Alumni Newsletter • 2013-14 The Outcrop
The IDOR (Idaho-Oregon transect) EarthScope Project
Basil Tikoff page 14
Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison From the Chair
Dear Alumni and Friends– has been the hallmark of We’ve had a beautiful Fall in Madison, and it’s time for another our program. We couldn’t issue of the Outcrop. Students, faculty, and researchers from do that without the Field our department have ranged far and wide (and deep into the Experience Funds and laboratory) in pursuit of their studies this year. Their stories are in other support donated these pages, along with kudos and honors, historical vignettes, and by you, our alumni and new developments. I predict you’ll want to read it cover to cover! friends. The endowment I have just taken up the role of Department Chair as of the provided by that fund in Fall semester, taking over from Brad Singer who is enjoying a particular now supports field trips to the tune of more than $40,000 well-earned sabbatical after three eventful years ably steering the a year! I want to express our deepest thanks to you all, because ship. He’s hardly resting though – Brad is immersed in launching we literally could not maintain the quality and rigor of our major a major new research project at the Laguna del Maule caldera in without those funds. Chile. Involving nearly a third of the department’s faculty members To build on that success, we are now focused on two areas to and a large cast of students and research staff, this $3 million maintain the quality of our program in the face of seemingly ever- project is the NSF’s very first grant in the Integrated Earth Systems declining state funding. For graduate students, the number of TA program. slots available to us is not what it used to be, and the competition The most exciting new development is the hiring of two new to get the best prospective Master’s and Ph.D. students is fierce. Assistant Professors: Shaun Marcott and Lucas Zoet (see profiles on Direct stipend support for more graduate students will allow them page 20). Shaun joined us in August; his focus is on glacial geology, to pursue their research goals more effectively and will help us the history of Pleistocene glaciation, and paleoclimatology. Lucas continue to attract the best students. Accordingly, I encourage specializes in glacier and ice sheet mechanics and dynamics. He will you to consider giving to the Jay Nania Memorial Fund to support join us next summer after completing postdoctoral work. We have graduate study (see BOV letter, page 2, and “Clark’s section”, page a long history of excellence in Quaternary and glacial science, and I 27). For the undergrads, my focus is on the challenge of keeping am very pleased that we have a bright future in that area as well. the Summer Field Camp course healthy and affordable. It is For me, stepping into the Chair’s role has been bracing, expensive to run, and we must charge students a fee, in addition coming directly on the heels of a busy and productive sabbatical to the summer tuition they pay the university. Your support of year. I spent the first half of the sabbatical preparing for, and then the Field Camp fund will go directly toward providing offsetting going, an expedition as co-Chief Scientist on board the Japanese scholarships to ease that burden for our students. research vessel Chikyu for seven weeks offshore Japan. After a brief The role of department Chair comes with a lot of extra work – stopover in Madison during the depths of the Polar Vortex winter, I the extent of which I’m just beginning to discover. The upside is escaped again to Zürich, Switzerland for a six-month stay as Visiting getting the chance to lead and represent our incredibly energetic Professor at ETH. There, I enjoyed stimulating collaborations students, staff, and faculty. I hope you will enjoy every page of and immersed myself in spectacular Alpine geology at every this issue of the Outcrop, which is full of news, a little history, and opportunity. exciting new science. I think it will show once again that Badgers On my return, I found Weeks Hall buzzing with activity. The really do make better geoscientists! number of undergraduate majors continues to grow (numbering Sincerely, about 140 as I write this!), and our core courses are bursting at the seams. It’s a real challenge to manage this growth, and to continue to offer the hands-on and field-intensive curriculum that Harold Tobin
http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 1 The Board of Visitors
Doug Connell, 2014-2015 BOV Board Chair [email protected] Geobadgers—On behalf of your Board of Visi- tors, thank you for your outstanding support for the Department over the past year. Your contri- butions and assistance to the Department make a real difference in the experience and education of the next generation of geoscientists, and are critical to maintaining the reputation and stature the Department has developed over the decades. The Board of Visitors is excited about the The Board of Visitors Meeting, October 3, 2014: Left to right seated: Mark Solien, Doug Connell, BOV College of Letters and Sciences “Career Initia- Chair, Harold Tobin, Department Chair, Jim Davis. Standing: Tom Johnson, Tim Berge, Martin Shields, tive” (htpp://go.wisc.edu/lsci), a program to help Steve Johannsen, Evan Franseen, Carol McCartney, and Jamie Robertson. Photo, Mary Diman. L&S students find avenues to explore career needs and ensure that their education equips Museum, including being named one of the best tives to the Department, and hope you’ll let us them for life-long learning and career resilience. museums in Madison by Madison Magazine. Un- know your suggestions, opinions, and comments The effort resonates strongly with the BOV’s der Rich Slaughter’s leadership, the Museum on how we can continue supporting its mission efforts to support and mentor students and continues to develop innovative programming, and reputation. On behalf of my BOV colleagues, assist them in exploring and pursuing geosci- conduct paleontological field work, train future thank you for your support of the Department of ence careers. As an example, we partnered this professionals, and generally punch well above Geoscience. l their weight. Now going on their 166th year, it’s fall with the College of Engineering’s Geological Board Members / Contact Engineering Program’s Board of Visitors to hold a great place to inspire future geoscientists. Doug Connell, Chair [email protected] a career panel discussion where students could Our fund-raising emphasis over the last year Tim Berge [email protected] pose questions to professionals who have pur- have focused on graduate student support, and Donald Cameron [email protected] sued various careers in geoscience and geologi- we’re gratified for the support many of you have Kirt Campion [email protected] cal engineering. We hope to further assist the provided to begin building the endowment for Tom Doe [email protected] College in its efforts, and ask that you stay on the Jay Nania graduate support fund; donations Steven Driese [email protected] the lookout for more communications on how and pledges to the fund have exceeded its initial Evan Franseen [email protected] you can participate in the initiative. $200,000 goal, and the first award from the fund Thomas Hoffmann [email protected] Steve Johannsen [email protected] Other ways we’ve assisted the department was distributed last spring. Your financial sup- port for the Department remains exceedingly Claudia Mora [email protected] include continued support for replacing faculty Jeff Pietras [email protected] important given continued decreases in state who have retired or left the Department, and Rick Sarg [email protected] we’re grateful to see the Department be autho- funding for the University’s teaching mission, Martin Shields [email protected] rized to bring on Shaun Marcott (this fall) and and you can find a list of UW Foundation and Sally Zinke [email protected] Department Funds on the last page. Our contact Lukas Zoet in 2015 (see New Faculty, page 20). Senior Advisors / Contact at the U.W. Foundation, Chris Glueck (chris. Getting administration approval for new faculty Rick Sarg [email protected] is no small feat and speaks to the excellent re- [email protected], 608-265-9952) can also Charles Andrews [email protected] search and teaching conducted in Weeks Hall. assist you in exploring various approaches to Timothy Carr [email protected] We’re proud of the recognition the Depart- support the Department. Kenneth Ciriacks [email protected] ment’s faculty members and staff receive, includ- We want to express our thanks to Brad James Davis [email protected] ing emeritus professor Robert Dott’s selection Singer, who in his role as Department Chair was David Divine [email protected] by GSA’s History and Philosophy of Geology one of our main contacts in the Department, Mark Emerson [email protected] Division to be the recipient of its 2014 Gerald and wish him the best of luck as he shifts his Maitri Erwin [email protected] Carl Fricke [email protected] M. and Sue T. Friedman Distinguished Service focus back towards teaching and research. We Thomas Holley [email protected] Award. look forward to working with Harold Tobin as he takes on the job, which is not without its Thomas Johnson [email protected] We also want to recognize one of our own, John Mack no email challenges these days. Jim Davis (MS 1956; PhD 1965), who was Carol McCartney [email protected] recently named the American Geological Insti- Finally, we look forward to continue adding William Morgan [email protected] tute’s 2014 Ian Campbell Medalist in recognition enthusiastic alumni to our Board, and invite Jean Morrison [email protected] of outstanding performance in and contribution your nominations or expression of interest. Robert Nauta [email protected] to the profession of geology. The Campbell Board members serve a four-year term and meet Marjory Rinaldo-Lee [email protected] Medal is AGI’s most distinguished award. regularly with the Department’s faculty, staff and James Robertson [email protected] The Board is proud of the continuing com- students in Madison. Mark Solien [email protected] munity recognition being gained by the Geology We are fortunate to act as your representa- Pete (Philip) Stark [email protected] David Stephenson [email protected]
2 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison Gifts to the department in 2013: Thank you Kenneth Rolf & Ingeborg F. Aalto Oscar A. & Mary H. Cruz James Austin Hartman Charles Leo Matsch Joanne Samson John Ernest & Renae Fjeld Accardo Samir & Heeral Dalia Robert Joseph & Barbara M. Hartman Karen M. McCurdy J. Frederick & Ann E. Sarg Daniel A. & Cynthia T. Alexanian Dennis Arnold Darby Patricia Marie Hartshorne Alice R. McPherson & Michael L. Sargent Gemma M. Almuete William Edward Davies & Mary P. Ross Tommye Heinemann Anthony A. Mierzwa William A. Sauck & Elen C. Cutrim American Association of Petroleum Richard Albert & Mary Ann Davis Fred George & Carol A. Heivilin Louis R. & Debra S. Meister Madeline E. Schreiber Geologists James Clifford & Donald Ray & Carol Joan Hembre David Melbourne & Elizabeth Bonefas Rick & Lisa Schrimsher Ametek, Inc. Caroline Weiss Dawson Darrell James Henry Frank Mellen Frederic Lyon Schwab Charles F. & Mary P. Anderson Chuck DeMets Paul Edward Herr Richard Lewis Mertins Gerald Lee Scott James Lawford Anderson & Jason J. Diaz Edward Leonard Hershberg & Teresa Brandt & David M. Midthun David A. & Yvonne B. Sears Jean Morrison Mark & Liz Dice Valerie Jill Poris William H. Mills Janet Ellen & Jean-Christophe Sempere Lance Christopher Anderson Frederick Edward & Robert Gunn & Elizabeth W. Hickman James Douglass & O.B. & Rita Shelburne Hertzel & Dorita Aron Donna June Digert Glenn Bunji Hieshima Patricia Donald Moore Shell Oil Co Lawrence James & Donna Lee Asmus David Lee & Ruth A. Divine John Frank Hilgenberg Claudia Ines Mora Kirk Wayne & Elizabeth Sherwood Richard Craig Aster & Jan Marie Tarr Amalia Celeste Doebbert Julie Lynn Hill William A. Morgan & Lori A. Millet Martin L. & Arlyn C. Shields Shashank R. Atre Robert Schaff Dollison Thomas F. & Karen Jean Hoffman John & Tashia Morgridge Kent Rodney Siegel Dean Esmond & Diana R. Ayres Eugene Walter Domack Adam & Barbara S. Hogan Bruce T. & Lisa Moses Leon Silverstrom & Mary K. Mulvihill Jack Arthur & Laurel Babcock Robert H. & Nancy R. Dott Thomas K. & Nancy Lynne Holley Maureen Ann Muldoon Jeremy John Simplot Jean M. Bahr Steven George & Marylaine H. Driese Dennis Milton & Judith Bertha Howe James Arnold & Richard W. & Maureen Slaughter Brian Charles Ball Steven Robert Dunn & Jessica Plaut Jeffrey Sheldon Hudson Elizabeth Davidson Munter Benita Slight Michael Francis Barber Michael Everett & Jean Carol Durch Terrance John Huettl & Rachel Ann Murphy George Leo Smith Michael Arthur & Liz Barclay Nathan Charles Eck Tracey Whitesell Ralph Hamilton Nafziger Mary Anne & Robert D. Sobek Richard Louis Beauheim Jane Covington Edmond Steven T. Iltis David Charles & Helen F. Nagel Mark A. & Carol Ann Solien Gina R. Belt Craig E. Eisen Isotopx James Mark Nania George L. & Ann Ward Spaeth Hugh Frederick & Janet Modene & Robert P. Elliott Theodore Emil Jacques Jay Calhoun Nania & Frank Spence Catherine Elizabeth Bennett Mark E. & Ellen Emerson Mogens & Candy Jepsen Silvia D. Orengo-Nania Roger E. & Jeanne A. Stahl Ross Howard & Nancy Benthien Diana C. Enerio Clark M. Johnson & Edward Adams & Linda S. Need Scott Daniel Stanford Timothy Bryan S. & Daniel E. & L.inda C Epner Martha A. Pernokas Newmont Mining Corp Ellen Stanke Victoria Clancy Berge Maitri & Derick Erwin Jesse C. & Marcy M. Johnson Michael Patrick Niebauer Darrell Stanley Robert Oliver Beringer Stanley Charles Fagerlin William Jeffery Johnson Tina Marie Johnson Nielsen Philip H. Stark Jonathan Milton & Joann Berkson Kurt L. Feigl James Anthony Joy Nyal James Niemuth George John Stathis Edward & Elizabeth Berzin Charles Findlay Charles John Kaiser Gordon L. Nord Michael William Stephens Karl Joseph Bethke D. Ramsey Fisher William Richard Kaiser Robert D. & Heidi A. Nowak Thomas Edwin & Carol L. Stephenson Marcia Glee Bjornerud William Mills Fitchen & Robert Frank Kaufmann Nu Instruments Ltd Thomas Charles & Diane M. Sullivan Ronald Clyde Blakey Martha Deschamps Fitchen Jerome Joseph Kendall Jonathan Eugene Nyquist & Albert Yen Sun Cynthia L. Blankenship Sarah K. Fortner Sally Wright & John W. Kendrick Laura Ellen Toran Michael Louis & Lily A. Sweet Robert Hugh Blodgett John H. Fournelle Karen M. Kennemer Eric Kenneth & Casey E. Oelkers Daniel Lee & Sandra G. Szymanski John M. Blohm Donald Hayes & Maryjean H. Freas Dennis Rolland Kerr Brian Joseph & Teresa M. O'Neill David Elias Tabet & Geoffrey Clark Bohling George Frederick Keith Brindley & Donna Carol Ketner David Charles & Lisa Michele Padget Mary Elizabeth Boudreau Milton & Laurie R. Boniuk Frederick August Frey Joe Kington & JoAnn Gage David W. & Julie T. Parke Alexander Carl Teel Leo Eugene Bourcier Henry Chester Fuller Rodney Victro & Donald E. & Carol L. Paull Emmanuelle N. Templin Dewitt Francis Bowman James H. & Heather A. Gamber Joanne Margaret Kirkham Lynn Ellen Paull Thermo Fisher Scientific-Germa BP North American, Inc. David Anthony & Janice A. Gardner Harry Louis Knipp & Richard Allen & Rachel Kay Paull Jeffrey Charles Thompson Scott Brandt Terrence Melvin Gerlach & Mary Ann Ortmayer Elizabeth M. Percak-Dennett Clifford H. Thurber & Michael Robert & Kay Ellen Brauner Aniki Litasi-Gerlach John Michael & Shanan E. Peters Judith M. Harackiewicz Deena Grace Braunstein Steven John & Kay A. Germiat Edith Hoffman Konopka Daniel Thomas Peterson Stephen P. & Susan L. Thurston Garrett & Susan W. Briggs Gary Lee Gianniny & Cynthia E. Dott John Henry Kopmeier Myrtle Dawkins Phillips Sarah Jessica Titus Susan Carolyn Broenkow Gregg Mark Gibbs Frank L. Kretzer William Weston Pidcoe Scott Arthur Troemner Elwood Ralph & Della Ann Brooks Robert Howard & Mark & Mardi Kunik Jeffrey & Kuwanna Dyer Pietras Andrew Paul Trzaskus Franz Brotzen Linda Carol Gillespie Roger & Barbara Kussow Michael Lowry Porter & Paul John Umhoefer Wilfred Bottrill Bryan Janice L. Gillingham Judy Sue La Kind Rebecca Jane Cole John W. & Andree T. Valley Thomas M. & Eloise Byrd Scott D. & Tania Lee Giorgis William E. & Laura J. Laing Robert N. & Martha L. Potter Jean-Paul & Rebecca Van Gestel Donald E. & Tammye R. Cameron Christopher & Erin Oredson Glueck Penelope Jane Lancaster Skylar Lawrence & Stefanie M. Primm Sandra J. Vander Velden Kirt Michael & Jean M. Campion Christopher Godinich & John Alan & Carol Mooring Larson Sarah Marie Principato John F. & Lois H. Vitcenda Daniel M. & Linda R. Caplice Anne Chang-Godinich Thomas V. & Arra J. Lasse Robert E. Pyzalski Dale Charles & Laurita H. Vodak Timothy Robert & Margaret Carr Ariel Marie Goerl John Laudon Raiza R. Quintero Maurice A. Warner David Samuel Charlton & Jackson E. & Barbara E. Goffman Thomas S. & Suzanne L. Laudon Beverly Ramirez Ryan D. & Lacie Weber Candace Pierson-Charlton Justin Craig Gosses Jason A. Laufenberg E. Richard Randolph Bruce Randall Weertman Ronald Russell Charpentier Jonathan David Greif & Cherie J. Lee Vasu & Claudia Rao Warren William & Judith Louise Wegner Amy I. Cheng & Charles H. Sword Tamar Helen Small Patrick Jon Lehmann Nicholas Thomas Rashid James Lowell Welsh Dean Chergotis Christine Marie Griffith Brian J. & Colleen M. Leigh James E. & Ieva Rasmussen J. Michael Widmier Lauren Matthews Chetel Douglas B. & Lynn Macdonald Groh David Leith Hayley Raymer Ray Everett & Mary Marks Wilcox Chevron Products Company Ric Robert & Mary A. Grummer Samantha Elaine Leone David K. & Donna H. Rea Kirk R. Wilhelmus Kenneth W. & Linda Ciriacks Stephen Jay & Linda Guggenheim David J. & Sheryl L. Lesar Harold Sutton & Jeanne Rebholz Keith Evan Winfree Cory Christopher & Rebecca A. Hackworth Kyle Thomas & Sherry S. Lewallen William Richard Reise & Brett Michael Wingfield Elizabeth R. Clechenko Charles Albert Haddox Richard A. & Patricia N. Lewis Dolores G. Ellis-Reise Maryjane Wiseman Robert Murri & Suzanne Gavlin Cluff John P. & Betsey J. Hager Ming C. & Grace C. Liau Arthur L. Rice Michael Jacob & Caroline Woldenberg Jonathan Lee & Doria Cobb Dean & Eileen Hahn Eula M. Lieber Kyle Adam Roberts John Lee & Judith Edworthy Wray Robert A. Cocchiarella Donald A. & Ethel R. Hahn Yu-Feng Lin James D. & Stella M. Robertson Patricia Donovan & Larry J. Wright Lorenzo Cohen & Alison Jeffries Stanley Kerry Hamilton Lance Robert Lindwall Rae C. Rocca Huifang Xu Douglas Edward Connell Bruce Handley Gina L. Liuzza Dennis Lee Roder Nancy Neal Yeend Jennie E. Cook Ed Hanel & Ida Orengo Chyrl L. Lowe Eric P. & Melody Rodriguez Charles Thomas & Lois S. Young Theodore Francis Cota John Warvelle Harbaugh Anne M. Lucke Christine Rossen & Thomas A. Hauge Donald Anthony Yurewicz & J. Campbell & Dorothy D. Craddock Erin Lynne & Andrew Hart Eric Martin & Janet N. Luttrell Roger E. & Celine M.Rothenmaier Theresa Anne Einhorn Randy & Catherine Crath Orville Dorwin & Helen Lou Hart Steve & Lori Machiorlette Rickie L. Ryan Kurt Frederick Zimmermann James Kenneth & Nancy Lorraine Laurie E. Hartline-Babb & Carol Mankiewicz & Carl Mendelson Mark & Terry L. Rydberg Peter A. & Eileen A. Zwart Crossfield Robert F. Babb Randall Steven Marquard Nita Sahai http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 3 Distinguished Alumni Awards for 2014
MARK SOLIEN For distinguished leadership in the petroleum industry in advancing technology development both within and outside ExxonMobil, and in providing support for students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. MARK SOLIEN (B.S. 1970, M.S. 1976) Texas. He figure in merging the technical strengths of is a native of Wisconsin who went on to a then moved each company that enhanced the merged distinguished career at Exxon and then Exx- into manage- company’s technical prowess. During his onMobil where he achieved the position of ment with career Mark has remained dedicated to the Vice President of Technology at the Exxon- a series of Geoscience Department in Madison and has Mobil Exploration Company. After receiving supervisory always been a great proponent of the Wis- his B.S. in Geology at Madison, Mark spent a and manage- consin Way and the idea of multiple working few years in the U.S. Navy and then returned rial positions hypotheses promulgated by T. C. Chamber- to Madison for his M.S. His M.S. thesis, under that included lain. During and before his membership on the guidance of Dave Clark, addressed the Exploration the Board of the Department Geoscience, biostratigraphy of the Triassic-aged Thaynes Manager of Mark has supported and continues to actively Formation in Utah. This started Mark on Esso UK. During his Production Supervisory support the development of future genera- a lifelong interest in sedimentology and assignment in Corpus Christi, he brought tions of geoscience professionals. Mark is stratigraphy that he applied at Exxon during the new technology of sequence stratigraphy retired to the Big Island in Hawaii and cur- his 30 year career with that company. Mark into that office resulting new reserve adds in rently volunteers as a geologic docent at the began his career in the offshore California a mature field area. Following the merger of National Parks on that island. Exploration group and followed that assign- Mobil and Exxon in 2000, Mark became the —Rick Sarg, Citationist ment with a Production stint in Kingsville, Vice President of Technology and was a key
CHUNMIAO ZHENG For a seminal textbook and software that has transformed the groundwater consulting industry, and for distinguished research and sustained service.
CHUNMIAO ZHENG (Ph.D. 1988) formed the sential to accurate prediction of transport. is a Chair Professor at Peking University groundwater Chunmiao has received numerous awards and the Lindahl Professor of Hydrogeology, consulting and recognition. In China, he was a recipient University of Alabama. He came to Wisconsin industry. of the “1000 Talents” program awarded by the in December 1984, receiving the Ph.D. under His popular, national government. He last visited Madison Mary Anderson. After graduation he worked extremely as the Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer for S.S. Papadopulos & Associates, Inc. He is well written of the Geological Society of America (GSA). currently on extended leave from Alabama to textbook on He is a fellow of GSA and a recipient of an pursue teaching and research in China where contaminant Excellence in Science and Engineering Award he is the founder and director of the Center transport from the National Ground Water Association for Water Research at Peking University, soon modeling is (NGWA). In 2013, he was honored with both to be expanded to the Institute of Water accessible to the O.E. Meinzer Award from the Hydrogeol- Science. both students and professionals. Chunmiao ogy Division of GSA and the M.K. Hubbert At Wisconsin, Chunmiao developed a regularly uses MT3DMS in his research, for Award from the NGWA. He has served as an computer program to trace groundwater flow example to investigate preferential flow paths, associate editor for four hydrology journals lines. While with Papadopulos & Associates, which control the movement of contaminants and for nine years was editor of the software he started working on a code for simulat- in groundwater. His work demonstrated that column for Ground Water. He is currently ing contaminant transport in groundwater field identification and description of small a deputy editor-in-chief for Acta Geologica (MT3DMS). This landmark code is a boon to scale heterogeneities that form connected Sinica, the flagship English journal of the researchers and has fundamentally trans- zones of high hydraulic conductivity are es- Geological Society of China. —Mary P. Anderson, Citationist
4 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison Spring Break 2014 Students in the Field Undergrads in the Southern Appalachians Phil Brown
The 2014 Undergrad Spring for the mines and originally open Break field trip targeted the smelting of the sulfide ore, the southern Appalachians for latter resulting in severe acid rain eight days of geology and and the washing away of topsoil. fun — it was a success. The In a testament to the humid first Saturday’s drive ended subtropical climate (and the with 25 undergraduates, a spread of the Kudzu vine) the last volunteer TA (Allie Macho) 30 years have revegetated the area and me in a campground nearly completely. at Mammoth Cave N.P. On On Tuesday we drove east to Sunday we continued south examine high-grade metamorphic and east and were introduced rocks in the deeper portions of to Appalachian structures west the Appalachian orogen and then of Dunlap, TN. Here the 1km+ south to camp two nights NE of long outcrop exposes one of the Atlanta. Watson Mill S.P. provided westernmost Alleganian thrusts, a base allowing a visit to an the Dunlap-Cumberland Plateau abandoned kyanite mine (Graves Decollement. Thin coal beds Mtn) where some of the students and minor shales provide the collected ilmenite crystals several preferred slip surfaces during centimeters in size — spectacular. the westward transport of the Wednesday afternoon we had a rock package. very informative tour of one of the Two nights camping granite dimension stone quarries along the Ocoee River and factories where tombstones (just downstream from the were fashioned by skilled Whitewater venue from the craftsmen working with both Atlanta Olympics) provided traditional hammers and chisels Overview of the granite dimension stone quarry near Atlanta with time to examine other examples our students, center, shows the scale of the operation. Photos, as well as modern computer of Appalachian deformation Phil Brown. controlled machines. (Wisconsin and the famous Ducktown, TN is still the third largest US hundred square kms of land were effectively massive sulfide mining area. When mining producer of dimension stone, Georgia ranks denuded following decades of cutting timber ceased in the early 1980s, more than a fifth.) Wednesday night we had dinner with Doug Crowe, now the Chair of the geology department at UGA and an Economic Geology PhD from UW. On Thursday we started back north visiting the famous Brevard zone in North Carolina — the Brevard records a classic transect across a ductile shear zone that marks a region of significant shortening during the Appalachian Orogeny. We had a large campground in the NE corner of the Great Smoky N.P. all to ourselves that night and on Friday we drove across the Smokies and returned to Mammoth N.P. for our last night before taking the Historic Cave Tour and returning to Madison. Trips such as this are important to the broad education of our undergraduates and Undergrads examine Appalachian structures in a road cut west of Dunlap, Tennessee. the department thanks all our alumni who have contributed to the Field Experiences Fund. l http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 5 Geoscience 202 Students in the Field An Introduction to Geologic Structures Phil Brown
In the fall of 2013, 68 students northern Black Hills mapping enrolled in Geosci 202 a course sedimentary strata deformed whose name perhaps disguises by the uplift of the Precambrian its true aim, that of helping all igneous/metamorphic core of our undergraduates become the mountain range. On the NE more adept at 3D visualization side of the Black Hills I-90 lies in and thinking. The three the “race track”, the topographic “lecture” meetings per week are depression that lies between the peppered with hands-on small outer hog backs (flat irons) of group work and are designed to Mesozoic Fall River sandstone ready the students for the meat and the inner ridges comprised of of the course, the weekly labs Paleozoic carbonate and sandstone and all-important field trips. units. The “race track” is also The very first Saturday referred to as the Red Valley as it is after school starts has half underlain by the red shales of the the class spending the day in Basil with the bullhorn on the first chilly morning in the Badlands. lower Triassic Spearfish formation. western Dane County learning Photos, Phil Brown. This succession of dipping red about topographic maps and in the Badlands. The Cenozoic formations and white clastic and carbonate landscapes dominated by erosional processes. exposed there are largely fluvial in origin units provides an opportunity to map while The other half of the class travels east for a and record the Paleogene-Oligocene uplift of hiking down section toward the Precambrian day in the glacial depositional terrain of Kettle the Black Hills. Their most notable features basement — this is the “Red Gate/White Gate” Moraine. And on Sunday the two groups include repeated development of brightly exercise. change destinations. colored paleosols (fossil soil horizons) and The city of Lead provides an opportunity The highlight of the course is the four-day the preservation of a rich assemblage of fossil for the students to examine the basal trip to the Badlands and Black Hills of South mammals and amphibians. The day finally Cambrian Deadwood Fm (yeah — that Dakota. A Wednesday all-night coach bus ride ends with the arrival at our campground at Deadwood), the now closed Homestake (two coaches now!) deposits the bleary-eyed the base of Bear Butte, NE of Sturgis. gold mine, and one of many small enigmatic students and staff in a parking area at the Bear Butte and Elkhorn Peak to the west Eocene igneous intrusions that puncture eastern end of the Badlands for a stand-up, are examples of laccoliths, ‘flying saucer’ the Precambrian through Mesozoic strata three-course breakfast of juice, fruit, and shaped igneous bodies that are intruded at the northern end of the Black Hills. The bagels. Much of the rest of Thursday is spent into the relatively flat-lying sedimentary spectacular open pit of the Homestake looking at the rocks and structures exposed succession and inflate and deform the Mine (1876-2002) overlies an underground overlying strata. development that reached more than 8000’ Elkhorn Peak provides below the city and that has been used for the basis for one scientific studies from rock mechanics to high- of the later labs in energy physics. the course — the Most years the trip does not find time for geological the classic tourist stops further south in the interpretation of an air Black Hills (e.g. Rushmore, Crazy Horse) or photo of this nearly visits to the famous pegmatite mines but last circular feature with year we used a bad weather day to cross into its concentric bands Wyoming and see Devil’s Tower. We could of outcrop. Having easily keep the students busy for a week but seen the actual peak the real world of other classes in Madison calls in the field provides and Sunday morning finds the students back an important link on the coaches for the 11-12 hour drive back between the photos to Wisconsin. Again the department thanks and the real world. donors to the Field Experiences Fund for
Homestake gold mine open pit with abundant intrusions. Friday and Saturday making trips like this possible, enriching the are spent in the experiences of our undergraduate majors. l
6 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison Student Field Experiences Trip Students in the Field Assembly of silicic magma chambers—plutonic and volcanic perspectives.
Fig. 1: Group on Tuolumne Instrusive Series. Photos, Brad Singer Fig. 2: Basil pointing out Cathedral Peak Granodiorite.
magma chambers that feed them for decades (Figure 5). We next headed for the Cretaceous Papoose Flat pluton in the Inyo Mountains that preserves a superb record of fabric development within the pluton and coeval deformation, including
Fig. 3: Brad with disaggregated basaltic dike in Half Dome spectacular stretching and Granodiorite. thinning of the Cambrian a plutonic calc-silicate metasedimentary Brad Singer complex that wall rocks (Figure 6). In the includes early afternoon, we descended into From August 23 to 31, 2014, faculty members Owens Valley and studied Basil Tikoff, Brad Singer, and Laurel granodiorites that grade the lava flows of the Late Goodwin co-led a field trip to Eastern Quaternary Big Pine Volcanic California to explore several Mesozoic inward to Field, a young basaltic complex granitoid plutons and the Quaternary Bishop porphyritic granodiorite Fig. 4: Curious cross cutting graded that erupted deep crustal and Tuff, which was created by the supervolcanic layers in Half Dome Granodiorite. mantle xenoliths in many of eruption that formed the Long Valley Caldera. and granite spectacularly exposed in Yosemite National its lavas. We then visited remote outcrops Structural geologists and petrologists alike of the Eureka-Joshua Flat-Beer Creek also contemplated mechanical and chemical Park (Figures 1 & 2). The group spent time pondering the origins of internal pluton plutonic complex adjacent to Deep Springs controls on the character of faults and shear Valley (Figure 7). The traverse across the zones formed at different structural levels. contacts, disaggregated basaltic dikes, and igneous schlieren, all of which might signal wall rock-pluton contact revealed highly This trip was supported by the Student sheared metacarbonate wall rocks, aplite Field Experiences Fund and followed a the intrusion of new magma into partly solidified magma/mush (Figures 3 & 4). On dikes, quartz veins, and foliated granitoids. spring 2014 semester seminar on this topic. The afternoon gave us a rare opportunity UW Student participants in this field trip day two, following a time-consuming flat tire on U.S. 395, we visited four outcrops to visit the world's oldest living things: the were: Erik Haroldson, Alan Schaen, bristlecone pine trees in the Shulman Grove Christine Barszewski, Nicolas Garibaldi, of the 650 km3 rhyolitic Bishop Tuff that erupted 767,000 years ago in a hemisphere- of the White Mountains in Inyo National Maureen Kahn, and Saurabh Ghanekar. Forest. We photographed trees known to Our group camped in the Sierra Nevada and altering cataclysm. These deposits of airfall tephra and pyroclastic flows have influenced be more than 4,600 years old. Linked to the White Mountains in California. We first visited dendrochronology from dead trees, more the Cretaceous Tuolumne Intrusive Suite, thinking about supervolcanoes and the (Continued, next page)
http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 7 Fig. 5: Bishop Tuff airfall beds and pyroclastic flows at Chalfant Fig.6: Basil explaining deformation in Papoose Flat Pluton Quarry.
(Singer continued) than 10,600 years of life are recorded in this grove. The next day we joined 30 students from the University of Arizona and Professor Mark Barton on a spectacular tour of the remote Birch Creek pluton in the White Mountain Range. Mark has spent >30 years mapping this pluton. In a remarkably clairvoyant fashion, he unveiled its many internal contact relations and wall-rock metasomatism as we peppered him with questions. We also connected with alumna Allie Macho (GeoBadger BS 2013, Outstanding Junior in 2012), one of Mark's current graduate students. Overall, everyone had a good time and agreed that we had seen some fabulous rocks. l
Fig. 7: Descending across border of the Beer Creek Pluton toward Deep Springs Lake.
The Chair's Travels From Summer 2014 e-news @geoscience During the spring semester, 2014 Department Chair, Brad Singer traveled to connect with alumni in California, Texas, and Colorado. A key part of these alumni events, and his meetings with employers of large numbers of our graduates, was to update alumni on new or novel research underway across the Department, and importantly to discuss Departmental priorities for philanthropy during the next several years. Brad described plans by Department faculty that, to the extent possible, new gifts be used to strengthen support for graduate student Research Assistantships. On March 8th, Brad hosted a dinner at the Stanford Park Hotel, Palo Alto, CA attended by 25 alumni of the UW-Madison Geoscience and A barbecue at the home of Cory and Liz Clechenko in Houston on Physics Departments. Shanan Peters gave a keynote presentation on May 10th. Visible in this photo (from left) are Jenny Cook, JoAnne his GeoDeepDive project on data mining and the geoscientific literature Gage, Cory in Badger regalia, Joe Kington, Kyle Fredricks, Alex that sparked a lively after-dinner discussion. Teel, Toni Simo, Bill Morgan, and Colin Walling. Photo, Brad Singer. In Houston, TX, alums Cory and Liz Clechenko graciously opened their home for a GeoBadger barbecue on May 10th. This turned out to and recruiting staff at BP, ExxonMobil, and ConocoPhillips on May be a great afternoon of Texas brisket (difficult to find brats in Houston!), 12-14 to give an overview of Department research salient to the energy beer, and a lot of catching up among more than 50 alumni spanning industry and provide the companies with an inside view of our student several generations of Department graduates. Brad then visited alumni demographics and graduate program.
8 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison Degrees Awarded, December 2013-August 2014
Ph.D. Degrees May 2014 Undergraduate Degrees December 2013 Tamara N. Jeppson, Tobin, Multi-Scale December 2013 Shannon E. Graham, DeMets, Earthquake Analysis of San Andras Fault Zone Physical Erin C. Berns (GLE) Cycle Deformation in Mexico and Central Properties Peter W. Boettcher (GLE) America Constrained by GPS: Implications for Brigitte L. Brown (GLE) Coseismic, Postseismic, and Slow Slip Dana M. Smith, Goodwin, Pseudotachylytes of Paul B.Crossett. South Mountains metamorphic core complex, Christopher W. Dawson (GLE) May 2014 AZ: a record of low-angle normal fault seismicity Matthew R.Fox Elizabeth Percak-Dennett, Roden, Microbial Kevin M. Gildea (GLE) Iron Redox Cycling in Terrestrial Environments August 2014 Justin J. Hillebrand Carl T. Holtan (GLE) Tao Wu, Roden, Microbial reduction of iron Ethan E. Castongia, Wang, An Experimental oxides and phyllosilicates in natural sediments Investigation of Distributed Acoustic Sensing Benjamin J. Link (DAS) on Lake Ice Sam J. Patrick August 2014 John D. Peper Wasinee Aswasereelert, Meyers, A Erik L. Haroldson, Brown, Fluid inclusion Brigitta L. Rongstad quantitative evaluation of orbital influence on and stable isotope study of Magino; a magmatic Hillary A. Schmidt lacustrine and marine environments during related Archean gold deposit Benjamin L. Tanko (GLE) the Cenozoic, with case studies from the Green River Formation (Eocene) and the world’s ocean (late Paleogene-present) Megan J. Haserodt, Bahr, Effects of roads on May 2014 groundwater flow patterns in peatlands and Jackson S Borchardt Deborah L. Rook, Geary, Unearthing implications for nearby salmon streams on the Nicholas A. Burger Kenai Peninsula, AK Evolution: Connecting Geological and John F. Chen Biological Histories in the Fossil Record of Kyle D. Erdmann North America Xintong Jiang, Xu, Investigation of Calcite and Mg-bearing Calcite Growth Rate by Using Flow- Christopher D. Erlandson Kelsey Winsor, Carlson, A chronology of late through Fluid Cell Richard R. Fenske Quaternary southwestern Greenland ice sheet Erik D. Friede (GLE) retreat using terrestrial and marine records Sarah A. Lemon, Thurber, Ambient Noise Erin N. Gross (GLE) Tomography of the Katmai Volcanic Cluster Steven R. Henning (GLE) Master's Degrees Jesse D. Holm Adam M. Jannke December 2013 Minglu Liu, Xu, Study on microbial biomass- mediated crystallization of dolomite in a Shelby T. Kail Miao Du, Meyers, Comparing Nonlinear hypersaline lake Brett D. Kravitz (GLE) Climate Responses to Orbital-Insolation During the Pleistocene and Early Miocene: A Lauren L. Lande Bicoherence Study Christopher J. Rawles, Thurber, Kara D. McClement (GLE) Microseismicity near the central Alpine Fault, Brendan L. McGarity South Island, New Zealand: Focal Mechanisms Michael J. Miller Ray J. Ostrander, Geary, Effects of Climate and State of Stress Variability on Evolutionary Tempo and Mode Amanda J. Montgomery in Cretaceous and Neogene Marine Mollusks 40 39 Raymond V. Nechvatal Allen J. Schaen, Singer, Ar/ Ar Thiruchelvi R. Reddy geochronology and geochemistry of the Eocene- Pleistocene Delarof Islands, Kyle W. Romens Aleutian Arc Sarah E. Sager (GLE) Cara P. Sandlass (GLE) Allison M. Wende, Johnson, David R. Sandvig Identifying distinct mantle Lindsey V. Shanks and crustal influences in Nicholas P. Stefani (GLE) individual cone-building stages Jacob R. Wolf at Mt. Shasta using U-Th and Sr isotopes August 2014 Paulo E. Florio (GLE) Kyle J. Groves (GLE) John N. Maloney Christopher J. Perez
Our recruitment booth at national meetings now has a beautiful GeoBucky tablecloth thanks to the efforts of alum John Naranjo at BP. Photo, Michelle Szabo.
http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 9 Translation: Chasing the Forgotten History Memory of a Piece of History THE ARCHIVIST’S CORNER at holidays. After they returned to China, R.H. Dott, Jr. (Emeritus) Chinese Scholars in the we received regular holiday greeting cards There was an important, but forgotten, Department of Geology & and occasional letters. Henry even phoned. Geophysics, 1981-84 chapter in the Department’s history during Personal interactions were doubtless as the early 1980s. Of the present faculty, only educational as the scientific ones. I witnessed CHIN, Qinbao “Bob”, 1981-83, Phil Brown, John Valley, and Herb Wang one very heated exchange between Geoffrey Institute of Petroleum Exploration & Production in Hubei Province— were here. I refer to a brief period when, Zhu and a bright woman student from soon after the opening of China in the late Conodont research with David Taiwan about the merits of communism Clark. 1970s, we hosted six Chinese scholars, versus capitalism. each of whom was with us for two years of Field trips were of special value and on LIN, Chengyi “Charlie”, 1981- 83, Nanjing University—Studied remedial education. They were in their forties one occasion two scholars accompanied mineralogy with Sturges Bailey. and had suffered the deprivations of Mao Lloyd Pray’s trip to the Guadalupe Mountains Tse Tung’s decade-long Cultural Revolution of Texas and New Mexico. The group flew to MAI, Huazhao “Henry”, 1982-84, when intellectuals were forced into farm El Paso and overnighted there before starting Bureau of Marine & Petroleum Geology in Wuxi—Studied labor or other menial tasks. Consequently, the field trip. Our students went across the they had been unable to practice their stratigraphy and sedimentology with border that evening to see Juarez, Mexico Robert H. Dott. professions, much less to keep up with new and the two scholars went along. No one developments. For example, during a visit to thought of the problem of returning into SUN, Ying, 1982-84, Amoy Oceanographic Institute—Studied China in 1977, UW Chancellor Irving Shain the USA. Being naive about immigration learned that the chemistry department at marine geophysics with Clarence matters the scholars had not brought Clay. Beijing University had been occupied by passports on the field trip. Professor Pray street people, who had broken up the lab was awakened in the wee hours by a call WANG, Yunyu, 1982-84, Acoustics Institute of Academica Sinica, benches for firewood. from the border crossing and fortunately he The new Chinese government recognized Beijing—Studied geophysics with was able to vouch adequately for them with Clarence Clay. the serious setbacks in all intellectual fields, the proviso that the two men must report but especially science and engineering, so it to the Milwaukee U.S. Immigration Office ZHU, Guoqiang “Geoffrey”, 1981- 83, Chengdu University—Studied responded enthusiastically to proposals by immediately after returning to Wisconsin. a UW delegation led by Chancellor Shain in structural geology with Campbell When a scholar returned to China after Craddock. 1979 to provide remedial studies for more two years, his or her UW mentor received than 400 Chinese scholars here at Madison. an invitation to come with spouse for an The scholars came for two years, leaving all-expense paid lecture and sightseeing only by specially authorized drivers. Bicycles families at home in China. They received tour. Professor Craddock was the first to be were countless and dominated even the modest stipends from China, but most of invited. It was early in the program so China major highways. We saw everything from them lived communally by crowding together was barely emerging from the Mao era and furniture to a huge slaughtered hog draped in apartments to economize. facilities were basic and rudimentary. I recall over the back. Photos we see of Beijing auto UW faculty mentors planned a program Craddock telling of freezing in an unheated traffic today as well as the forests of high- of study and research. Some of the programs dormitory room at night in spite of donning rise buildings seem otherworldly to us. The led to the awarding of MS degrees and/or all of the clothes he had brought including rapidity of the changes is breathtaking. publications. Huazhao “Henry” Mai worked a heavy coat. The padded, blue Mao jackets Before going to China, I had been invited with me and did a subsurface study of the St. were everywhere and dress was uniformly to name places we wished to visit. I presented Peter Sandstone in Wisconsin utilizing well drab, he reported. a list of about ten sights and guessed that records and samples kept by the Wisconsin My turn came in August of 1986 when we would be lucky to get to even a fraction, Geological and Natural History Survey. The Nancy and I spent three wonderful weeks but, lo and behold, we were taken to all results were published in 1985 by the Survey. on the trip of a lifetime. We flew to Beijing of them! For my lectures, I offered four Qinbao “Bob” Chin presented results of his and were met by Henry Mai. To our delight different topics from which I expected one conodont studies with Dave Clark at the 1983 he was to be our guide and translator for might be chosen at each place, but they North Central GSA meeting. my lectures. This was ideal as Henry had wanted all four everywhere that I lectured. Besides their formal programs of study become almost a member of our family. At Xian they wanted me to lecture on a very and research, the scholars experienced The blue jackets were rarely seen now and sunny morning in a large, gymnasium-size social interactions with faculty families and there was a little variety of dress. Buses were auditorium with very large windows, but fellow students. Henry and other scholars prominent, but the few autos belonged only with no way to darken the room. I suggested visited our home several times, especially to the government and could be driven that this presented a problem for projecting
10 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison slides, but they did not appreciate my here at Chinese immigrants came to California. Here comment until they witnessed hardly visible Madison. we bade fond farewell to Henry and flew to images on the solar-lighted screen. For my I recall a Hong Kong. What a trip it had been! afternoon lecture, we were ushered into a particularly When our scholars left the United States, different room with what appeared to be a large most of them took electric appliances such as variety of bedspread and drapery materials banquet stoves and small refrigerators. I wondered if taped over the windows in a kaleidoscopic here. The these gadgets would be compatible with their fashion. At Wuxi the power failed in the banquets home circuitry. Henry was delighted with the middle of one of my lectures, which I were an home ice cream maker he had seen at my learned was a common problem. While some experience! home (photo) and bought one to take back men were sent off to organize a portable Typically to China. generator, the group adjourned outdoors for they featured Henry Mai, left, and Bob Chin After Henry returned to Wuxi from a smoke and what dedicated smokers they six courses, making ice cream, cranking Madison, he was promoted to his bureau’s an old fashioned ice cream were! any one of maker at a holiday party at office in Beijing. For a time, he then served in At Xian, the ancient capital, we saw the which could the Dotts' house, winter 1983. Houston when the company was considering famous terra cotta soldiers and the ancient fill us, and Photo, Bob Dott. investing in American petroleum ventures. Qin Ling tomb. I had asked for some field they always finished with a very large fish Clearly his Scholar’s experience at Wisconsin trips if possible, so from Xian we took a (carp). There were many toasts using three stood Henry in good stead. He retired a two-day trip by vans north about 300 km to different powerful beverages. It took a very few years ago and now resides in Sydney, Yan‘an where Mao had organized his 1949 strong constitution to rise to these culinary Australia, where his two sons live. revolution while living in cave houses carved challenges. We travelled by train to Wuxi near The Chinese Scholars Program was a into the famous thick loess deposits. For this Shanghai. Wuxi is the silk culturing center great success both intellectually and socially, trip into the outback, we had to have special of China and Henry’s place of employment a fine people-to-people venture. It was a passports. En route, we stayed overnight in a at that time. From there we flew to Guilin great tribute to the vision of Chancellor small city where blue jackets were abundant to see the famous Chinese Karst region. It Irving Shain, who directed what was to be and the people had never seen westerners. was a special thrill to see from a boat along the very first Chinese exchange program in They stared unabashedly and my blonde wife the Lin River those towering cliffs carved by the U.S. Ms. Marjorie Johnson, who was the was a particular curiosity. At Yan’an, several groundwater solution in a humid climate coordinator of the International Program of young men stopped us during a walk to from a plateau of Devonian carbonate rocks. Scholarly Exchange in the Graduate School, practice speaking English. Our field trip was a Sure enough, those seemingly impossible deserved a great deal of credit for the bit of a disappointment for we made only four vertical cliffs with black staining and cave successful implementation of the program stops during the two days and only looked openings high above valley floors so common and for so warmly welcoming all of the closely at one outcrop. However, we got to in many Chinese paintings actually do exist. scholars while they were on campus. After see a lot of countryside. The last lecture stop on our tour was the fifth year of the program, the Chinese At Nanjing, we were re-united with Guangzhou (Canton) in the southeast of government shifted its support to younger, Charlie Lin, who had been with Henry Mai China. It was from this region that early undergraduate students. l
Chinese Scholars and their advisors, September 1982. L to R: Zhu Guoqiang, J.C. Craddock, Yunyu Wang, Qinbao Chin, C.S. Clay, D.L Clark, Ying Sun, Huazhao Mai, Lin Chengyi, R.H. Dott, S.W. Bailey. Photo, Department archive.
http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 11 In the News: Honors and Acknowledgements
Richard B. Alley, Evan Pugh Professor at Emeritus Professor Bob the Pennsylvania State University (UW-PhD Dott, received the Friedman 1987, Distinguished Alumnus 2005), is the Distinguished Service Award of 2014 recipient of the Arthur L. Day Prize and the History and Philosophy of Lectureship. Alley is being honored for his Geology Division of GSA, at the innovative studies of the flow of ice sheets 2014 Vancouver Meeting. The and ice streams, which have important award recognizes Bob "for his implications for the stability of Earth's major teaching and mentorship which ice masses in Antarctica and Greenland. have proven unmatched in He greatly enhanced the ability to date and instilling an appreciation for and interpret annual layers in ice cores and encouraging studies in the history thus added precision to understanding of of the geosciences among students past variations in climate. The Day Prize is and colleagues both within and well Ray Ethington (U of Missouri), left, former president awarded every three years by the National beyond the Division." of the Christian Pander Society, presents the Pander Academy of Sciences to an individual who Emeritus Professor Dave Clark Society Medal to Dave Clark. The medal is presented has made lasting contributions to knowledge periodically for significant contributions to conodont was recently awarded the Pander research, but usually this is done at a GSA meeting, of the physics of the Earth. Medal of the conodont society (see not in the field, in this case on an outcrop of the Assistant Professor Samantha Hansen, at photo). Opohonga Formation (Ordovician) in west-central Utah, September 13, 2014. Photo, Dave Clark. the University of Alabama, was one of 102 YaoQuan Zhou received third researchers to receive the highly prestigious place in the Geosyntec Student “Presidential Early Career Awards for Paper Competition for her paper: "Imaging “a person under 40 whose work early in his Scientists and Engineers”. Professor Hansen Subsurface Properties Using Oscillatory or her career reflects excellence and promise studies mountain building and geodynamics. Hydraulic Tomography: Testing the theory in the science of paleontology and thus She received two degrees from UW-Madison, using a Sandbox.” reflects the objectives and standards of the a BS in Geological Engineering (2000) and Paleontological Society.” an MS in Geology and Geophysics (2002), Andria Ellis was awarded an NSF-sponsored Professor John Valley has been named to before obtaining her PhD at UC Santa Cruz. fellowship for her ongoing research with Global Positioning System data from the the Board of Governors of the Gemological Professor Jean Bahr was named one of newly completed CoCoNet geodetic network Society of America. GIA is a non-profit the Senior Editors for the prestigious AGU in the Caribbean and Central America. organization whose mission is to “ensure Journal: Water Resources Research. Board of Visitors Senior Advisor James Davis the public trust in gems and jewelry” Philip Gopon won an AGU Best Student (MS 1956; PhD 1965) was awarded the 2014 through education, research, and evaluation Paper Award at the Dec. 2013 Meeting, one Ian Campbell Medal. The AGI award, in and grading of gems. GIA publishes the of the five Awards in VGP, for his paper on Memory of Ian Campbell, for Superlative influential magazine Gems and Gemology. Low Voltage electron microprobe analysis of Service to the Geosciences is awarded in John will be the only physical scientist on the Fe-silicides from the Earth and Moon. recognition of outstanding performance Board. Steve Sellwood received the graduate in and contribution to the profession of Heather Macdonald (MS 1979, PhD 1984, student best presentation award at the geology. The Campbell Medal is the most Distinguished Alumna 2011), Chancellor Wisconsin Section of the American Water distinguished AGI award. Professor of Geology at William & Mary, has Resources Association Meeting in March Three alumni have been elected to GSA Fellow been honored with AGU's 2014 Excellence in 2014. and were recognized at the 2014 meeting Geophysical Education Award for "advancing Sharon McMullen received honorable in Vancouver: Charlie Andrews (MS and and communicating science" and the Robert mention for her poster presented at the 10th PhD), Distinguished Alumnus Carl Fricke, Christman Award of the National Association North American Paleontological Convention and Bob Sterrett (MS and PhD). of Geoscience Teachers. held in Florida in February. The paper Professors Chuck DeMets and John Valley Fred Frey, (PhD 1987 Chemistry), of MIT, was titled "Controls on the stratigraphic received the UW University Housing's 2013 will receive the Distinguished Geologist distribution of non-marine fossils: a case Honored Instructor Awards. They were Career award at the 2014 GSA meeting study in the Upper Jurassic Morrison nominated by students in introductory in Vancouver. The award emphasizes a Formation, western USA". classes. geologic and multidisciplinary approach. Professor Emerita Mary Anderson received Dr. Frey was a recipient of our department's Professor Shanan Peters received Distinguished Alumni Award in 2006. l the 2014 College of Arts and Sciences Dean's the Charles Schuchert Award from the Award from the University of Buffalo, as a Paleontological Society, which is awarded to distinguished aluma. 12 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison Student Awards and Scholarships for 2014
The Wasatch-Uinta Field Camp George J. Verville Fund, with BP The S.W. Bailey Outstanding Student Scholarships—Funded by: Ben Linzmeier, Jody Wycech Research Paper Awards–First Author Herbert & Alice Weeks Fund; BP Elizabeth M. Percak-Dennett Jackson Borchardt, Chase Kresl, The Stanley A. Tyler Excellence Iron isotope geochemistry of biogenic Lindsey Shanks in Teaching Awards magnetite-bearing sediments from the Bay Mike Bahrmasel, Jasiu (Jas) Raczynski, Nathaniel Fortney, Michael Johnson of Vidy, Lake Geneva. Chemical geology. Hannah Maas, Ben Stark 01/2013; 360-361:32-40. Kyle Erdmann, Jacob Krause, Mike Schiltz, The Thomas E. Berg Excellence Calvin (Cal) Schubbe in Teaching Awards Zhizhang Shen Zarek Boutaghou, Matt Schallinger, Christine Barszewski, Ad Byerly, STEM investigation of exsolution lamellae Austin Cary, Muyuan Han Allison Wende and “c” reflections in Ca-rich dolomite from the Platteville Formation, western The Outstanding Sophomore Award The James J. and Dorothy T. Hanks Wisconsin. American Mineralogist (April Kelley Korinek Graduate Student Award in Geophysics 2013), 98(4):760-766. Hélène Le Mével The Winchell Scholarships C.F. Schiesser Outstanding Student to Foreign Students The Mark & Carol Ann Solien Research Paper Awards–First Author Philip Adoe, Yihang Fang, Junzhe Liu, Research Assistantship Meagan E. Ankney Bharat Madras Natarajan Steven Sellwood—Presenter, Mark Solien Distinguishing lower and upper crustal Salsabila Nazari, Tuan Syazana processes in magmas erupted during the buildup to the 7.7 ka climactic eruption TuanAbRashid The Dean L. Morgridge Distinguished of Mount Mazama, Crater Lake, Oregon, Graduate Fellowship in Geology using 238U–230Th disequilibria. Mineralogy The James J. & Dorothy T. Hanks Richard Becker Undergraduate Award in Geophysics and Petrology 166 (2), 563-585. Kara McClement The S.W. Bailey Chloë E. Bonamici Distinguished Graduate Fellowship Intragrain oxygen isotope zoning in titanite Zhizhang Shen The Carl and Val Dutton Scholarship by SIMS: Cooling rates and fluid infiltration Sean Strasser along the Carthage-Colton Mylonite Zone, The S.W. Bailey Scholarship Adirondack Mountains, NY, USA. Journal The Paull Family Undergraduate Nathan Andersen of Metamorphic Geology. Volume 32, Issue Scholarships 1, pp 71–92, January 2014. Margaret Butzen, N. Scott Hagar, The Jay C. Nania Graduate Student Awards Steven Henning, Melissa Meyer Ben Linzmeier, Marshal Tofte Ian J. Orland Jasiu Raczynski, Kyle Romens, —Presenter, Silvia Orengo Nania Seasonal climate signals (1990–2008) Alia Schroeder in amodern Soreq Cave stalagmite as The S.W. Bailey revealed by high-resolution geochemical The Lowell R. Laudon Distinguished Graduate Student analysis. Chemical Geology 363, 322-333. Outstanding Junior Scholarships Meagan Ankney Eleanor Bloom, Patrick Heiman, Chase Kresl
Recently at our GeoBadger reception, GSA 2014 in Vancouver: Jonathan At GSA 2014 in Vancouver: Grad students in Carter, left, hydro grad student Steve Sellwood, center, and Dave Malone. structure, Bridget Garnier Hanna Bartram. Photos, Michelle Szabo. http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 13 The IDOR (Idaho-Oregon transect)
Basil Tikoff EarthScope Project For the last ten years, the EarthScope program because the at the U.S. National Science Foundation geology is has been in the process of understanding fascinating. the three-dimensional tectonic evolution of Much of North America. In both breadth and scope, the western EarthScope was a step-function increase in edge of projects for the solid Earth Sciences. Discover North magazine in 2011 called EarthScope the America “most epic” science project of the year (I consists of assume that is a good thing). The Department accreted of Geoscience at University of Wisconsin- (or suspect) Madison has been well represented in the terranes EarthScope program, and multiple faculty that have members have participated in the activities. I been added have been heavily involved in the EarthScope to North program from its inception, in an attempt to America insure integrated geological, geophysical, and (Figure 1). geochemical studies were part of EarthScope. Nowhere is This commitment involved multiple meetings, the boundary workshops, and helping write the most recent more EarthScope science plan (Williams et al., Figure 1: A geological map showing the location of the Idaho batholith. The obvious or present boundary between the accreted terranes (west) and cratonic North 2012). EarthScope has done well in delivering abrupt than America is the the Western Idaho shear zone (WISZ), which was the focus of high-quality scientific results, despite having in western the structural geology studies. The dark black line shows the approximate portion of the central and eastern portion of the active source seismic line. happened at a very poor fiscal time for the US Idaho. Government and the world economy. Imagine an original boundary (Giorgis et al., 2005). I am the lead Principle Investigator for a Boise as waterfront property in the Early Bryn Benford demonstrated that the western major EarthScope project that is occurring in Cretaceous. Nowadays, however, near the Idaho shear zone continued south of the Idaho and eastern Oregon. The other co-PIs towns of Riggins or McCall, Idaho, you can western Snake River plain, into the Owyhee are John Hole (Virginia Tech), Ray Russo literally stroll from accreted terranes to Mountains of SW Idaho (Benford et al., (University of Florida), and Jeff Vervoort granitic rocks that intruded North American in 2010). Interestingly, the shear zone was (Washington State University). Since nearly all a short distance (about 5 km). That boundary oriented 20 degrees differently in this area geophysics-based projects seem to require an is also demarked by a 5 km wide zone of (NNE-oriented, rather than NS-oriented as acronym, we chose the somewhat staid IDOR mylonitic rocks of the western Idaho shear by McCall, ID). I should also say that many (for Idaho-Oregon project). We considered, zone (WISZ). The Outcrop cover photo undergraduates — most notably a very nice but ultimately rejected, the somewhat (Figure 2) shows Nicole Braudy measuring senior thesis by John Gillaspay — worked frivolous acronym IEIEO (for Investigation of some of these mylonitic rocks. It turns out in this area. These students really laid the EarthScope in Idaho and Eastern Oregon). that the boundary also has sharp geochemical groundwork for the EarthScope proposal. Idaho, in many ways, is a forgotten part of the gradients (Sr, O) that were studied by So, what did we do? Most of the work US Cordillera. Although the Idaho batholith Elizabeth King (PhD 2001) working with consisted of a 450 km-long, EW-oriented has approximately the same areal extent as John Valley, Clark Johnson, and Brian Beard active-source seismic line that went across the the Sierra Nevada batholith, it is largely not (King et al. 2007). Prior to the EarthScope western Idaho shear zone and the adjacent considered in our understanding of mountain funding, I was fortunate to have two very Idaho batholith (Figure 3). This aspect building in the US West. For this reason, we talented graduate students work in the area involved deploying 1600 seismometers in were somewhat surprised to get funded on (Scott Giorgis, PhD, 2004; Bryn Benford, MS, three days, blowing up the explosives to make a large, integrated EarthScope project for 2008). Scott worked out the exact kinematics a seismic source, and then taking out 1600 Idaho and adjacent Oregon. We were funded (dextral transpression) of the western Idaho seismometers in three days. Oh, and there by “stimulus” funds from the American shear zone, and constrained the timing of was a major forest fire on the eastern end of Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This led one movement and exhumation (Giorgis et al., the line that almost caused us to postpone of the PIs to suggest that it only took a major 2008). We also speculated that the cause of the whole deployment (My experience is worldwide financial meltdown to get Idaho the abrupt transition from accreted terranes that active source geophysics is a stressful science funded. And it was great to be funded, to North America was that the WISZ modified activity). It took 61 student volunteers from
14 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison there is essentially no internal fabric in the main part of the Idaho batholith (Atlanta lobe). Ad is also becoming a rock magnetics expert, and working with Paul Kelso (Lake Superior State University), has Figure 4: Badgers in the IDOR gravity crew: Erica Larsen, Austin Carey, been critical in helping Will Montz, Maureen Kahn (Carleton us evaluate the post- College), and Joey Lane. deformational rotation subsequent tectonic activity. The geophysical Figure 3: A map showing the location of the broadband of the WISZ. We did results, although preliminary, are showing us seismometers (pink diamonds), active source line (black), and not expect this result, small explosions used for a signal for the active source study that none of those models are correct. Figure (red stars). but it appears as if the 5 is from the work of Kathy Davenport (PhD entire WISZ has rotated 22 universities to make the active source student at Virginia Tech)— it is a preliminary 30 degrees clockwise about a vertical axis seismology project a reality. The Department figure and there is a lot of complexity in (yep, that’s right, the entire margin of North of Geoscience at UW-Madison was well the data. However, it is pretty clear that the America is apparently rotated in Idaho). Tor represented in the seismic crew by Nicole WISZ continues straight down and offsets the Stetson-Lee, also working on a MS degree, Braudy, Joey Lane, Will Montz, and Tina crust-mantle boundary (Moho). Further, the is documenting a 90° reorientation of fabric Porter. crust of the Idaho batholith appears to be in the northern part of the WISZ. Will Montz The goal for the UW-Madison team was thicker than surrounding crust. We are waiting did a very nice senior thesis on constraining to provide the geological context for the for the broadband results to arrive from the the timing of one of the intra-Idaho batholith seismic results. Nicole Braudy (MS 2012) did University of Florida, but the preliminary data shear zones (before going to Boston College a very thorough job of mapping the area of are also showing interesting and unexpected with Seth Kruckenberg for graduate school). the WISZ where it is crossed by the seismic patterns. Annia Fayon has also recently joined the line. Among other achievements, she: 1) We are just at the stages of writing all the effort; her role is to constrain the exhumation Corroborated Scott Giorgis’ interpretation individual datasets for publication – there history along the IDOR transect (those results of dextral, transpressional kinematics; will be a lot of activity in the upcoming year. are also fascinating). Finally, a group of 2) Constrained when the WISZ started More importantly, however, is that we will UW-Madison undergraduates (Austin Carey, (after 105 Ma) and ended (before 90 Ma) start to synthesize between the different Joey Lane, Erica Larsen, Allie Macho, Will by working with geochronologist Rich sets. I am very much looking forward to this Montz, Matt Walker) and graduate student Gaschnig; and 3) Located exactly where aspect of the project, as we are very likely to Saurabh Ghanekar have also pitched in to the WISZ shifts orientation from NS to discover new things about how the process help conduct a detailed gravity survey along NNE, and demonstrated that the bend was of terrane accretion and how accretionary the whole seismic transect (Figure 4). This has present during shear zone movement. Ad margin modification occurs along continental truly been a group effort! Byerly is currently working on a MS degree boundaries. It is an exciting time and it And, the next question: What did the characterizing the internal fabric of the emphasizes the reason that it is great to be geophysics find out? This is the best part — it Idaho batholith, using the geochronological at UW-Madison. As a professor, you have the is not what we anticipated. In the original framework of Rich Gaschnig, to determine ability to work with talented undergraduate proposal, we postulated three models of the structural history. His work suggests that and graduate students to address fundamental how a suture zone would be affected by issues about how the Earth operates. And, in the case of the IDOR project, we’ve had a really fun time doing it.
References Cited: Benford, B., Crowley, J., Schmitz, M., Northrup, C.J., and Tikoff, B. (2010) Mesozoic magmatism and deformation in the Owyhee Mountains, Idaho: Implications for along-strike variations in the western Idaho shear zone. Lithosphere, v. 10, p. 93-118, DOI: 10.1130/l76.1. Giorgis, S., McClelland, W., Fayon, A., Singer, B., and Tikoff, B. (2008) Timing of deformation Figure 5: A preliminary interpretation of the active source results from K. Davenport (working with J. Hole at Virginia Tech). The colors represent different seismic velocities and the dark lines are seismic reflectors. Thanks to the Virginia Tech scientists for letting me show this diagram. (Continued, next page)
http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 15 (Tikoff continued) of the 87Sr/86Sr transition on the western edge of Williams, M.L., Fischer, K.M., Freymueller, J.T., and exhumation in the western Idaho shear the Idaho batholith. Geology, v. 33, p. 469-472. Tikoff, B., and Trehu, A.M. (2010) Unlocking zone, McCall, Idaho. Geological Society of King, E.M., Beard, B.L., and Valley, J.W. (2007) the Secrets of the North American Continent: America Bulletin, v. 120, p. 1119-1133. Strontium and oxygen isotopic evidence for An EarthScope Science Plan for 2010-2020, 78 pp. l Giorgis, S., Tikoff, B., and McClelland, W. (2005) strike/slip movement of accreted terranes in the Missing Idaho arc: Transpressional modification Idaho Batholith. Lithos, v. 96. p. 387-401.
Craig H. Benson GLEWisconsin Distinguished Professor and Chair
Greetings from Geological Engineering (GLE) at UW-Madison! We expect another big year for GLE. We have more students than ever, have hired new faculty, and our existing faculty and students are winning top awards. Undergraduate enrollment in GLE continues to grow due to the exceptional employment demand in a range of industries, especially the energy industry. The Atlanta Constitution refers to GLE as one of “the few majors for which there seem to be no danger of unemployment.” This fall we have 140 un- Geological Engineering students Ayse Ozdogan, Mozhdeh Rajaei, and Lauren Meyers dergraduate students enrolled in GLE. These participate in drilling geothermal exchange wells instrumented with fiber-optic distributed students also get degrees in Geology, and we temperature-sensing cables in Grand Marsh, WI. Photo, Craig Benson. are working with the Department of Geosci- too. Associate Professor Bill Likos won 10-week program, undergraduate students ence on strategies to manage the increase in the 2014 Norman Medal from the American from across the country engaged in research enrollment in both units. Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). The Nor- at UW-Madison related to energy geotechnics. Our students and faculty continue to excel man Medal is given annually to the top paper GLE’s connections with industry remain in all areas. GLE and Geoscience alumna Dr. published in all disciplines within ASCE, and very strong. This past year GLE began a new Samantha Hansen received the prestigious is regarded as the top paper award worldwide and special relationship with Apache Corpora- Presidential Early Career Award from President by geotechnical engineers. Bill is only one tion, which has been hiring GLEs as their Obama. Samantha is an Assistant Professor of five persons in the 142-year history of the company grows. Through a generous gift, GLE at the University of Alabama. GLE Graduate Norman Medal to win the award more than is now offering four Apache Undergraduate student Faith Zangl received the teaching once. He also received the 2014 Huber Re- Scholarships in Geological Engineering as well assistant of the year award from the College search Prize and will assume the role of Chair as undergraduate research grants through the of Engineering, and also received second of Geological Engineering in July 2015. GLE Apache Corporation Undergraduate Research place in the student poster competition at also hired Hiroke Sone to join the faculty Program. The next round of Apache scholar- the 2014 GeoCongress. GLE graduate student as an assistant professor in July 2015. Hiroke ships and research grants will be awarded in Idil Akin received the fourth place post completed his PhD under Mark Zoback at November. award and former graduate students Chris Stanford and is currently completing a post- I hope you find this news as inspiring as Bareither and Ron Breitmeyer, along with doctoral assignment at the German Research I do. We have great students, exceptional Professors Tuncer Edil and Craig Benson Center for Geosciences at the Helmholtz faculty, engaged industry, and great alumni! won the Middlebrooks Award from the Geo Center in Potsdam, Germany. Other important As Chair, I could not ask for more. Please stop Institute for the top journal paper of the year. news is James Tinjum being promoted to by and see us if you are in Madison, check GLE doctoral student Kuo Tian won the best associate professor with tenure. Jim led GLE’s out our website (www.gle.wisc.edu), and look poster award at the Waste Management 2014 NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates for our new electronic newsletter coming out conference. Site in Geothermal and Energy Geotechnics this fall. l There is plenty of exciting faculty news for the third consecutive year. During the
16 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison Alumni News —2013-14 Richard "Skip" Davis, Post-doc 1964-65 Pilot Award, as well as the highest university 1950s I published another book, Beaches of the accolade—the President's Distinguished Wayne R. Zwickey, BS 1953 Gulf Coast with Texas A&M Press and I Scholar Award....I hope to instill the same I often play golf with Tom Laudon, Lowell received the M.P. O'Brien Award for career excitement of geology in our son Kris (4th Laudon's son. He is retired from UW-Oshkosh. achievement form the American Shore and year geology BS at FHSU) as Drs. Craddock, I retired eons ago from Kimberly Clark Corp. Beach Preservation Association at the annual Dott, and Laudon did for me. Thus, I wish where I had been VP for Mineral Resources. meeting in October. We have six grandkids, to thank the faculty from 1964-69, the John H. Harbaugh, PhD 1955 four in college. We are all getting older. Department of Geology and Geophysics, and [email protected] David Harper, BS 1964 the University of Wisconsin. Many thanks also I continue to manage family-held oil and I recently published Roadside Geology of New go to the GSA alumni reception organizers gas operations in Oklahoma and Texas. It is Jersey (Mountain Press, Missoula MT, 2013). and the Outcrop staff. It truly has been an interesting time to be in the industry. I "A Wonderful Life being a Geobadger. On also maintain ties with Stanford University L. Cameron Mosher, MS 1964; PhD 1967 Wisconsin! [email protected] where I've been a professor for 59 years, Roger Wolff, MS 1969 now emeritus. (Ed. note: Dr. Harbaugh was I'm teaching geology at Salt Lake Community College and I'm still conducting personal [email protected] honored with the Distinguished Alumnus I am a lighting scientist in Larkspur, CO. Award from our department in 2003.) development and empowerment training. And at my age still vertical and active! In April I John (Jack) F. Hilgenberg, BS, 1956 70s married my long-time partner and sweetheart I am a retired USAF officer/pilot (1987) James C. Dawson, PhD 1970 Adeline (Eddie) Jonflas. and a retired associate professor of [email protected] Aeronautical Science (1997). I am the current Lloyd C. Furer, PhD 1966 I just finished my year as chair of the GSA Commissioner of the Greater Daytona Beach I am retired but still work on subsurface History and Philosophy of Geology Division. Senior Softball Association (2000-present). stratigraphy with Northern Rocky Mountain I continue to teach in my 44th year at SUNY Geological Surveys. My wife Jackie and I are Plattsburgh and worked on the INHIGEO Thomas P. Wollenzien, BS 1956 active with our children and especially with (International Commission on the History of I am retired now (Sheridan WY) and just fish our eleven grandchildren. Geological Sciences) conference this summer and golf. My wife of 54 years died last year. (2014), sponsored jointly by GSA. My spouse James F. Mayr, BS 1967 Robert O. Beringer, MS 1958 of 43 years continues to work on her PhD, a [email protected] Edging toward 93 my trekking ability scaling late in life endeavor. I am a retired MD from the Naval Air Station mountains to gain knowledge of the rocks in Pensacola, FL. We devoted the summer of John A. Larson, MS 1973; PhD 1977 diminishes with every year. I retired from 2013 to travel, making a major trip by car to I retired in December 2012 after 35 years Conoco in 1985 after serving many years the West Coast. We enjoy spending time with working on OCS (Outer Continental Shelf) as West Coast Operations Supervisor. I the families of our five children, including six geology with BOEM (Bureau of Ocean Energy enjoyed a very interesting and satisfying grandchildren. Management, Department of the Interior). career in geology for which I am indebted to My wife works as a civil engineer for the Larry Asmus, BS 1968 my outstanding professors, namely: Cline, Alaska State Department of Transportation, in I am a retired grandpa of four, Rotary Emmons, Tyler, Laudon, Gates, Bailey, Batten, highway design. and Wollard. president, and on the San Fernando Airport Commission. Dale Vodak, BS 1979 I participate at the East Texas Geologic Society 60s Kenneth R. Neuhauser, BS 1969 Theodore E. Jacques, BS 1961 here in Tyler, Texas and I am a member of a [email protected] I am a retired petroleum geologist. My family larger committee of professional geoscientists. Forty-five years later I still return to the UW enjoys traveling and we had a good trip We are currently actively discussing the impact campus to see Tripp Hall, attend football and to Wyoming to relive my UW roving field of geoscientist licensing on the work product basketball games, to enjoy a brat and brew camp sites of 1961 like the Badlands, Devil's of agency's employees. at both unions, the Terrace, and State Street. Tower, Big Horn Mountains, and the Grand Since 1973 I have taught geology to both Robert Freymuller, BS 1978 Tetons. We also located the Branding Iron undergraduates and graduates at Radford [email protected] Saloon where we undergrad geology students University (six years) and at Fort Hays State I am working as a licensed geologist at the "relaxed" after a day in the field. Now it's University for 34 years including developing, Texas Railroad Commission permitting called The Outlaws, but it looks the same teaching and directing FHSU's summer injection and disposal wells. inside! Geology Field Camp course. I received the (Continued, next page) university's highest teaching honor—the
http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 17 (Alumni news continued) Amy Cheng, MS 1984, PhD 1988 recently established the Klaus Stuart Rojstaczer, BS 1977 Westphal Public Education Fund I am enjoying my post-geology professor to honor Klaus and his passion for career (Duke 1990-2005) as a novelist. My teaching others about geology. Amy novel, The Mathematician's Shiva has been spent several semesters as a TA for published by Penguin Press (fall 2014) and is Klaus who taught his beloved course, off to an excellent start. My blog (stuartr.com) "Life of the Past" more than 50 times in has information about the book and details of his career. (See photo, below.) my book tour. My wife and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary in January 2014. Richard Aster, MS 1986 Barbara Goldman Grundl, BS 1977, MS I've changed institutions and am happy 1981 to announce that I am a professor and [email protected] department head in the geosciences I have retired from working as a hydrogeologist department at Colorado State University. and begun teaching 2nd grade in Milwaukee Didier Pennequin, MS 1984, left, and Ken Bradbury Public Schools. I am at a school that is (WGNS), in Paris. Didier is Director of the Water Divi- an International Baccalaureate with an 00s sion of BRGM, the French Geological Survey. Photo Kate (McColgin) Bower, MS 2002 Environmental Science emphasis. My husband courtesy of Mary Anderson. This year we welcomed a daughter, Tim is currently a professor in the School of and is working in the DC area at the Virginia Fresh Water Science at UW-Milwaukee. We Lydia Willow Bower are thinking of celebrating our 30th wedding Toni Simo department of transportation. She is possibly anniversary with a trip to Machu Picchu. (Ed. note: Bob Dott was pleased to hear from coming to Texas as her boyfriend may start former Professor Toni Simo this summer. Here a PhD at A&M. Jana is becoming a star in the 80s is Toni's message with a few minor edits.) company, which makes her happy and all of us Marjorie Chan, PhD 1982 Hi Bob happy. Distinguished Alumna (2010) Marjorie Chan What a nice surprise to get your email.... I am I had a good visit with Brad Singer, both is the 2014 GSA Distinguished International now returning from Seattle where we hiked part during AAPG and at the alumni gathering. It was Lecturer. She recently shared this with Bob of Mt Rainier and few other great alpine hikes. good to have an update of what is going on in Dott: In three months of international travel she All is well, busy with very interesting projects Madison and also to catch up with Brad's life. gave 51 lectures in India, New Zealand, Austalia, and responsibilities to interpret all sorts of data. During the Houston alumni reception at Cory Japan, and China. "My two lecture selections I am very happy with my work. Early in August, and Liz Clechenko’s house, it was fun seeing were Mars for Earthlings: Using Earth Analogs Julia and I went to visit Edgar in Toronto where many old faces, but I was surprised to see so to Decode the Sedimentary History of Mars, and Eolian Explorations: Dunes, Diagenesis, he was spending four months finishing his PhD. many young and new faces that graduated and Deformation. However, I also spoke It was a good visit. Edgar is planning to move to after I left. about other hot topics in sedimentary geology, Japan once he finishes the dissertation, around Cheers, Toni l as well as graduate programs in the U.S. and the end of year. He is now fluent in Japanese the application process. In total, the lectures and goes there often. Julia has finished her MS reached about 2,500 scientists, students, and public citizens."
Recently at GSA 2014 in Vancouver, sed/strat grad student M'Bark Baddouh, Emeritus Museum Director Klaus Westphal still visits the museum BOV member Jeff Pietras, and Professor Nita Sahai (The University of Akron) regularly to work on its collections and give tours to special guests. enjoy GeoBadger hospitality at our alumni reception. Photo, Michelle Szabo. Here Klaus shares his love of fossils during an outreach event. (Editors' note: Read Amy Cheng's news, top of page.) Photo, the Geology Museum.
18 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison in Naval Intelligence. He was a geophysicist Walch; daughter Laura Devin of Newcastle, In Memoriam and geologist who had lived or traveled in Maine; son Bruce Walch of Long Branch, New George J. Verville died August 5, 2014. He some fifty nations. conducted geological, Jersey; and two grandsons. was born May 4, 1921 to Ruby and Armand geophysical, and geographic explorations Verville in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. in the Arctic, Canada, Chile, and Antarctica. Lee Clayton, 76, died George earned a BS, MS and PhD in geology As a member of the Antarctic Victoria Land on May 7, 2014, after at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In Traverse in 1959-1960, Dr. Weihaupt’s living with Parkinson's December 4, 1943, he married Elinor Trout in eight man team was commissioned by the disease for 25 years. Madison. They had three children, Ann, Tom United States National Science Foundation Lee's curiosity about and Barbara. George joined the U.S. Army to conduct a four month 2,400 kilometer and love for the in 1943 and became a 2nd lieutenant in the journey into the unexplored hinterland of natural world, qualities infantry. After attending mule pack school, East Antarctica. He authored several books he developed during he was member of the 1st Calvary Division, about his adventures and discoveries, childhood, formed the in the Philippines and Japan, retiring with including, “Impossible Journey: The Story center of his being, the rank of Captain. In 1951 he began work of the Victoria Land Traverse 1959-1960, Lee studied for Stanolind Oil and Gas Co. (later Amoco Antarctica” published by the Geological geology as an undergraduate and master's Production Co.) in Tulsa, as a research Society of America (GSA). His most recent student at the University of North Dakota. geologist and supervisor. He also worked book is "Of Maps and Men: The Mysterious He continued researching glacial geology at the Casper and Denver Divisions. He Discovery of Antarctica," a research oriented in New Zealand as a Fulbright Scholar. He specialized in the biostratigraphy of fusulinids analysis of Antarctic polar exploration. He completed his PhD studies at the University and authored many scientific papers. He also had two research papers just published, of Illinois and began his career as a glacial was a member of six geological societies and "Origin(s) of Antarctica's Wilkes Subglacial geologist at the University of North Dakota. served as treasurer of the Paleontological Basin," in the journal Antarctic Science, and There he met and married Barbara Harris. Society. George is survived by his wife of 70 "Impact crater morphology: Origin of the In 1979, after a sabbatical year in England, years, Elinor, of Kiefer, OK. Mertz and Ninnis Glaciers, Antarctica," in the they settled in Madison. Lee looked forward In 2000, he established the George J. journal Geomorphology". to full-time research as Professor of Geology Verville Fund with matching support from at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural BP to assist graduate students at UW-Madison Andrew Frank Walch History Survey, where he worked until his in paleontology. Walch, 80, of Las retirement in 2007. Lee used his exceptional The 2014 Verville Awards went to two PhD Cruces, NM, died observational ability to develop the story of candidates at UW-Madison: Dec. 8, 2013. Andrew how the landscape and the geology beneath Ben Linzmeier: Water column behavior of graduated from the it was formed. The maps, reports, and journal ammonites from the Cretaceous western University of Wisconsin- articles that he wrote will long be studied by interior seaway (advisers Peters & Valley); Madison with a those interested in learning about the origin Jody Wycech: The effects of diagenesis on Bachelor and Master’s of the landscape. Lee is survived by his wife foraminiferal calcite (advisers Kelly & Degrees in Geology. Barbara, their daughter Anna, and other Valley). He received his law family. degree from South Texas College of Law and Harvey C. Sunderman, PhD, 1951 was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1971. He James Bell Benedict, PhD, 1968 Died Nov. 1, 2011 in College Hill, Ohio, at served in the U. S. Army from 1953 to 1955. Died March 8, 2011 in Jamestown CO at the age of 91. He was a retired University of He worked for Continental Oil Company as the age of 72, "in the guardian shadow of Cincinnati geology professor and had studied a geologist prior to obtaining his law degree, the Sawtooth Peak." He was an acclaimed optical mineralogy under Con Emmons and thereafter worked as a natural resource Colorado geologist and archaeologist. at UW-Madison. During World War II he and water rights attorney for the United Although a pacifist he served in the Marine was a B-24 pilot and flew several missions States Department of Justice in Washington, Corps. He studied geomorphology and glacial in the Pacific. He was an avid musician, DC and Denver, CO in its Environmental geology with William Bradley at the University photographer, fisherman, and outdoorsman. and Natural Resources Division. He won of Colorado before attending UW-Madison, He was preceded in death by his first wife numerous awards including two John Marshal where he received his PhD in geology. He Margaret and his second wife Rosemary. He is Awards for outstanding work in litigation and was a member of the Sigma Xi and Phi Beta survived by two sons. the Muskie-Chafee Award for helping protect Kappa. He received Colorado University's our “nation’s environment and natural W.A. Tarr Award, and the prestigious Kirk John (Jack) Weihaupt, BS 1952; MS environment and natural resources.” He Byant Award from GSA. His research was 1953, died in Evergreem, CO, on September handled litigation throughout the country in multidisciplinary and his colleagues referred 15, 2014 at the age of 84. He was born in both state and federal courts, including the to him as one of the "giants of Colorado LaCrosse, WI. An emeritus professor of United States Supreme Court. He is survived archeology." He survived by his wife Audrey, geophysics at the University of Colorado- by his friend and wife of over 22 years, Janey his former wife, two sons, and several Denver, he held a commission as Captain grandchildren. l
http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 19 Introducing New Faculty Shaun Marcott is primarily focused on understanding the on the quantification of subglacial processes. His Shaun joined the faculty of the Department of interplay between climate and glaciers, and research at ISU incorporates a newly designed Geoscience in August 2014. is useful in placing modern climate-glacier experimental apparatus that slides ice over a Post-doc, Oregon State University (2011-2014) interactions into a prehistorical context for range of simulated bed types in order to isolate PhD Geology & minor in Oceanography, Oregon understanding modern and future changes. “Part and quantify variables pertaining to glacial sliding. State University (2011) of the satisfaction I receive from my research Luke has spent significant time in the field MS Geology, Portland State University (2005) comes from working on new approaches to including four seasons in Antarctica, two seasons BS Geology & minor in Mathematics, Oregon long-standing problems, and the ability to in Iceland, and one season in Norway. He is State University (2002) devote considerable time in the outdoors and primarily dedicated to combining quantitative He describes his research interests as laboratory for conducting my research.” field data with laboratory data in order to test spanning a broad range of geological and and develop theoretical treatments that can be ucas oet climatological questions largely related to late L Z applied in the fields of glaciology and glacial Luke was hired by the Department of Geoscience Quaternary climate change and dating glacial geomorphology. l in 2014 and will join the faculty in August 2015. landscapes. Specifically, Shaun’s expertise is in Postdoc, Iowa State University Glacial the field of glacial geology and paleoclimatology Geomorphology / Glaciology (2012-Present) with a firm rooting in geological, mathematical, PhD Geosciences, Penn. State (2012) and geochemical techniques. He works with MS Geosciences, Penn. State (2009) a number of paleoclimate archives including BS Geology & Geophysics, Michigan State (2005) glacial deposits, marine sediment cores, and ice cores as well, and uses numerical and statistical While attending MSU, Luke focused on models to evaluate large data sets. This research shallow geophysics around the state of Michigan, which is dominated by glacial geomorphic landforms. His interest in geophysics and glacial processes led him to Penn. State, where he completed a MS that concentrated on previously undetected seismicity in Antarctica. Following his MS, he completed a PhD at PSU, which primarily focused on quantifying the mechanisms that facilitate the sliding of a glacier over its bed. This work led him to Iowa State, where he has continued to concentrate Shaun Marcott Lucas Zoet
UW-Geoscience Hosts The integration and intercalibration of An R package for astrochronology” (designed the 2014 IsoAstro radioisotopic and astrochronologic time scales”. by Stephen Meyers, the official beta release of Geochronology Workshop In attendance were undergraduate students, this new computational tool coincided with graduate students, post-docs and faculty from 28 the workshop), a new web-based interactive U/ U-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar geochronology provide the institutions located in eight countries. Pb practical (designed by Mark Schmitz), and backbone of the latest geologic time scale, while The IsoAstro workshop reviewed the basic the analysis of Ar/Ar data with the software astrochronology has emerged as one of the theory underlying each geochronologic method IsoPlot (led by Bradley Singer). Participants most important tools for enhancing the accuracy (U-Pb, 40Ar/39Ar and astrochronology — see the also delivered 22 research talks that explored and precision of high-resolution time scales, article in the 2013 Outcrop titled “Clock Around a wide range of questions for which an especially through ash-poor intervals that cannot the Rock, the Future of Astrochronology”), with understanding of geologic time is essential, be directly dated with radioisotopic methods. an emphasis on understanding the challenges and toured geochemistry labs in Weeks Hall, These three techniques are broadly used, but inherent in the interpretation of radioisotopic including those used for geochronologic there exist many conceptual barriers between and astrochronologic data, and the power of research. The 2014 IsoAstro workshop the historically disparate fields. To address this combining multiple chronometers. As a key was supported by a U.S. National Science issue, Stephen Meyers (UW-Geoscience), component of the workshop, our investigation Foundation grant to Stephen Meyers (CAREER: Bradley Singer (UW-Geoscience), and Mark of each method included new interactive “lab” Deciphering the Beat of a Timeless Rhythm- Schmitz (Boise State University) convened a practicals to provide hands-on experience with The Future of Astrochronology”). The website week-long summer workshop and short course data analysis. This included astrochronology for the workshop is http://www.geology.wisc. titled “IsoAstro Geochronology Workshop: tutorials with the free software “astrochron: edu/~smeyers/IsoAstro.html. l
20 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison Faculty News —2013-14 Jean Bahr on this historic mine that was being evaluated for mal treatment that hopefully will be of interest to My big adventure for the year was a visit to China reopening by a small company. Malia Lehrer a wider audience. The title is “Geofuels: Energy as part of a delegation from the Nuclear Waste continued to work on her MS examining the and the Earth”. The book’s central theme is that Technical Review Board. We spent a week in relations among some Sn-W occurrences in NW all energy systems, both renewable and fossil, Beijing meeting with scientists and engineers Argentina and defended her thesis at the end of ultimately rely on geological resources. from a number of agencies responsible for Chi- the summer. In March I again chaired an evalu- Next year I will also carry this interest into na’s nuclear energy program and then travelled ation of over 100 graduate research proposals the relatively new arena of MOOCs, which stands to a site in the Gobi desert of Gansu Province for the Society of Economic Geology — mineral for “Massive Open Online Course”. UW offered where the Chinese are planning to construct an deposits research is a popular field worldwide. several MOOCs this past year through Coursera, underground laboratory in granite as a first step After teaching the Economic Geology course in and will offer six more next year. Enrollment towards developing a repository for long-lived the spring (37 students in the last two years), I is free (and typically reaches into the tens of radioactive waste. We also had the opportunity directed five weeks of the Wasatch-Uinta Field thousands), and content is delivered entirely to visit the western end of the Great Wall and the Camp in Utah. Enrollments continue to be strong online. MOOCs have become well established but Mogao Caves with beautiful Buddhist paintings, with 62 total students including 15 UW students. remain somewhat controversial, due to doubts some of them over 1500 years old. At the end of Funding for camp from the university continues about their educational value and an uncertain the official visit, I was able to spend some ad- to be a challenge – potentially putting this cap- business model. While free to students, they are ditional time in Beijing courtesy of distinguished stone experience in jeopardy. expensive to produce. I view them as an interest- alumnus Chunmiao Zheng who directs the This fall the Mineralogy class has 84(!) stu- ing experiment however, and as an opportunity Center for Water Research at Peking University. dents – a big jump in enrollment in part due to provide thousands of people with a broader I enjoyed meeting with Chunmiao’s lively group to the continued expansion of the Geological perspective on energy resources. of students and post-docs to learn about their Engineering program. Simultaneously I am teach- My research continues to focus mainly on the research. Chunmiao also took me to a section of ing our Introduction to Geologic Structures class Eocene Green River Formation in the western the Great Wall, where we hiked up many steps that has an enrollment of 86 — all indications are U.S., including ongoing collaborations with Clark and then went back down via toboggan, and that these large enrollments will continue for the Johnson and Steve Meyers. Lately this work treated me to a number of wonderful meals, next few years at least. From my point of view the has focused on the record that these lake depos- including traditional Peking duck. biggest problem with these huge classes is when its provide of warm climate, and on connections MS student Meg Haserodt spent time in we try to go to the field for labs or overnight between the lake systems and their surrounding Alaska to collect additional data in the early trips — busses instead of vans and our inability to watershed. summer before successfully defending her thesis interact with all the students in the field as they on impacts of road construction on groundwater work to improve their observational skills. Our Chuck DeMets in peatlands. In September she started a posi- teaching assistants are great but budgetary con- Although those who are superstitious might tion with a consulting firm in Duluth where she straints mean there really aren’t enough of them think that 2013 would have been the first unlucky hopes to apply her hydrogeologic expertise to a to optimize learning. year of the new millennium, it was a fantastic year variety of real world problems. Steve Sellwood My immediate family is well — and now larger. for my research program. In late 2013, my talent- is continuing his PhD research on heat tracing Kris and I are now grandparents, twice! Jason and ed advisee Shannon Graham, who was widely for aquifer characterization this fall with support Liz had a baby boy in September 2013 while Peter known within the department as a role model from a new graduate assistantship established and Abbey also had a baby boy in early January for hard work, defended her PhD on earthquake through the generosity of alumnus Mark Solien. 2014. Jason lives in Madison so we get to see his cycle studies of the Mexico subduction zone. She Steve will be giving an invited presentation in a little one regularly while Peter and Abbey have recently began a post-doctoral position at Har- session on geothermal energy systems at the GSA moved to Cleveland — we are keeping in touch vard University, so her hard work paid off! Shortly meeting in Vancouver. best through FaceTime. Karin has begun her after she defended, I flew to Guatemala City, The hydro group expanded significantly this second year as the Associate Head Coach for the where I spent two weeks as the sole instructor fall with the arrival of new graduate students MIT swim team and is embracing that new chal- of two workshops that I designed as a practicum Jake Krause, Josh Olson, Claire Sayler, and lenge. Kris retired from her job as the librarian at in the collection and analysis of high-precision Elisabeth Schlaudt. Each of them is still in Memorial High School in June 2014 after her 16th Global Positioning System data for hazards and the process of identifying a thesis topic, but we year in the trenches. tectonic research. Twenty-four Guatemalan scien- expect they will be working in some combination tists and students attended. The experience was with me, Mike Cardiff, Eric Roden and col- Alan Carroll a great primer for workshops I will hold in 2015 leagues at the Wisconsin Geological and Natural Since 2006 I have been teaching Energy Resourc- and 2016 in El Salvador and Honduras. I’ve spent History Survey. Stay tuned for their news in the es, an upper level undergraduate course that the past six months on sabbatical putting the final next Outcrop. in the past was taught by John Steinhart and touches on two papers that have now been pub- Herb Wang. Along the way I found that few text- lished in top geophysical journals, completing Phil Brown books provide balanced coverage of this subject and submitting three more manuscripts that are During 2013-14 Erik Haroldson completed (many focus solely on renewables), so in 2009 I now in review, writing a 5-yr NSF proposal that his MS thesis focusing on fluid inclusions in an undertook to write one. Five short years later it is was recently funded, and initiating work on three Archean gold deposit in Ontario north of Sault finally done, and will be published by Cambridge additional manuscripts that will hopefully see the Ste. Marie. Erik had been the project geologist University Press in early 2015. Rather than using a textbook format per se, I aimed for a more infor- (Continued, next page) http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 21 really good but represent a distinctly new path. Christy’s work to date has been facili- tated by alumni donations to the department and Leith Fund. A heartfelt thank you to our alumni for this support. In another tectonic space, in a different state, we have been tackling a problem that has eluded resolution for decades: how faults strongly mis-oriented with respect to the maximum principal stress fail. Our focus on controversial low-angle normal faults uses the frictional melt produced during earthquakes—pseudotachylyte—as a record Participants in one of two bilingual GPS training workshops held in January 2014 at of paleoseismicity. Alumna Dana Smith, MS Universidad Mariano Galvez in Guatemala City. Sponsored by the NSF and conducted by 2013, laid the foundation for this research be- UW Professor Chuck DeMets, the workshops trained ~40 Guatemalan students, faculty, and fore joining Chevron. Dana found tantalizing government scientists how to gather and process Global Positioning System data for a broad range of research needs. Photo, Chuck DeMets. evidence suggesting these faults produced earthquakes at low dips, and showed that light of day later this year or in 2015. My sabbati- Singer. Thanks to his heavy lifting, the project they record >1million years of seismicity. cal was productive and rejuvenating—just what will be funded by NSF. New graduate student Jack Hoehn will pick up I needed. My research agenda for the next 3-4 In June, graduate student Elena Baluyut where Dana left off, working with Professor Brad years is full and includes funded field programs in started work on applying mathematics, including Singer, Dr. Brian Jicha, collaborators Professor El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico; graph theory and Bayesian inference, to analyze Josh Feinberg (Univ. Minnesota), Dr. Matt Heizler modeling and field efforts in Jamaica; and newly geodetic data from satellite interferometric syn- (New Mexico Tech), and me to follow the trail of funded modeling of global plate motions since 20 thetic aperture radar (InSAR) with support from clues left in the rocks of Arizona. Ma with Russian and French scientists. Keeping an NSF Graduate Fellowship. I am enjoying serv- Faults, of course, also cut the shallow crust, up with the flow of data and coordinating new ing as a member of the Science Definition Team our source of water and hydrocarbons, and a
measurements in these countries is demanding for a satellite mission dedicated to InSAR. Called potential repository for CO2. PhD student Randy (as are the training workshops, which are held in “NI-SAR”, the mission is now in Phase A and thus Williams is working to unravel the record of two languages). Scientifically, three magnitude on track for launch by the end of the decade. fluid-fault interactions over space and time in the 7+ earthquakes have occurred off the coasts Working with Herb Wang, Cliff Thurber, poorly lithified sediments of the Rio Grande rift. of Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala since Mike Cardiff, and (GLE professor) Dante Diagenetic effects on fault seal and fault mechan- mid-2012, each close enough to our geodetic Fratta, we were able to obtain funding from ics are not well understood. Randy is evaluating networks in those countries to move the mark- the U.S. Department of Energy for Integrated these effects by combining microstructural, ers that we use to measure crustal deformation Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) Research geochemical, and geochronologic studies of in those regions. Modeling of the coseismic and and Development, in a grant entitled, “Poroelas- fault-zone calcite cements. We are working with post-earthquake movements that we measured in tic Tomography by Adjoint Inverse Modeling of Professor Peter Mozley (New Mexico Tech), Dr. our networks has occupied most of my graduate Data from Seismology, Geodesy, and Hydrology”. Warren Sharp (Berkeley Geochronology Center), students’ time since late 2012 and has lead to five We’re calling the “PoroTomo” for short. Interest- and Professor Kate Huntington (Univ. Washing- papers about the earthquakes, all published or ingly, Elisabet Metcalfe (BS 2005), works on the ton) as well as internal collaborators Professor in review. Since earthquakes usually delay and program management team at the DOE Office of Clark Johnson, Dr. Brian Beard, and Professor complicate our intended efforts to measure and Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy in Golden, John Valley to read this rock record. Stay tuned model long-term deformation in those regions, Colorado. for new developments! I’m hoping for a “quiet” 2015…. Laurel Goodwin Stephen Meyers Kurt Feigl This summer, I stood with grad students Christy It was yet another busy and eventful year! The volcanic field at Laguna Maule in Chile con- Barszewski and Nick Roberts in noticeably Wasinee Aswasereelert successfully defended tinues to deform at a spectacularly rapid rate (see thin air, over 11,000’ above sea level. The eight her PhD thesis in June, on the topic of “Astro- page 13 of The Outcrop for 2012/13). As of June mile, >3000’ climb up was challenging, but nomical and Stochastic Influences on Lacustrine 2014, the rate of vertical uplift was still faster than worthwhile. The exhumed rocks of the Sierra Ne- and Marine Environments during the Cenozoic”. 200 mm/yr, just as it has been since sometime be- vada offer extraordinary exposures of deformed Wasinee is now a Lecturer at Kasetsart University, fore 2007, according to geodetic measurements rocks, cut and polished by glaciers, and we were Thailand in the Department of Earth Sciences. analyzed by graduate student Hélène Le Mével. ready to parse their secrets. Christy’s PhD re- Graduate Student Chao Ma passed his PhD In addition to support from the Weeks and Wool- search is focused on quantifying the rheology, or preliminary exam in April, and he published his lard families, Hélène received The James J. and mechanical behavior, of shear zones. Nick—a new MS thesis in the July/August issue of Geological Dorothy T. Hanks Graduate Student Award in MS student supervised by collaborator Professor Society of America Bulletin. Chao’s MS research Geophysics this year. We are looking forward to Basil Tikoff—was assisting to see a research conducted a new astrochronologic analysis of studying the processes driving the deformation project in action. It can be hard to obtain funding the Cenomanian/Turonian boundary interval and as part of a multi-disciplinary study led by Brad at the early stages of projects like this, which are Oceanic Anoxic Event 2, using high-resolution scanning-XRF data from the Western Interior Ba- 22 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison (Continued, next page) sin (USA). His PhD work continues on the theme Seaway environments via WiscSIMS analyses, Ben sedimentary environments in March, and two of Cretaceous astronomical cycles. This summer, Linzmeier has been lining up some interesting papers (one in Chemical Geology, and the other graduate student Andrew Walters departed the collaborations, which come with some funding! in Environmental Science and Technology) from PhD program (MS 2013) for an incredible op- Finally, John Czaplewksi and I also made good that work are now in print, with one more in portunity at BP. And in September we welcomed progress on several database-related projects, but the pipeline. Tao Wu defended his thesis on graduate student Lindsey Shanks (Geoscience we still have a long way to go. You can keep an microbial reduction of iron-bearing phyllosilicate BS 2014) to the research team; Lindsey’s MS proj- eye on macrostrat.org to see what we are doing minerals (in competition with iron oxides) in ect will addresses Oligocene paleoceanography (and check out macrostrat.org/map for a working April, and has two more papers (in addition to at Rio Grande Rise, and will be co-advised by Clay example of things to come). Other people are his 2012 Environmental Science and Technology) Kelly and myself. also keeping an eye on our work, including an in the works. New projects related to the me- As for other news, my promotion to Associate iOS developer, who has made a geological ap- tabolism of dissolved organic carbon in the river- Professor with tenure became official as of July. plication called Mancos that allows you access to water/groundwater mixing zone in the Hanford Three active NSF grants kept me very busy over the geologic map, stratigraphic, and fossil record reach of the Columbia River in Washington state the past year. And in August I ran the first IsoAs- data for North America that we host here in our (DOE-supported research in collaboration with tro geochronology workshop and short-course, department. If you have an iOS device and spend colleagues at Pacific Northwest National Labora- a week-long event that is a ‘broader impact’ time wandering the US, download it! It will tell tory), and on carbon cycling in analogous mixing component of the NSF CAREER award (see the you what bedrock you are on, something every environments in the lower Wisconsin River (a col- article in this issue of the Outcrop). As another good GeoBadger should always know! laborative project with UW-Madison colleagues key component of the CAREER award, I released including Jean Bahr) are on tap for next year. the first public beta version of new software titled Eric Roden “astrochon: An R package for Astrochronology” A good starting point for this year’s Outcrop en- Brad Singer try is the field trip to the Chocolate Pots (CP) hot I wound down my final year as Department Shanan Peters springs in Yellowstone National Park (YNP) that Chair by hosting receptions for alumni in Palo The 2013-2014 school year marked my first- myself and two members of the Geomicrobiology Alto, CA; Houston, TX; and Denver, CO. More ever sabbatical, and it was both productive and Laboratory (Nathan Fortney, a PhD student than 600 GeoBadger alums live in these three invigorating! In the spirit of extending academic in the NASA Astrobiology Institute-supported areas alone. I met alums who obtained degrees connections and doing something out-of-the-or- Wisconsin Astrobiology Research Consortium from our Department in every decade since the dinary, I spent most of the year off campus as an (WARC), and Brandon Converse (research 1940's and it was a privilege to share with them invited guest at other institutions. Most of the fall scientist at WARC) took in fall 2013. We met all the current activity in Weeks Hall. Especially, I ’13 was spent at my alma matter, the University of up with WARC co-PI Eric Boyd (Montana State want to thank Liz (PhD, '07) and Cory (MS, '01) Chicago, in the Department of the Geophysical University) in Bozeman, MT and traveled to YNP Clechenko for hosting a BBQ at their home in Sciences. There, I was able to participate in de- for a three-day field trip. The central goal of the Houston in May. This brought together 50 alums partment life and give a Friday department semi- campaign was to collect a series of small cores and is something I hope we can do many more nar, but this time as a faculty member! Chicago from the iron oxide-silica deposits that form as times in the future. I am now taking a sabbatical was great, but the highlight of my sabbatical was reduced, neutral-pH subsurface fluids reach the year during which I will begin to lead a five-year- a stint as a Blaustein Visiting Professor at Stanford surface and react with atmospheric oxygen. The project, funded by the NSF Integrated Earth University, where I was hosted by Jon Payne sampling locations are along the flow path of Systems Program, to investigate the dynamics in the Dept. of Geological and Environmental fluid that emerges from the spring vent en route of the youthful, large rhyolitic magma system at Sciences in the School of Earth Sciences. I was to its discharge into the Gibbon River. Nathan Laguna del Maule, Chile. Geodesy and geophysics appointed at Stanford for two quarters (January - and Brandon have worked steadily to process the have revealed an astonishing rate of surface uplift June ’14), but I lived in San Francisco, right off of samples for iron geochemistry (including iron of 25 cm per year since 2007 in this rhyolitic Market and 8th Street in the top floor of a high- isotope composition in collaboration with WARC dome field, driven most likely by the active intru- rise apartment overlooking the city. I spent time PI Clark Johnson and co-PI Brian Beard) and sion of magma at a depth of about 5 km. My talk at UC-Berkeley and made the trip down the bay microbial community analysis (conducted using at GSA Denver last year garnered a wired science on CalTrain. It was a great experience, made even high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies article (http://www.wired.com/2013/11/a-caldera- better by the fact that I missed a rather relentless available through the UW-Madison Biotechnol- eruption-in-the-making-the-curious-story-of- winter back in Madison (I thought of this regu- ogy Center), and Nathan has already presented laguna-del-maule/) and a GSA Today paper that larly while running on Ocean Beach!). selected results from work at two scientific will be published in December, 2014. This project Back in Madison, things kept moving along conferences. Additional, more detailed “metage- involves 28 scientists and students from eight in my research group. Sharon McMullen took nomic” analysis of potential iron redox cycling universities and four government agencies in home honorable mention for her poster pre- pathways in the hot spring deposits is slated for Chile, Argentina, Canada and the US. Nathan sented at the North American Paleontological the coming year. Meanwhile, Nathan will defend Andersen and Hélène Le Mével are pursuing Convention, a once-every-four-years affair, where his MS thesis on the potential for microbial iron PhD theses for this project. UW-Madison col- I also delivered one of three Keynote Addresses. oxide reduction and associated iron isotope laborators also include Cliff Thurber, Chuck Sharon then went on to pass her preliminary ex- fractionation in CP deposits this fall. Another key DeMets, Kurt Feigl, Basil Tikoff, Ninfa amination in fine fashion at the end of the spring highlight of the past year is graduation of the first Bennington, Brian Jicha, Clark Johnson, semester. Scott Hartman took his qualifying two PhD students from the Geomicrobiology and Brian Beard. I have begun another col- exam and passed as well. In his pursuit of am- Lab in May 2014. Liz Percak-Dennett defended laboration with Basil Tikoff focused on the monite biology and Cretaceous Western Interior her thesis on microbial iron cycling in terrestrial (Continued, next page) http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 23 assembly of late Miocene (6 Ma) granitoid plutons and David Watkins started up in the fall. Under- unexpectedly, by Saurabh Ghanekar who will that crop out 20 km west of Laguna del Maule. grads Lauren Abrahams and Ashley Dinauer be working on some of the geophysical aspects Allen Schaen recently finished his MS thesis on spent the summer working with Chris and I of neotectonic deformation along the IDOR Eocene-Pliocene magmatism in the central Aleu- on the application of Chris's automatic S-wave transect. Maureen Kahn did a senior project at tian arc and will pursue a PhD on the petrochro- arrival picker to several volcano and fault zone Carleton College, working with Annia and myself nology of these granites. Allen will work closely datasets. His automatic picker is so good, WARF on the exhumation studies. with new PhD student Nico Garibaldi who will is pursuing a patent for it. Assistant Scientist I’ve also enjoyed working with Brad Singer, focus on fabric development in the plutons. I also Ninfa Bennington and post-doc Xiangfang including on the successful effort he led to just welcomed Paola Martinez into my research Zeng are working on a variety of projects and get a large NSF proposal funded at Laguna de group. Paola and Nico hail from Chile. Paola's MS have been of invaluable assistance in helping me Maule. He and I also worked on another project thesis will aim at reconstructing the Pleistocene- supervise the students. Some personal highlights related to young plutons in the Andes and taught early Holocene growth and collapse of Villarrica include participating on the NSF Geophysics a seminar together on the internal fabrics of Volcano in the Southern Andes using 40Ar/39Ar Program proposal review panel in April, present- plutons. The latter involved a very nice fieldtrip and 14C dating. In addition to the three major ing a report on the use of seismic methods to to California with Laurel Goodwin and a group projects in Chile, I continue to pursue research infer the state of stress in the subsurface to the of students (see summary in this Outcrop). It is on the history of Earth's magnetic field and was at Jason Group in June, publishing a suite of papers hard to know why a field trip turns out so well, Haleakala Caldera in July with my wife Teri to visit on state-of-the-art seismic analysis methods besides seeing spectacular rocks, but it is really lava flows that record the last polarity reversal (joint inversion, phase-weighted stacking of nice when it does. (see photo). With Alan Carroll, I have a new NSF low-frequency earthquakes, multi-scale double- The project on the neotectonics of central grant to establish a chronostratigraphy of a core, difference regional-teleseismic tomography, GPU America, working with Chuck DeMets and grad- now being raised by the International Continental acceleration of seismic tomography), and giving uate student Andrea (Andi) Ellis, is also going Scientific Drilling Project (http://www.icdp- an invited talk on seismic studies of Alaskan well. Bridget Garnier joined that effort in Janu- online.org/home/highlights/), that will span the volcanoes at the annual Seismological Society of ary, to assist with the more geological aspects of entire lower Cretaceous period in the Songliao America meeting in Anchorage in May. the project. Bridget has been around Weeks Hall Basin, NE China. Collaboration with several for the last year. She was funded by SILC (Spatial Chinese scientists will begin in early 2015. The Basil Tikoff Intelligence Learning Center) to help design Ar- inaugural IsoAstro workshop held in Weeks Hall When I sat down to composing what happened tificial Intelligence teaching aids for introductory August 18-23, 2014 was a great success thanks in 2013-14, my mind was a bit of a blank. What in classes. This AI project is just part of our ongoing to the efforts of Steve Meyers. This workshop the world did happen? It was a bit of a blur. Here work with Cognitive Scientists, most notably Tim brought together 45 students and faculty from are some of the things that I remember. Shipley of Temple University. Bridget had done China, Europe and the US to learn state-of-the-art We were joined in March 2013 by post- a senior thesis with me before doing a Masters at techniques in astrochronology and radioisotopic doctoral fellow Vasilis Chatzaras from Greece, the University of Wyoming, so she sort of knew (40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb) dating. The workshop will be who has become a nearly ever-present figure in what she was getting in for. convened again in 2015 by Mark Schmitz at Boise the isolation ward. He is working on ultramafic Richard Becker is also doing well, continu- State University. rocks in California, Greece, and New Caledonia. ing to work on faulting and geomorphology in He and graduate student Zach Michels are the the Sierra Nevada mountains. Clifford Thurber core of the working group on deformation of Otherwise, now that I can remember, I had This has been a truly exciting year. Two major the lithospheric mantle (and sorry about that a nice year. I didn’t even mind the winter, since I multi-disciplinary research projects have recently little sewage leak in your office in the middle of got away to Guatemala in the middle of it. been funded: a study of the Laguna del Maule winter — and what a winter that was). We also volcanic center in Chile, led by Brad Singer had weekly, worldwide Skype meetings with our John Valley and supported by NSF, and a study of the Brady larger group of mantle deformation collabora- 2014 has been the year to solve old questions. geothermal site in Nevada, led by Kurt Feigl and tors. Many of these people have been through It started in January with publication of a paper supported by the Department of Energy. Two Weeks Hall at some time in their careers, includ- culminating a 6-year study of 3.9 to 4.4 Ga zir- other new projects were also funded this year, a ing Seth Kruckenberg, Virginia Toy, Eric cons from the Moon that Mike Spicuzza and I study of volcano structure and nonvolcanic trem- Stewart, Will Lamb, and longtime colleague discovered in lunar regolith collected by Apollo or at Unalaska Island, Alaska, supported by NSF, Julie Newman. I think we may be getting astronauts. We estimate that the NASA sample and an investigation of the deep crustal structure somewhere on understanding deformation of repository contains up to 100,000 of these disag- in the Parkfield, California region, supported the lithospheric mantle – stay tuned for some gregated zircons, representing a previously un- by the USGS. Over the summer, grad students exciting papers. recognized treasure trove for study of magmatic Sarah Lemon and Chris Rawles finished their The Idaho-Oregon (IDOR) project continues to activity on the Moon and possibly elsewhere in M.S. theses on the shear wave structure of the go well (see article in this Outcrop). We were the early Solar System. These results indicate that Katmai region of Alaska and earthquake focal joined by Annia Fayon who will study exhuma- lunar magmas were hot and dry, a conclusion mechanisms and stress along the Alpine Fault, tion along the IDOR transect. Graduate students that has recently received much interest. A sec- NZ, respectively; Summer Ohlendorf is near- Ad Byerly and Tor Stetson-Lee continued to ond paper in February finally resolved the Pb-mo- ing the completion of her PhD thesis on seismic work on their project and we are making some bility question for U-Pb geochronology of a 4.4 studies of Okmok Volcano, Alaska; Bin Guo is major progress on understanding what exactly Ga zircon from Earth. Pb-mobility would cause working on his MS thesis on the P- and S-wave is going on in the interior of the Idaho batholith erroneous ages and has been used to question velocity structure of the crust along the Alpine (Ad’s project) and along its 90° bend at Orofino our proposal of a Cool Early Earth. We reported Fault; and new grad students Crystal Wespestad (Tor’s project). We were also joined, somewhat 24 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison importance for theories of the genesis of the first demonstrates that adsorbed hydrogen-sulfide continents. In other projects, Adam Denny and can weaken the bonding between surface water Maciej Sliwinsky have established links be- and Mg ions on dolomite surface, and promote tween carbonate diagenesis, quartz overgrowths surface water removal and dolomite growth. and the burial history of the Illinois basin; Ryan Graduate student Minglu Liu has investigated Quinn completed his study of oxygen isotope the roles of microbes and polysaccharides in thermometry in the Adirondacks and in August enhancing dolomite crystallization in the Deep collected garnets from the famous Dora Maira Springs Lake (a modern hypersaline lake) in eclogite locality in the Italian Alps where meta- California. Graduate Seungyeol Lee has been morphic coesite was first discovered; Tyler Blum working on Fe-hydroxide and Mn-oxide mineral analyzed a 4.35 Ga zircon from the moon by atom nano-phases and their structural and chemical probe; Ben Linzmeier continues study of nau- evolutions in Fe-Mn-nodules from Lake Michigan tiloids and the Cretaceous seaway with Shanan area using X-ray micro-diffraction and transmis- Peters; David McDougal is completing his sion electron microscopy. These Fe-Mn-nodules False-color cathodoluminescence image of a oxygen 3-isotope study of chondritic meteorites have an important role in absorbing heavy met- 400-micron zircon and the 3-D map made by with Noriko Kita; and Jody Wycech is investi- als. Graduate student Xintong Jiang and Xin atom-probe tomography of ~10-nm clusters gating the effects of diagenesis on foraminiferal 207 Deng have finished their MS theses. Xintong’s of radiogenic atoms of Pb (yellow) and calcite with Clay Kelly and Reinhard Kozdon. 206Pb (green) from the core of this crystal. thesis is about growth kinetics of calcite in highly Conventional U-Pb geochronology shows We are happy that Selin and Reinhard were saturated solutions using the in-situ fluid-flow this is the oldest known (4.4 Ga, billion years) married in August, but sad that this caused him reaction cell. Her in-situ observation of calcite concordant zircon from Earth (Valley et al. to move to Rutgers. growth avoids interference from aragonite co- 2014 Nature Geoscience). At nm-scale, the 207 206 precipitation. Xin’s thesis is about kinetics of Pb/ Pb ratios show that clusters formed by Herb Wang heating and diffusion 1-Ga after crystallization hydromagnesite-to-magnesite transformation in of the zircon. These first nano-geochronology My current research is in a fiber-optic technology aqueous solutions. Magnesite is one of the stable results rule out Pb-mobility biasing of called Distributed Acoustic Sensing using equip- carbonate minerals for immobilizing carbon di- the Hadean age and confirms chemical ment developed by Silixa, Ltd. The research team oxide. Graduate student Nick Levitt (co-advised homogenization of the silicate Earth before 4.4 includes Geological Engineering professor Dante Ga. Image, John Valley. by Clark Johnson) has continued his clumped Fratta, electronics engineer Neal Lord, and isotope study of synthetic calcite crystals in con- a new 4.4 Ga crystal with less radiation damage graduate students Ethan Castongia (MS, 2014), trolled growth environments. Visiting graduate than the previous record holder (see the Out- Chelsea Lancelle (MS, 2013, PhD x2016), and student Chengxiang Li has investigated altera- crop for 2000), making it the oldest reliably dated Alex Baldwin (MS, x2015), and Silixa engineers tion of a Cu-bearing chlorite and thermal stability sample from Earth. In addition to WiscSIMS, we Athena Chalari and Michael Mondanos. Our of titanite nanotubes using X-ray diffraction. New used atom probe tomography to analyze and group has experimented with test arrays on fro- graduate student Shiyun Jin just joined my locate each atom at 0.2 nm-scale in a small piece zen Lake Mendota and at Garner Valley in south- research group. Lab manager of the S. W. Bailey of this zircon in collaboration with Tom Kelly and ern California. The next anticipated deployment X-ray Diffraction Laboratory, Dr. Rie Fredrick- others at the CAMECA factory in Madison, where will be at the Montana Tech student mine as part son has been studying structural modulations in atom probes are manufactured. These results of an NIOSH project led by Mary MacLaughlin, a intermediate plagioclase. The incommensurate show that the zircon age is correct and reinforce geological engineer there. This will be followed modulated structure of the intermediate plagio- our 2001 proposal that the surface of the Hadean by an array at Bradys Hot Springs, a geothermal clase feldspar has puzzled mineralogists for de- Earth was cool enough for liquid water oceans field northeast of Reno as part of a DOE geother- cades since it was recognized in 1940. In the past and was hospitable to life 800 myr earlier than mal project led by Kurt Feigl. On the teaching year, I have worked on developing a method for the oldest known microfossils. These results have side my courses over the past year include Rock solving crystal structures of nano-minerals using been universally accepted by professionals and Mechanics and a freshman seminar called Oil, an aberration-corrected scanning transmission ignited a media storm of popular interest. In ad- Water and Climate. electron microscope (STEM) and the ab-initio dition to traditional print and broadcast outlets, Rosemary and I have been spending a month study method. Our aberration corrected STEM there were some surprising new venues includ- here and a month there in the Menlo Park, CA can provide chemical images with better than ing 100’s of new web-site pages in various lan- area where our daughter Michelle lives. Thanks 0.1nm resolution. The method has been success- guages and even a very popular instagram from to Jean Bahr, we were invited to Stuart Rojstac- fully applied for determining crystal structures of Beyonce Knowles. For more information, see: zer’s (BS 1977) New Year’s Day party in Palo laihunite (a ferric iron-dominated olivine), mono- http://geoscience.wisc.edu/geoscience/people/ Alto. Stuart went on a book tour in September clinic Fe3S4, “d”-superstructure in sedimentary faculty/john-valley/john-valley-incle-on-zircons/. promoting his first published novel The Math- dolomite, and nano-precipitates with intermedi- In June, astrobiology grad-student Jake Cam- ematician’s Shiva, which is set in Madison (see ate composition between orthopyroxene and mack and I went to Western Australia where more about Stuart in Alumni News). clino-pyroxene. These mineral phases occur as he is studying the sedimentary environments of uifang u nano-precipitates within their host minerals or 3.4 Ga stromatolites in the Pilbara craton. While H X Graduate student Zhizhang Shen (co-advised intergrowth with other mineral phases. Tradi- there, I collected 20 kg of 3.4 Ga quartz arenite, by Phil Brown) has being working on possible tional methods do not work well with this type of from which we have selected 1500 detrital zircons natural catalysts that can enhance dolomite mineral. l that we will date in the hope of finding the first growth at low temperature using density func- Hadean zircons in the Pilbara, which would have tional theory method. One of his recent papers
http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 25 Emeritus Faculty News —2013-14 Mary Anderson while I lend some sort of window dressing the Root River in Minnesota, the Black River A highlight of late 2013 was being the citationist to this annual occasion. I also join five other (Wisconsin), and the Upper Iowa River. We'll for my former PhD student Chunmiao Zheng Archean Retirees for a monthly lunch. We swap return to Europe in September for our annual who was awarded the O.E. Meinzer Award at lies and reminisce about this and that. I shall sojourn there, this time sea kayaking in Croatia, the GSA meeting in October. Chunmiao also attend the GSA again this year where I shall be followed by biking along the Danube from Buda- received a 2014 distinguished alumni award honored to receive the Friedman Distinguished pest downstream to the Croatian border, where from our department and I was pleased to host Service Award from the History and Philosophy we'll stop, being rather nervous about the many a reception in his honor, which was attended of Geology Division of GSA. I hope to see many land mines that remain there…. by many local hydrobadgers. Another fun event alumni at the meeting in Vancouver, BC. was the first (and possibly last!) Pillars Confer- Dave Mickelson ence organized by the National Ground Water Gordon Medaris Life continues to be interesting and busy! A time Association in Phoenix in November 2013. I was Has another year already gone by? Where does consuming project has been evaluating changes one of four “pillars” of hydrogeology invited as the time go? I guess it's because I've been im- in Lake Michigan shoreline bluffs that have taken a guest speaker. Hydrobadgers Randy Hunt mersed in research and travelling. My interest place since Larry Acomb, Carl Fricke and others, and Chunmiao Zheng joined me for a session on in the mantle continues apace — two papers on helped with a survey of the bluffs in the mid- “What’s new in Groundwater Modeling”. Most the petrology and geochemistry of peridotite 1970s, and since John Chapman re-measured of 2013-14 was focused on preparing the 2nd xenoliths in the Eger Graben (Czech Republic) the bluff profiles in 1995. In those days many edition of “Applied Groundwater Modeling” with with my Czech colleague, Lukáš Ackerman hours were spent climbing bluffs and measuring co-author (and hydrobadger) Bill Woessner (and others) are in press with the International distances and slope angles. Now Lidar, flown and new co-author Randy Hunt. We are antici- Journal of Earth Sciences — these papers present by the Corps of Engineers, can be used to draw pating publication in early 2015. an exceptionally complete view of the composi- slope profiles in much more detail in only a few Charles and I continue to enjoy our vacation tion of lithospheric mantle in central Europe. of minutes. This also has the advantage of look- home in Door County, Wisconsin, and travels Another paper with Czech colleagues on an ing through the vegetation, so I’m convinced we around the USA and Canada including Toronto, orogenic garnet peridotite in the Bohemian Mas- get much better profiles in a fraction of the time. New York City, and New Orleans. sif is under review for a special volume of Lithos I’m now working with Tuncer Edil (GLE) on stemming from the 10th International Eclogite analysis of the changes. In another project, Chin David L. Clark Conference in 2013. Wu (GLE) and I are working with a student to Our study of the Paleozoic unconformity in With research on mantle rocks completed measure rates of longshore sediment transport the central Wasatch Mountains of Utah is now (for the time being), I've returned to a consid- along the shore of Lake Michigan. published and available online: "The major eration of Precambrian paleosols in the Lake Volunteer work on boards of the Ice Age trail pre-Mississippian unconformity in Rock Canyon, Superior region. A paper on "Metasaprolite in Alliance and the Friends of the UW Lakeshore central Wasatch Range, Utah." This is the initial the McGrath Gneiss, Minnesota, USA: viewing Nature Preserve continues to allow me to use publication of the online journal "Geology of the Paleoproterozoic weathering through a veil of my geologic background to help with interpreta- Intermountain West," v. 1, 2014. A similar small metamorphism and metasomatism" with Terry tion and solving some land-use problems. I also scale study concerning the precise age of the Boerboom, Brian Jicha, and Brad Singer has continue to give quite a few lectures around the Opohonga Formation in west central Utah is a been submitted to Precambrian Research, and state for the UW Speakers Bureau. new project. Louise and I enjoy living in the Utah a review of Precambrian paleosols in the Lake Since June, garden work and two trips to mountains with family and friends following Superior region is underway. our summer cottage in New England have kept our great eight-year adventure in the northern Nancy and I continue to enjoy snorkeling, Vin and me busy. I hope to see many former California wine country. After 15 years away from paddling, and biking. We spent much of January students at GSA in Vancouver! l Madison and without close contact with the De- in central Florida for partment, would like to know how/where/what paddling and biking, my 80+ former graduate students are doing! If February in Belize for you encounter one, ask them to send me a few snorkeling, April in lines: [email protected] Grand Cayman for snor- keling with my daughter Robert H. Dott, Jr. and grandsons, who Life goes on for Nancy and me at the Oakwood declared it to be "the retirement center with lots of little ups and best vacation ever!", fol- downs of a medical sort. We partake of some of lowed by a week on Little the many activities offered here and I continue Cayman for snorkeling by to offer occasional rock walks around the ourselves. This summer grounds and a lecture now and then. I still try to found us enjoying the attend most guest lectures at the Department pleasures of biking and and I once again acted as Chair of the Wisconsin paddling in the Midwest, At the 2014 Spring Awards Banquet: Ben Linzmeier, left, with Mark Survey’s Geological Mapping Committee. State including Door County, Solien, center, and Marshal Tofte. Mark, BOV Senior Advisor, received Geologist Jamie Robertson does all the work the Distinguished Alumnus Award, and Ben and Marshal, both graduate students, were recipients of the first Nania Awards. Banquet photos, Neal Lord. 26 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison Late Cretaceous ammonites from the Western Fundraising Highlights Interior Seaway of North America using high Your help is needed to support undergraduate and spatial resolution stable isotope sampling. graduate students This work promises to provide new insights into thermal stratification of the seaway. His Clark Johnson Graduate Student Support award from the Nania Fund was used to attend Our department is fortunate to have a dedicated Our graduate students serve as TA’s to our un- a major international conference that also group of GeoBadger alumni who recognize the dergraduates in a wide array of classes, conduct included field sampling for comparison to the financial challenges facing today’s undergraduate research, and move on to careers in industry Western Interior Seaway. His hope is to pursue and graduate students. We know that many of and research. The role graduate students play a research career in paleobiology. you have a favorite fund you have contributed to in meeting our educational mission is steadily Marshal Tofte over the years, and these funds remain valuable increasing, and the needs of society for geosci- Marshal completed his B.S. at UW-Madison in sources of support for our students. In this issue entists with advanced degrees also continues to 2013, and then began the M.S. program in the of the Outcrop, we highlight two current needs: increase. However, our ability to support our department in fall 2013. His research, advised graduate students has declined dramatically due Undergraduate Student Support by Professor Alan Carroll, focuses on basin- to cuts in the TA budget. scale analysis of organic matter enrichment in We have regularly highlighted the continued This year we are focusing our fundraising the Eocene Green River Formation. Explora- need for scholarships to help our students attend efforts in graduate student support on the Jay tion interests in the Green River Formation Field Camp. As the number of our majors con- C. Nania Endowment Fund. As a number of our have increased significantly in recent years, tinues to grow, this need will be more important alumni know, Jay Nania (B.S. 1984, M.S. 1987) and Marshall’s work will provide important in the future. Increasingly, a large number of was a strong supporter of the Department, but constraints on the distribution of organic our majors must work during the academic year lost his battle with cancer in 2013. Jay’s wife Silvia matter in the basin. Marshal’s award from the and summer to help with their undergraduate has established an endowment fund aimed at Nania Fund was used for travel to the USGS education, and this makes it especially difficult to supporting graduate students in the department, Core Research Center in Denver, CO and attend Field Camp, not only in terms of the camp and she and her family presented the first awards follow-up chemical analyses. His hope is to costs, but also the lost work time. from the fund at the 2014 Spring Banquet. pursue a career in the oil and gas industry. We have tried to provide scholarships in Our goal in the coming year is to reach the range of $1,000 to $2,000 per student. A 2014 Nania Fund Awardees ~$375K for the fund, which would be a sufficient $2,000 scholarship per student, at 15 students/ Ben Linzmeier endowment to allow us to expand awards to year, requires a sustained giving level of $30,000/ Ben earned his B.S. in Geology at Bowling include a one semester Research Assistantship year, and we have come close to this level of Green State University in 2009, and then and a research fund. As can be seen in the graph support through a combination of alumni gifts returned to his Wisconsin roots for graduate below, we are well within reach of this goal over and industry sponsors. The large increase in our work in the department. He completed his the next year. The long-term goal is to reach a majors, however, will require an increase in dona- M.S. in paleobiology in 2012 and is currently level that would generate sufficient income to tions in the future. Please consider helping future pursuing the Ph.D. in the department. Ben’s support a 12-month RA and research fund. Please GeoBadgers in this capstone course through thesis research, co-advised by Professors consider a gift to the Jay C. Nania Endowed a donation to the Department’s Field Camp Shanan Peters and John Valley, is aimed at Graduate Support Fund. l Scholarship Fund. understanding the ecological transitions of
Silvia Orengo-Nania with her daughter Julia Nania and Brad Singer The Jay C. Nania Endowment Fund for Graduate Students. at the 2014 Spring Awards Banquet in the Great Hall. Silvia and Julia presented Nania Awards to Ben Linzmeier and Marshal Tofte. http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 27 Lowell R. "Doc" Laudon was a legendary figure, who had an enormous influence on both students and faculty colleagues over a career that spanned 45 years. Doc joined our faculty in 1948 and is remembered as a charismatic teacher, both in the lecture hall, where he taught Introductory Geology to capacity crowds, and in the field, where he led a celebrated field trip to Tagish Lake in the Yukon Territory from 1967 to 1975. I first went to Tagish Lake as Doc's assistant in 1969, where he taught me, and the students, how to survive in the wilderness. He was the perfect man to do this, possessing an exceptional array of outdoor skills – I still have a vivid memory of his starting a fire with a single match in a torrential downpour. Tagish Lake was (and remains today) a wilderness region. Despite precipitous and dangerous terrain, an abundance of grizzly bears, and the frigid (and often turbulent) waters of Tagish Lake with the threat of hypothermia, Doc never lost a student. This commendable record was achieved by following the "Laudon Laws" (and with a little luck). Doc and Florence Laudon at Tagish Lake in 1969. Surviving the Yukon with Doc Laudon
The 338 pp. biography of Doc Laudon, Bushels of Fossils, by James S. Parks, is available from the Geoscience Department. Information and an order form may be found at http://www.geology.wisc. edu/alumni/LRLaudon/.
Doc, seated right, at Alfred Butte, Tagish Lake, in 1977. Photos this page, courtesy of Gordon Medaris. 28 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison I have to be honest after all these years UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN and admit that I carried a bottle of Canadian Geology 150 Whiskey hidden deep in my backpack, as did GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS some students, I suspect. One of Doc's favorite ploys was to send his Because a considerable portion of the summer will be spent in mountainous terrain or assistant and students out to measure a section, traveling over large bodies of water whose temperature is only slightly above freezing, very while he went fishing. At times, measuring stringent rules of conduct must be rigidly adhered to by all members of the party. sections became a bit vexing, as expressed by Work in the mountains offers mainly two possibilities of a tragedy. One is from rolling rocks through the party on the slope below and the second a fall. one student in her field notes, "Today we did Because of the lack of mountain experience by most of the members of the party, the an absolutely ridiculous columnar section that following regulations are always in force. Infraction of regulations will lead to immediate went on for feet and feet of massive greywacke. dismissal. Everybody was a bit perturbed, but I am 1. Climbing in the mountains. developing patience." However, one benefit Experience in the area has allowed us to choose routes up the mountains that involve of this ploy for the students was to find a lake absolutely no vertical climbing on bare rock. All traverses will be essentially on trails and grassy trout dinner waiting upon their return to camp. slopes. This means the party must stay together. Speed demons will have to wait for the slow I inherited the Yukon Field Trip when pokes. No trip is so long that speed is necessary. Mountaineer type climbing will not be allowed. Doc retired in 1975, and for the following two 2. Rolling rocks through the party on the slope below. years he continued on the trip to show me the To avoid this hazard the entire party will climb in a series of switch backs. Hence a ropes. Despite his tutelage, there were some rock kicked off does not roll through the party below. things I never mastered, such as sitting around 3. The return back down the mountain. the campfire and reciting the "The Cremation No helter skelter race back down the mountain can be tolerated. It is possible to split of Sam McGee" in its entirety. Doc remained the party in a fast and slow party provided they are separated by enough time to avoid danger. In vigorous at the age of 70, and many of us general the same switch back traverse rules must be applied in the return. had difficulty in keeping up as he led our daily 4. No student will ever under any circumstances be allowed to travel through the bush, or up hikes, some of which involved an elevation and down mountains, alone. Parties of three individuals under some circumstance can be allowed gain of 4,000 feet, as seen here at Alfred Butte to leave camp. In case of accident one stays with the injured man and the other goes for help. A (photo, left). party of four would be better. Students who insist on going off through the bush alone will be sent Going to the Yukon with Doc Laudon home. It should be kept constantly in mind that the woods contain Grizzly Bears and that there is always the chance of running onto a cow moose with a calf. was a life-shaping experience, and myriad 5. Travel on the lake. students and I count ourselves truly fortunate Since the temperature of the water in Tagish Lake is only a few degrees above to have known and been influenced by such a freezing, a swamped boat is a catastrophe. There are many stretches on the lake over ten miles remarkable man. in length and mid-afternoon winds often produce 8 foot waves. Long experience has taught us The editors thank Karen Roesler and Mark Kurz that it is best to sit it out on the bank until the wind goes down. Much of the travel will often be who sent recollections of their 1974 Yukon trip with close to the shoreline. In many cases we will move camp at night. We are in no hurry and there Professor Laudon and a copy of the Geology 150 is no set schedule. We have been known to sit on the bank for two days waiting for the wind to go Rules. down. by Gordon Medaris 6.Regulations concerning gear on the lake. Cut your gear to an absolute minimum before leaving Ten Mile Ranch. No beer, pop, whiskey or beverages of any kind are allowed on the lake because of the weight problem. Don't cheat by hiding a bottle of whiskey in the middle of your duffel bag. You can wash your clothes along the way so don't take everything you have in the car. Gear left in the car at Ten Mile ranch will be perfectly safe. 7. Use of drugs. Since perfect physical coordination on the mountain depends on perfect attunement of your senses, no drugs will be allowed. Even use of drugs as mild as Pot will not be tolerated. Anyone caught with drugs will be escorted off the lake immediately and given F in the course. Please Note A case of essential suicide took place in the Oshkosh party where a student fell over 1000 feet to his death. Had this individual been in control of all his good senses, he would not have left the party alone against all regulations. Also, he would not have tried to go down a slope that could not have been traversed by a mountain goat. The history of geologic field camps for many universities have been marred by tragedy, usually by falls or by drowning. We at Wisconsin have had two accidents. Both demanded helicopter evacuation of the injured student. One fell down on the point of his hammer and had to Doc with students at Tutshi River, Tagish Lake, 1974. "We be flown to Ft. Nelson. The other tried to split a board for his fire at Engineer Mine with a rock. gathered on the top of the second plateau on an ant hill The board flew up and hit him in the head. He was still unconscious 6 hours later. for a short lecture. We soon all had ants in our pants, literally." Photo and comment, Nan Zimdars.
http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 29 ongoing developments. Wasatch-Uinta Updates to the planning will be available on the Field Camp 50th WUFC website: www. Anniversary: Party fieldcamp.org. and Reunion in 2016 Thanks to a very talented MSU student The summer of 2016 will mark the 50th year of last summer, we now the award winning Wasatch-Uinta Field Camp have some fantastic field hosted by the iconic Chateau Après in Park City, camp stickers to get the Utah. Wisconsin joined the consortium in 1972 celebration started. The and in the past 43 years Badgers have accounted reunion visit to the Chateau Après immediately stickers are a new take for just over 25% of the 2733 (and counting) following the end of Field Camp in 2016 (July on Anasazi petroglyphs from SE Utah that we students who have tackled six weeks of 23-26?) would be a blast. Check out your old see every summer and help remind us of some challenging geology while becoming friends with room (not much change, I bet), share stories of the "challenges" surrounding this shared future peers from other Midwestern universities. from your year, visit some of the field areas on capstone experience. The design is silkscreened As the Director of the camp for the past ten foot (how about Bonanza?) or by vehicle (likely in UV resistant blue ink onto high quality, heavy- years, a duty now shared with Kurt Burmeister prime wildflowers in Albion Basin). Observe first duty vinyl stickers that are suitable for extended (Univ of Pacific, Univ of Illinois), we would like to hand the incredible growth and gentrification of outdoor use. (3.75" x 7.5") These stickers plan some events surrounding the 50th summer the once wild mining town Park City into one of can be purchased through our online store of operation and are soliciting ideas and interest the most expensive places to own a tiny historic (http://mkt.com/WUFC). Future anniversary from camp alums of all ages. A special reception/ house or beautiful new condo. Please email me memorabilia such as hats? can cozies? T-shirts? party at the Denver GSA in 2016 seems like an ([email protected]) with ideas, questions and (your suggestions?) will also become available obvious event. We also think a several day-long expressions of interest in being kept abreast of here. l GGSA Report Nathan Fortney The Geoscience Graduate Student Association has enjoyed a philanthropic and social year! The fall 2013 picnic celebrated a new batch of graduate students at Marshall Park, overlooking Lake Mendota. Tradition instilled students and faculty every Friday with Weeks End following the Weeks Lecture. GGSA celebrated the Earth’s Birthday on October 23rd with a culinary fundraiser entitled “Cakes for a Cause.” Eight geologically-themed creations were entered for judgment and consumption. Prizes were awarded to the most delicious cake as well as the most geological cake. Proceeds were donated to the Dane County Humane Society. “Geobadgers Against Cancer” Relay for Life Team, (L to R) Steven Henning, Pi Day (March 14) was also celebrated with mathematical, geologi- Sarah Lemon, Buckingham Badger, Andrew Ruetten, Ian Mosbrucker. Photo, cal, and tasty pies to raise money for the “Geobadgers Against Nathan Fortney. Cancer” Relay for Life Team. GGSA raised $1,000 for the American of Frisbee, others kept warm by the grill, and some simply enjoyed the Cancer Society! scenery and beverages. Planning is currently underway for both the 2015- The red carpet was rolled out for visiting students during prospec- 2016 fall and spring picnics, as GGSA looks to build on past success. tive graduate student recruitment weekend in February. Individual GGSA wants to formally thank the graduate students involved in meetings with faculty and lab tours took place on Friday, followed by planning the events as well as BP, Hess, Conoco-Philips, Chevron and dinner in the atrium of Weeks Hall and drinks at the Essen Haus. Special independent donors who allow for traditions like the fall field trip and events on Saturday for students included excursions to Devil’s Lake, Weeks End to continue. Cave of the Mounds, and running tours around Madison. Thanks to gen- GGSA Officers for 2014-15 erous donations from industry sponsors, GGSA organized the annual President: Nathan Fortney; VP: Marshal Tofte fall field trip with camping at Governor Dodge State Park and caving at Treasurer: Alex Baldwin; Secretary: Adam Denny Pop’s Cave. The Spring Banquet celebrated the conclusion of another Faculty Liaisons: Zach Michels and Ryan Quinn Ombudsperson: Tyler Blum successful year and the issuing of both serious and comical awards. Webmaster: Ben Linzmeier The Spring picnic was held in Brittingham Park on an unseasonably Elucidator: Nathan Anderson cool day during finals week. GGSA provided burgers, brats, and bever- Recruitment Coordinator: Mike Johnson ages while sides and desserts were potluck. Some folks enjoyed a game Field Trip Coordinator: Sharon McMullen, with assistance from Jake Cammack 30 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison Prepping for the Future After nine months of renovation, our overhauled fossil preparation lab opened in April. New air handling equipment, lighting, and safety measures were installed as well as a microprep station for delicate work on tiny fossils. Thanks to a video camera and a 60-inch flat panel display, visitors can now get at even better view of specimens being cleaned and restored. Museum Scientist Dave Lovelace taught a course on fossil preparation in the spring and maintains a thriving group of students in the lab. We thank the College of Letters and Science, and the Instructional Laboratory Moderniza- tion Program for making these upgrades possible. Archeology graduate student Jess Senjem carefully cleans a piece from a Triceratops skeleton excavated in Fizz Boom Read! Montana by Geology Museum personnel. As part of the Wisconsin Astrobiology Research Consortium (PI-Clark Johnson), we partnered with the Madison Public Library to inject science into their summer reading programs. Our efforts included purchasing a set of astrobiol- ogy and earth science books for each of the nine Madison library branches, providing 20 one-hour long science programs, training librarians to deliver their own science programs to their patrons, and hosting a science writer-in-residence. To help close the achievement gap, Brooke Norsted received NASA funding to create a city-wide summer reading marketing campaign that successfully reached low-income and minority families. Sweet Honors To celebrate the museum’s 165th anniversary, we held a competition to develop and name a new flavor of Babcock Dairy ice cream. The winning entry came from a nine year old boy who invented “Fantastic Jurassic” after being inspired by the geologic period that is one million times older than the museum. His concoction has a chocolate ice cream base (representing Jurassic rock) with inclusions of white chocolate chips (fossils), dark chocolate shavings (coal), and swirls of caramel (amber). The flavor was dished out at Babcock Dairy and Daily Scoop stores on campus throughout the summer. We also were honored this year to be voted one of the best museums in Madison Magazine’s “Best Rich Slaughter dishes out some “Fantastic Jurassic” of Madison” alongside Chancellor Rebecca Blank at this year’s campus ice cream social. contest. A Journey Through Time A new attendance record was set this spring at our annual open house when 1,500 people traveled the depths of geologic time with museum staff and students. Addition- ally, Stephen Meyers gave a talk entitled “How to Tell Time with a Rock Clock” while John Valley, Mike Spicuzza, Tyler Blum, and Ryan Quinn wowed visitors with the oldest known terrestrial object — a 4.4 billion year old zircon crystal. On top of advanc- ing our educational mission on this one day Rich Slaughter, Carrie Eaton and the John Valley and Tyler Blum chatting about Earth’s oldest Friends of the Geology Museum flexed their muscles to scoop out over 150,000 zircons with some of the 1,500 visitors to the museum’s calories worth of Fantastic Jurassic ice cream. l open house this spring. Photos, the Geology Museum.
http://geoscience.wisc.edu 2013-14 The Outcrop 31 Please consider making a gift to the Nania Fund for graduate student research support, the Field Camp scholarship fund for undergraduates, or to your favorite fund. 1215 West Dayton Street, 53706
UW FOUNDATION FUNDS Give online or make checks payable to the UW Foundation. amount Geoscience Annual Fund Thank you for Geoscience Community Fund Student Field Experience Fund remembering us! Jay C. Nania Endowment Fund – graduate student support Field Camp Scholarships – for undergraduates Sharon Meinholz Graduate Student Fund – supports travel to professional meetings James J. and Dorothy T. Hanks Fund – supports an annual "Best Geophysics Student" award C.K. Leith Fund for Structural Geology Lloyd C. Pray and J. Campbell Craddock Fund -‐ supports grad students in sed or structural geology Hydrogeology Research Fund L. Cline/L. Pray/R. Dott Sedimentary Geology Field Fund George J. Verville Award in Geology and Geophysics (Paleontology) Paleontology Program Fund in Geology Eugene N. Cameron Scholarship Fund (Economic Geology, Mineralogy, Petrology, Geochemistry) Sturges W. Bailey Scholarship Fund (Mineralogy and Petrology) George P. Woollard/Sigmund I. Hammer Memorial Fund (Geophysics) Robert and Ramona Sneider Museum Fund – enhancing museum exhibits L.R. Laudon Scholarship Fund -‐ used for award to the Outstanding Junior major S. Tyler -‐T. Berg Scholarship Fund – support awards to outstanding TAs Geology Museum Fund Museum Student Field Experience Fund Klaus Westphal Public Education Fund in honor of Klaus & his passion for teaching about geology
TRUST FUNDS & DEPARTMENT GIFT FUNDS Please make checks payable to the of Dept Geoscience. amount amount Charles R. Van Hise Fellowship Library Fund Mack C. Lake Scholarship Petrology Fund McClintock Geophysical Research Fund Quaternary Fund
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http://geoscience.wisc.edu/geoscience/giving/ 32 Department of Geoscience • University of Wisconsin-Madison