News / Events 2013

May

2013 Graduates

The mystery of "eternal flames"

Quoting the IU News Room: "Eternal flames" fueled by hydrocarbon gas could shine a light on the presence of natural gas in underground rock layers and conditions that let it seep to the surface, according to research by geologists at the Department of Geological Sciences and the Indiana Geological Survey at Indiana University Bloomington.

A little-known but spectacular flame in Erie County, N.Y., is the focus of an article in the journal Marine and Petroleum Geology, co-authored by Agnieszka Drobniak, research scientist with the Indiana Geological Survey, and Arndt Schimmelmann, senior scientist in the Department of Geological Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. more

Students enrolled in courses at the Indiana University Geologic Field Station prepare to travel to Cardwell, Montana.

Classes start on June 30 and run until August 12. The Field Station’s flagship course, G429, Field Geology in the Rocky Mountains, is the frequently required capstone course for advanced college geosciences majors. G129, Earth Sciences: Materials and Processes, has been added for rising college freshman, and primarily non-majors in geology regardless of class standing.

April

April 2-12: IU researchers in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland sampled gas and sediment at project field sites.

Photo: (left to right) Seth Young, Sarah Cadieux, and Jeff White work with a data sonde to gather information about Potentilla Lake.

April 11: Jeff White writes: "All goes well here in Greenland. Many hours of fruitful field collections and lab analyses. Going from 8am to 10pm every day. But spirits are high as the data look excellent. JW" Research website

Professor Michael Hamburger to recieve the Distinguished Service Award

Michael Hamburger has been selected to receive the Bloomington campus Distinguished Service Award for the 20 12-20 13 academic year. In the words of Vice Provost Tom Gieryn, "Your exemplary career at Indiana University represents an extraordinary picture of truly distinguished service. The Bloomington Faculty Council created the Distinguished Service Award in order to recognize leadership and dedication within the university, within a discipline, and/or in the community.The committee and I single out your persistent and thoroughly successful efforts to launch an Office of Sustainability on the Bloomington campus. Without your steadfast commitment to this project, in the face of many obstacles eventually overcome, the magnificent sustainability programs at IUB simply would not exist." A reception will be held on April 22, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. in the President’s Room, University Club, Indiana Memorial Union.

Crossroads Conference at IUB

The annual Crossroads Geology Conference at IUB was held April 5th and 6th, 2013 in the Geology building.

Dr. Erika Elswick, Faculty sponsor of SGE, writes: "The Rho Chapter of Sigma Gamma Epsilon (SGE) did a great job of organizing and conducting the Conference with a record number of 60 student participants from the department and guests from IUPU South Bend, Wright State University, Indiana State, IUPUI, and the University of Northern Illinois.

Congratulations to the Crossroads Committee: Jeremy Maurer (chair), Kellie Donoghue, James Wallace, Justin Zabrecky and Scott David and SGE Officers Rebecca Caldwell, President; Robin Green, Treasurer; and Liz Cola, Secretary. You and the SGE members did a great job and the Department is very proud of your accomplishments and those of the student participants. Congratulations to all!

Congratulations to the Student winners acknowledged by the judges in the following six categories:

PhD: Rebecca Caldwell – Best Poster; Rich Bykowski – Best Oral Presentation
MS: Anna Nowicki – Best Poster; Teresa Ditz (IUPUI) – Best Oral Presentation
Undergraduate: Erica Cotter (IUPU South Bend) – Best Poster; Emily Stewart – Best Oral presentation"

March

The Edmonds lab renovation is complete. GY 441 is the new home of Doug Edmonds’ laboratory. His research focuses on the stratigraphy and dynamics of depositional sedimentary systems. SedSystems Website

February

IU seismic network "OIINK" records North Korea’s nuculear explosion

The North Korean nuclear explosion was recorded at our midcontinent "OIINK" seismic network. The blast, which occurred at 0257:51 GMT (9:57 PM Monday, February 11th, local time) produced seismic energy equivalent to a magnitude 5.1 earthquake. Given the distance from southern Indiana (about 90 degrees, or a quarter of the way around the globe) that’s pretty close to our recording threshold, so it’s hidden in the background noise at many sites. The seismic waves arrived here around 13 minutes later, at 0311 GMT.

Abive are two recordings of the event, which show the strong, high-frequency P-waves produced by the blast. It is seismic recordings like these that provide the primary constraint on underground nuclear testing and the basis for verification of most nuclear testing treaties. IU Press also covered the story.

Meteorological masts (wind towers) arrive at IU Geosciences

Rebecca Barthelmie, Sara C. Pryor, and Post-Doctoral Researcher Karen Hornsby oversee the delivery of meteorological masts. Meteorological masts are designed for wind energy research in particular because they are portable yet durable and have a slender profile and booms that do not interfere with the precision of high quality wind and turbulence measurements. Website for Atmospheric Sciences

January

January 14. Terry Engelder Gives Tudor Lecture on "Shale Gas: Technical Details Behind Environmental Concerns." more

Quoting IU News Room: "Engelder’s Tudor Lecture will focus on technical issues surrounding natural gas development in the Appalachian Basin. The talk will be preceded by coffee and cookies in the lobby of the Geology Building. Copies of "The End of Country" will be available for purchase at an informal reception following the evening forum.

$fracking lecture crowd$

"Dr. Engelder’s visit to IU offers an extraordinary opportunity for our faculty and students," said Michael Hamburger, professor of geophysics in the IU College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Geological Sciences. "He is a highly respected research scholar, as well as a leader in the application of geological knowledge to critical energy issues. Our evening forum will allow Engelder to team up with writer Seamus McGraw to examine the complex social, economic and policy implications of natural gas exploration in America's heartland."

New Publication

Climate Change in the Midwest: Impacts, Risks, Vulnerability, and Adaptation Edited by S. C. Pryor.
IU Press

The research presented in this volume focuses on identifying and quantifying the major vulnerabilities to climate change in the Midwestern United States. By providing state-of-the-art spatially disaggregated information regarding the historical, current, and possible future climate within the region, the contributors assess the risks and susceptibility of the critical socio-economic and environmental systems. Key sectors discussed are agriculture, human health, water, energy and infrastructure, and the vulnerabilities that may be amplified under current climate trajectories. The book also considers the challenges and opportunities to develop local and regional strategies for addressing the risks posed by climate change in the context of developing an integrative policy for the region. more

Sara recently made a podcast for the Union of Concerned Scientists about these issues in the Midwest. You can view it here (Sara’s piece begins at 23 minutes).

Geological Sciences at Indiana