 than spring #5. What this shows is that some of the dye is diverting to another path before it reaches spring #6 and mixing with another source of ground water which is diluting it before it reaches spring #5. Spring #6 is also farther away than spring #5 which explains why it shows up later.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBETBe5N4Hgx4zNf-d0TUD2_15q7yOUd_yCAaNjz7rhQMfxEjFTgLgkAv_eJq4czxowxS3xEb1NXb5Mngj39p2MZdEo8_BvZMJJ2_bEiNy5-RoPkxiawQ3w_vj8c27aCQcOe2h9wIhlg/s1600/dyeconcentrations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHBETBe5N4Hgx4zNf-d0TUD2_15q7yOUd_yCAaNjz7rhQMfxEjFTgLgkAv_eJq4czxowxS3xEb1NXb5Mngj39p2MZdEo8_BvZMJJ2_bEiNy5-RoPkxiawQ3w_vj8c27aCQcOe2h9wIhlg/s320/dyeconcentrations.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1544908744255922197.post-52408728499673088252011-08-03T03:43:00.000-07:002016-01-20T08:35:58.340-08:00Marco...Polo...Geologists in the Mist<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: large; line-height: 115%;">I took 2-week field class to the Black Hills along with about 15 of my fellow geology majors. Some of us were graduating or recently graduated, confident in our learned skills, while others were at different stages in the program. It was by far one of my more enjoyable geology experiences, filled with a lot of stories I love to tell. Here is one I often told my geology labs when we get to the section about using maps, usually when a student will ask how accurate they need to be on an exam with map coordinates. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">For a few days we were divided up into groups of 3 to map geology in sections in as much detail as we could. It was difficult at times to not take time and enjoy the amazing scenery, the tall hills thick with pine trees. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbYPeockXw-Kne_icKvYuumFP4_iLMRAqv_pgV0QZiKjTwiW038MlTLng8JzpA0-dDQSIyiPP-3J5RrfJ4tyjsCyRAXy-2isYNBQ82ty1Qgpl8AAAcsREeeCIZ_CoAZbH_6uyr-IS-5GI/s1600/bh_pinetrees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbYPeockXw-Kne_icKvYuumFP4_iLMRAqv_pgV0QZiKjTwiW038MlTLng8JzpA0-dDQSIyiPP-3J5RrfJ4tyjsCyRAXy-2isYNBQ82ty1Qgpl8AAAcsREeeCIZ_CoAZbH_6uyr-IS-5GI/s640/bh_pinetrees.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">A competitive team mentality drove each team to want to map the most, as we were going to combine all of the teams mapped data into one larger geologic map of the area.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDMOhMWhmZYZ_rSUYlLncSBfGpjq8y8cRzT78UgZnN8ZzU_-YOvY3iyyFHhRa1ZabwE6-lNBVq6hl5XfRanauEe83PBqpHGGC4rZJ4XjL5bIHJAfolcDajOcE0xY-FWy-RR97je4tvfK8/s1600/bh_makingmap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDMOhMWhmZYZ_rSUYlLncSBfGpjq8y8cRzT78UgZnN8ZzU_-YOvY3iyyFHhRa1ZabwE6-lNBVq6hl5XfRanauEe83PBqpHGGC4rZJ4XjL5bIHJAfolcDajOcE0xY-FWy-RR97je4tvfK8/s640/bh_makingmap.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">I considered my group the GPS-savvy group, and, along with each of us having a walky-talky, we thought it would only make sense to spread out a little to cover more ground while using the handheld GPS’s and radios to maintain contact and positional awareness. Besides, we were never really far off from each other, usually just beyond the adjacent hill, and only had to be accurate enough to get within shouting range. Without much practice we became very good at this divide and conquer method.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri";"><span style="font-size: large;">Our skills were tested one day when, as I was walking up a large hill, looking for some outcrop, I looked up and saw a cloud roll over and down the hill. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_tzL20bWLboJNIIUhZyrHLoe5WHuTtI6XjuxT0ulegLH9usCrq44pgv3RgzpH5aW-GTkIknTjlJNRnDvy_zxGdFJxOGtJFiR7alJkQQHn7OldS0ytMqsutuGZxCgrel9WJTeJY1AdkM/s1600/bh_fog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="430" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_tzL20bWLboJNIIUhZyrHLoe5WHuTtI6XjuxT0ulegLH9usCrq44pgv3RgzpH5aW-GTkIknTjlJNRnDvy_zxGdFJxOGtJFiR7alJkQQHn7OldS0ytMqsutuGZxCgrel9WJTeJY1AdkM/s640/bh_fog.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">“Incoming fog”, I called on the radio.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">“Really? It’s still sunny here,” one of my team members replied before the fog reached them. “Ah, there it is”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">Everything got very quiet and muffled when that thick fog rolled in. I could only see about 50 feet, which was lucky, considering how dense the pine trees were. It seemed that my shouts couldn’t even travel that far. If someone wasn’t within 50 feet of me I’d never see them, let alone hear them. We only planned to go map this hill quickly and head back to camp, but first we had to find each other. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">For the next half-hour we played 21<sup><span style="font-size: xx-small;">st</span></sup> century Marco Polo. This involved us agreeing on a prominent topographic feature to meet up at, a nice round hill, measuring its UTM coordinates off of our topographic map, then comparing those UTM’s to each of our current positions to calculate which direction and distance we should travel to reach the hill (using our Brunton compasses) and backing up with our handheld GPS’s. Once we were at the top of the hill, then, we need to meet in the same spot within a range of about 50 feet. I first saw one of my team members, due to the bright green shirt they were wearing at the time, and they couldn’t even hear me when I shouted at them. After more walky-talking and GPS-checking we eventually met up with the third member. Each of our maps was filled with check and re-check UTM coordinates, lines, and scribbles near that little hill. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: large;">So when a student asks, "How accurate do I need to be?", I tell them this story. I tell them to be as accurate as they can, because you never know when the fog will roll in and you'll have to play Marco Polo with GPS coordinates to get your team back together safely.</span></div>
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Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09155711166727047629noreply@blogger.com0