tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-49440988618708095302024-02-07T13:00:46.713-08:00Dendritic ImpressionsIntrospection through digressionIlmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-22133599596233387002011-10-18T15:42:00.000-07:002011-10-18T15:42:28.206-07:00Busy here in BelizeSo, since late August I have been in San Ignacio, Belize studying at Galen University. I had intended to blog about my trips and about some of the geology here, but I've found myself so busy between school and tourist duties that I haven't written anything worth posting in some time. There are some interesting limestone features here, but I haven't taken the time to look at them in any great detail...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57rh50CYCP7F5JW2RqGTkPI4_PUq2phxS9Z9eg4VpZwXsR0oZFc4DOvmedmeWEWnjRland1cloDY4dsDYbaKAVgZaUnWK_0hBqtc9T86zFXtozLINVVwDjK9_nOFCgmwDNhcbf9teEpW-/s1600/IMG_4126.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg57rh50CYCP7F5JW2RqGTkPI4_PUq2phxS9Z9eg4VpZwXsR0oZFc4DOvmedmeWEWnjRland1cloDY4dsDYbaKAVgZaUnWK_0hBqtc9T86zFXtozLINVVwDjK9_nOFCgmwDNhcbf9teEpW-/s320/IMG_4126.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleeping Giant Mountain. It is a limestone mountain, with some lime mining going on nearby.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXKm38K5nnFQrh_ZZ6E-n5hiZDfaVPNwQNCZn6O_XqcW1fuSn37mJxJlDPN85dkcuMC5Z7iYGS-N1k_FqeeHS3aTQnBxVfdlVabKecHmR1vkVMWUnlkYbHR_WDFi0gEYQBTYTmdazXBnY/s1600/IMG_3570.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjXKm38K5nnFQrh_ZZ6E-n5hiZDfaVPNwQNCZn6O_XqcW1fuSn37mJxJlDPN85dkcuMC5Z7iYGS-N1k_FqeeHS3aTQnBxVfdlVabKecHmR1vkVMWUnlkYbHR_WDFi0gEYQBTYTmdazXBnY/s320/IMG_3570.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A gravel mine (?) along the Hummingbird Highway.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-t07h4AcD5uuXTr5PZIQrDwYu9W33oRyQl8LXZc6xd9YfwC3_-elmYUtCuvl2X_Yio4Ytcey8TLSqQpuVKVdV4cw9WdpKqHHNjraRVuM3z6E2RK2Hzw8FtQhf8yJxJxmZtPd21A2-mCgO/s1600/IMG_3588.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-t07h4AcD5uuXTr5PZIQrDwYu9W33oRyQl8LXZc6xd9YfwC3_-elmYUtCuvl2X_Yio4Ytcey8TLSqQpuVKVdV4cw9WdpKqHHNjraRVuM3z6E2RK2Hzw8FtQhf8yJxJxmZtPd21A2-mCgO/s320/IMG_3588.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the rare outcrops with distinct bedding I've seen here. This was also along the Hummingbird highway, a little after the gravel mine.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Studying here at Galen University, I am taking five courses: Protected Areas Management, Environmental Law and Policy, Applications of Sustainable Development, Hydrogeology, and Mesoamerican Civilizations. PAs Management, Env. Law and Policy, and Apps. of Sustainable Development are all taught my by the same teacher, so as you'd imagine there is a fair amount of overlap in the course content with him. He has extensive experience with the protected areas of Belize, particularly marine preserves. He took us to the PA he used to work at, Caye Caulker Marine and Forest Reserve, and I'll probably write up a post on that when I have the time to do it justice.<br />
<br />
Protected Areas Management began by explaining the history of environmental protection and use in Belize, which basically equated to the creation of forest reserves for logging use and "Crown lands" ownership under British rule, a 1960s conservation movement parallel to the US movements, and finally a spree of protected areas created with the advent of tourism in Belize in the 80s and 90s. The course is now discussing the necessities of PAs to function, from inception to establishment, to operation and inventory of ecosystems.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjG22-eGabZ4D58Za6KTyL4SNk1ou4juY6XkupcIeur34lzZRQh87aD8MAKJiJzyBlIZ4XJylNqAMxSAvlUovmBTdrfDahVsLuPwvp5VcrTF15SYxmk0DwmDoVfRxH0qizy_aK2I9OsZn/s1600/IMG_4169.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigjG22-eGabZ4D58Za6KTyL4SNk1ou4juY6XkupcIeur34lzZRQh87aD8MAKJiJzyBlIZ4XJylNqAMxSAvlUovmBTdrfDahVsLuPwvp5VcrTF15SYxmk0DwmDoVfRxH0qizy_aK2I9OsZn/s320/IMG_4169.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Environmental Law and Policy is actually my favorite class, which focuses on the legislation and national policies relating to the environment in Belize. There is a strong emphasis on the similarities and differences of the US systems of environmental protection and the Belizean system (much more centralized and underdeveloped). We recently did some court case summaries of various environmental cases in Belize, and I was lucky enough to learn a bit about the dams in Belize. Now I want to visit the sites and hear what the managers and locals have to say about their river dam impacts.<br />
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For Applications of Sustainable Development, we have projects in which we characterize how sustainable the management of a protected area is. My group has a trip to Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve this weekend, so expect a post on that as well. It has some of the only non-marine rocks in the country, so I'm pretty excited about that. We had a previous trip to Belize Natural Energy headquarters, which is the only producing petroleum company in the country and I'll likely write a post about that trip as soon as I can.<br />
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Hydrogeology is an independent study class, since there was not enough interest in it to warrant keeping it open. We meet once a week for an hour, but the professor has great experience with the USGS working in groundwater and so I've learned a fair amount. Just wish there was some field component to our class.<br />
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Finally, Mesoamerican Civilizations is an excellent class taught by the head archaeologist of Belize. It is a survey of all the Mesoamerican nations, separated by time periods (Archaic, pre-Classic, Classic, etc.). We should have a trip to a famous cave site here called ATM cave, which I am hoping I will be able to photograph and write about, but there is a fair amount of water involved at the cave and so I may not be able to get pictures...<br />
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Beyond that, I've taken a handful of trips with the other international students here on weekends, but none terribly geo-relevant. I may write about the live coral reef and colonies I've seen, but my paleontology and coral biology knowledge is pretty shameful...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEs6w6-ItK9e2-1irHXK52PCcMw0P-KFm2hhtBch6NsmvjBYFWRnRsgKF_Rc6knWHTl_vSx5nFJrsm8VFSnd7sVxvvSpVC0jr8TdREgj7Da9uiaj3TIWK0q8gijREaMqH1e4AThPKDJnW/s1600/IMG_3193.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuEs6w6-ItK9e2-1irHXK52PCcMw0P-KFm2hhtBch6NsmvjBYFWRnRsgKF_Rc6knWHTl_vSx5nFJrsm8VFSnd7sVxvvSpVC0jr8TdREgj7Da9uiaj3TIWK0q8gijREaMqH1e4AThPKDJnW/s320/IMG_3193.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El Castillo at the Xunantunich ruins west of San Ignacio.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-39984588024546234452011-08-05T18:25:00.000-07:002011-08-05T18:25:11.991-07:00Week One of Field Camp: Capitol Dome, Florida Mountains, Luna County, NMSo after an exhausting spring semester, I had one week to relax and then it was off to Field Camp! I had purchased some new Red Wing boots, a Marmot Limelight two man tent, a Therm-a-Rest pad (ProLite Plus), and picked up a good rain jacket (Marmot Precip) on sale leading up to the trip so I was plenty excited to use the new gear. We headed to Deming, NM which is just over 60 miles west of Las Cruces. The weather report had predicted winds in excess of 45 miles an hour at times, and the <a href="http://www.wunderground.com/history/airport/KDMN/2011/5/10/DailyHistory.html?req_city=NA&req_state=NA&req_statename=NA">airport weather station</a> reported gusts at 52 miles per hour on May 10, but more on that later.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgep9J8tJRjJ6HPd-hJxExuw5a1BqOtKCRfIjopdeox4P79Oj24eIoagppRn5lJO-rXA_zp8usHedLgknBVBpwUNPQtjncmpet3AHg4NTm83GYJ5l54yjhUwfGSEjLj6hO4cA5GU_vhhfrh/s1600/IMG_2808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgep9J8tJRjJ6HPd-hJxExuw5a1BqOtKCRfIjopdeox4P79Oj24eIoagppRn5lJO-rXA_zp8usHedLgknBVBpwUNPQtjncmpet3AHg4NTm83GYJ5l54yjhUwfGSEjLj6hO4cA5GU_vhhfrh/s320/IMG_2808.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dragon Ridge as viewed driving south towards Rockhound SP. It lies at the northern base of the Florida Mountains.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><a name='more'></a><u>Day One</u><br />
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We set up camp at Rockhound State Park, which is a extensively developed. Located on the western slope of the Little Florida Mountains, the view was very hard to beat. Our group site had several picnic tables and numerous electrical outlets as well as overhead lights so we could work on our mapping at night. There was also a full restroom with flushing toilets and a hot water shower to boot. It really seemed odd to have such facilities when camping, but the workspace was much appreciated and it was nice to eat at a table for dinner as well.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/PRD/images/Rockhoundcactus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/PRD/images/Rockhoundcactus.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the Little Florida Mountains from Rockhound SP, taken from the park website. It really is just like this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Anyway, after setting up camp (mainly putting tents up and filling them with anything heavy so they didn't blow away) we headed out for a half day introduction to part of the field area. We started by looking at the Capitol Dome Granite, which was an alkali feldspar granite commonly altered at our starting location. Here we learned how to take an oriented sample (tricky with the friable granite out of a spheroidal body) and were also instructed how to use UTM coordinates on our topographic maps (which changed my mapping life forever). Our instructor informed us the Capitol Dome Granite is Cambrian in age at around 505 Ma, and were told this was an unusual period for igneous activity. Explanations were given, probably relating to the tectonic setting of Laurentia at the time but I cannot remember any useful details for the life of me. I was probably too focused on remembering lithologies and unit names...<br />
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From here we measured orientations in the Bliss Sandstone which appears to be derived from the Capitol Dome granite and is Ordovician in age. The Bliss was a dark maroon for the most part in our area, with heavy mineral lamination common in the outcrop we encountered. From here we walked up section some more to the El Paso Formation which was predominantly a mottled limestone, which was eventually succeeded by the Montoya Formation which is entirely composed of dolostone. Lastly we came upon the Lobo Formation which was a nodular, brick red conglomerate.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnYeL5sK-r7qYAX6rdEh9DNJLRL3nLTM56EAACDqNjxlyVrJgmfqQdZaOlPYSvcH6j4g3pe0wWR0nRxiHhbyfANpIEncCDKv0lesnEGSh3RF5q2ZwLkZ7TTtHNSc2Q5pysvyp48-o6xK7w/s1600/IMG_2811.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnYeL5sK-r7qYAX6rdEh9DNJLRL3nLTM56EAACDqNjxlyVrJgmfqQdZaOlPYSvcH6j4g3pe0wWR0nRxiHhbyfANpIEncCDKv0lesnEGSh3RF5q2ZwLkZ7TTtHNSc2Q5pysvyp48-o6xK7w/s320/IMG_2811.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our field camp group investigates the El Paso Formation. Capitol Dome looms in the background.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>We finished the outing by climbing to the highest point of the hill we had been learning the stratigraphic section of the area on, but about 300 feet from the furthest we went I managed to lose my rock hammer somewhere on the steep slope we had be edging along. I searched to no avail and lamented that I could possibly be the only student to ever lose their hammer on the very first day of field camp...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQjbDG8UKIaoBs0opdK8n_11wYMNMYaBeKx3MeHwcsIUQkJJLKJ7frrCaOpaiuB3h7N4UuxORcz5SjJTpmba3pt69hWV4XD1Mid06FXddFqhVedHA4C63aqEF10IvrnFcDNehvV3q30SS/s1600/IMG_2816.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZQjbDG8UKIaoBs0opdK8n_11wYMNMYaBeKx3MeHwcsIUQkJJLKJ7frrCaOpaiuB3h7N4UuxORcz5SjJTpmba3pt69hWV4XD1Mid06FXddFqhVedHA4C63aqEF10IvrnFcDNehvV3q30SS/s320/IMG_2816.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I lost my hammer somewhere along here, but I never found exactly where.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Dejectedly, I headed down the hill and we returned to our camp in the Suburbans. When we returned, two of my peers tents had broken poles and one of them was entirely unserviceable as a shelter any longer. My misery quickly had company and that night as I tried to sleep, the viscious winds howled without letting up until early morning. I felt this field camp would definitely be a long experience...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_U4iadBMxMqYcRdtmI1BphWtusdp0BTsEujbXHE5mBZ8-FZ0A3Mwa4rR0l-tm5qfUsN1TGFv3u7In1qTizydlltC2aMvHFXCHLwO_G3bSzNzoXQCEo7JqnK5suEaFwhtrsD5TdYKIRPEX/s1600/IMG_2813.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_U4iadBMxMqYcRdtmI1BphWtusdp0BTsEujbXHE5mBZ8-FZ0A3Mwa4rR0l-tm5qfUsN1TGFv3u7In1qTizydlltC2aMvHFXCHLwO_G3bSzNzoXQCEo7JqnK5suEaFwhtrsD5TdYKIRPEX/s320/IMG_2813.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dust storm from the afternoon blocked our view even from the top of the hill. We could still see our 'burbs at the base though.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<u>Day 2</u><br />
<br />
After such an auspicious start and with a poor night of sleep due to the wind, I was less eager to head out into the field than I expected to be. We were heading for a new portion of the map area called Mexican Canyon which made up the northeastern most portion of our map area. We began by examining foliations in a tan, quartzofeldspathic gneiss known as the Mexican Canyon Gneiss. This geniss is dated to the Precambrian at 1.68 Ga and it was on this gneiss we spent our mornings improving our abilities of taking trend and plunge attitudes. We continued on, encountering numerous felsic and intermediate dikes of varying size and extant.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsY4QXigNZCTck1zApXxab6A52-eqB4CjjfWoSoNZK5kYhGGqs__HfoD7nMFo3rygb4Td8RBdZ6e0S1zuZaOs_-bGu7wTvnXaZhQL3XHRXfFwkpMKHtTK_UHAX138-7yiLnB86yzovOl1G/s1600/IMG_2817.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsY4QXigNZCTck1zApXxab6A52-eqB4CjjfWoSoNZK5kYhGGqs__HfoD7nMFo3rygb4Td8RBdZ6e0S1zuZaOs_-bGu7wTvnXaZhQL3XHRXfFwkpMKHtTK_UHAX138-7yiLnB86yzovOl1G/s320/IMG_2817.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Great view of the foliation in the Mexican Canyon Gneiss.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>From here we continued south attempting to find a contact between the gneiss and another unit but were unsuccessful at first due to so much cover from alluvium. Eventually we found a contact with the Lobo Fm (this time as a fine to med grain peach sandstone) in a drainage, but since we were perilously close to the map area edge at this point we headed back.<br />
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On the way back we stumbled across the Bliss again, with its characteristic granite-derived clasts but sitting conformably above the bliss was a pure white sandstone we initially called a quartzite so dense and pure in SiO2 it was a difficult call. After finding our camp instructor Dr. L he informed us it was known as the Snow White Member of the Bliss Sandstone and was actually a quartz arenite. The rock had interstitial kaolinite and was very difficult to get an attitude from. We could however trace the points where it pinched out against the El Paso Formation relatively well and from this we determined there was an unconformity between the crystalline basement (Mexican Canyon gneiss and Capitol Dome Granite) and sedimentary rocks overlying it which caused progressive pinch outs as one moved up section and to the southwest.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJzv3KQ5Qeme7ksmUSz3p-ZQH-8yi7BT0_mkC7vWF0dyEm1m8Hw3yNXFnqFVx731hSXLmrU6kjsqW6ZL7E8ZxHssCM-13yMPUk0tAp9lEkcdUQBk93ECpVhLS9BF9b6eglN294J39Hif4/s1600/IMG_2822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvJzv3KQ5Qeme7ksmUSz3p-ZQH-8yi7BT0_mkC7vWF0dyEm1m8Hw3yNXFnqFVx731hSXLmrU6kjsqW6ZL7E8ZxHssCM-13yMPUk0tAp9lEkcdUQBk93ECpVhLS9BF9b6eglN294J39Hif4/s320/IMG_2822.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brecciated limestone from karsting activity, possibly related to an unconformity exposing this El Paso Formation limestone to weathering into these blocks which eventually collapsed and were preserved.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We ended the day by visiting the mines on our map which commonly were located on normal faults with mappable or at least significant offset all along the mountain near Mexican Canyon. It was a productive day even though our map did not have a remarkable amount of new data on it, but it got even better. A classmate had revisited the area from the first day and had stumbled upon my rock hammer! It was a great bit of luck and it definitely improved my mood for the rest of field camp. <br />
<br />
<u>Day 3</u><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1JUfjJLJ17uJaqR625_LPYhHcXTgMiqCXB5f7yoa1DHENAhY0dn3w2edBNf6EBLKZSEiakcG7z8cOdi-xkM1sl4zxShkz48f8Yrt3hwE79gLobq1bDmxSjnBvz-dMxvOoeyBoxTDRAiqZ/s1600/IMG_2823.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1JUfjJLJ17uJaqR625_LPYhHcXTgMiqCXB5f7yoa1DHENAhY0dn3w2edBNf6EBLKZSEiakcG7z8cOdi-xkM1sl4zxShkz48f8Yrt3hwE79gLobq1bDmxSjnBvz-dMxvOoeyBoxTDRAiqZ/s320/IMG_2823.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pure calcite in a drainage of El Paso limestone.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
We returned to Mexican Canyon in order to improve our granite-gneiss "contacts" and then worked our way over the mountain along drainages cutting down through the El Paso Formation. It was in these drainages that we found impressive calcite veins, some of which appeared to have been prospected.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmoe5d1aT0YOR7tryPVCzcalXXGyadsII107hpdZMnb8l1wPsPEUGhj0F1zumqlcAROchqK2F4NIgYb4ytttg88yQv1vPSnmj1cAdId72M56IuWGrnSHCUbnGHMt6u2wMdXU_DopISxhP/s1600/IMG_2824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmoe5d1aT0YOR7tryPVCzcalXXGyadsII107hpdZMnb8l1wPsPEUGhj0F1zumqlcAROchqK2F4NIgYb4ytttg88yQv1vPSnmj1cAdId72M56IuWGrnSHCUbnGHMt6u2wMdXU_DopISxhP/s320/IMG_2824.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Often the rhombs of calcite were very impressive and I managed to keep a sample.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
As we made our way out of the steep hills of El Paso Formation we noticed the Montoya Formation appears to pinch out at the top of the hill we had been climbing, providing further evidence for another unconformity resting on El Paso limestone. We spent the mid-day by taking attitudes from saddle of the mountain below the looming Capitol Dome and trying to puzzle out a few faults which we decided lacked enough offset to warrant mapping by the end of our deliberations.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXt6WUaYDBZE6QjRGbPAE_uAtZDB3A_6wUqxd0TLSne3-GIP2Ioz1uzYj5y_oPKOrY1FNvfymmuX6gDoc7tO7fmNIBGns_jYwOKVAubsFwUya1SxTR4jsERyv42Ct7oIIUnqwoaccsmKbk/s1600/IMG_2829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXt6WUaYDBZE6QjRGbPAE_uAtZDB3A_6wUqxd0TLSne3-GIP2Ioz1uzYj5y_oPKOrY1FNvfymmuX6gDoc7tO7fmNIBGns_jYwOKVAubsFwUya1SxTR4jsERyv42Ct7oIIUnqwoaccsmKbk/s320/IMG_2829.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We finished the day by considering a complex body of carbonate stratigraphy (El Paso and or Montoya Formations) along the far southwestern portion of the map area and by walking around the perimeter of the map area taking contacts of the Bliss Ss and Capitol Dome Granite. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_s3X1h5HIqtgCuJ-eTBOo5kfSJkHRIfu7iWxicJWRzNQcGP83ZkS7CKgYDlHvNjT8Jjzka3g03pdpid1EhdH7zp8iHZE6vdnw2j4ITvbUNfFxxSSGiEEH5nNrieKdtbyoqjODx8bBoVBa/s1600/IMG_2827.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_s3X1h5HIqtgCuJ-eTBOo5kfSJkHRIfu7iWxicJWRzNQcGP83ZkS7CKgYDlHvNjT8Jjzka3g03pdpid1EhdH7zp8iHZE6vdnw2j4ITvbUNfFxxSSGiEEH5nNrieKdtbyoqjODx8bBoVBa/s320/IMG_2827.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
As we made our way back to the vehicles, we found this mine which extended an impressive distance into the earth but since we were pressed for time to return to our 'burb we didn't dwell here as much as we would have liked. It was nice to have a cool, dark place to rest for a minute in...<br />
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<u>Day 4</u> <br />
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We began day four in a larger group than usual to investigate the southeast section of the map at first which consisted of a complex amalgamation of basement rock. I regret not taking photos because the igneous contact relationships between the Mexican Canyon Gneiss (which was often baked black) and a particularly arkosic version of the Capitol Dome Granite were really interesting and perplexing. There were also some interesting andesite dikes along the margins of this crystalline body, which further obscured the textures of the original rock. After considering the area for a while I decided to call the more vague portions of the outcrop crystalline basement undifferentiated and move on to the more pressing portions of the map.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwMWCHWqCwwv2cplybdoCH71m3Vg6Rw8llaWtU10W7P3joHcAoeDTuZBIf_lFLd_uJbEzdb-qMMEQSln-6Lto8PFs3poWt-os_TQ1-JQVQYezfx6VEQoifLjoLNC3xESe6j4LGANl4Vs-5/s1600/IMG_2841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwMWCHWqCwwv2cplybdoCH71m3Vg6Rw8llaWtU10W7P3joHcAoeDTuZBIf_lFLd_uJbEzdb-qMMEQSln-6Lto8PFs3poWt-os_TQ1-JQVQYezfx6VEQoifLjoLNC3xESe6j4LGANl4Vs-5/s320/IMG_2841.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The moon was a constant companion even during the day during this week of field camp.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> We took attitudes of the Lobo Formation most of the day, which was in its fine sandstone mode for the most part, and worked our way to the west in order to connect our mapped areas. As we worked our way west we began to realize there was an important fault which offset the lower strata against the Lobo in a broad zone but we had a difficult time pinpointing fault locations until we got out of the cover and into some drainages. Our fault was immediately obvious there, and we were interested to see that the fault surface had a low angle dip to it. We characterized the faulted area as best we could and took some attitudes in our confusing carbonate section before calling it a day. We never did put all of those attitudes to much use but the carbonates appear to have been both folded and faulted to varying degrees.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJczv_qAKnCZdrGckNazonCHs586kivNQzAV5IYVR-x9EYxvYrCnUXB2OkGjlFNxMjCoqgwP0xwlrGA9flk9lcLO1daqtVOU_GbRBeUJvda5-xgEnh55egsEWCq0pyHKDMtU-4W7zip6h/s1600/IMG_2839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJczv_qAKnCZdrGckNazonCHs586kivNQzAV5IYVR-x9EYxvYrCnUXB2OkGjlFNxMjCoqgwP0xwlrGA9flk9lcLO1daqtVOU_GbRBeUJvda5-xgEnh55egsEWCq0pyHKDMtU-4W7zip6h/s320/IMG_2839.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A small scale fold in the carbonate section. I believe it was in the El Paso Fm.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<u>Day 5</u><br />
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Our final day in this field area was largely spent cleaning up our interpretations and measurements of the low angle fault in the southern portion of the map area. We traced this fault all the way up to the peak of the mountain, where it cut even the Rubio Peak Formation which was the young andesite and related deposits which make up the dome of Capitol Dome. This implies this low angle detachment fault is younger than the ~37-24 Ma andesite from Rubio Peak.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrlOLucFI361AlT0OFYzUClKLZ0GU1yVX_RDSpfJVnk-f96VGb31cecxG-8T-yxvnDh5OUOYSSEl96imPEF9SDgf4eXH_2FYYABl9q0cprCiOeHc2LdXJT99o6YUFNERKQUwECjEbITu68/s1600/IMG_2847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrlOLucFI361AlT0OFYzUClKLZ0GU1yVX_RDSpfJVnk-f96VGb31cecxG-8T-yxvnDh5OUOYSSEl96imPEF9SDgf4eXH_2FYYABl9q0cprCiOeHc2LdXJT99o6YUFNERKQUwECjEbITu68/s320/IMG_2847.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A great exposure of the fault surface. There were what appeared to be flow banded rhyolite bodies near the surface, probably formed due to the intense shear the fault induced.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The main point of this day was to summit the peak of Capitol Dome and reach the base of the dome itself. The dome is highly friable and yet a mapping companion said he had seen pictures of climbers on top of it, without climbing gear. This definitely put my short hike up to the dome into perspective relative to reaching the true apex of the area, but the view was hard to beat nonetheless. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj90tqa1yvoEWvzHcXbDQW6J-uwAsRPD6pVoKvuEX_vo_Sdd9UonFPDNioCyzNgwXRDCul9LkxmLltFT6tym_RZCi3w4omChhhMrcGmJDjy14w2ayMWktnFESaeqZcO1O95Qyg-11Rpwa3/s1600/IMG_2849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj90tqa1yvoEWvzHcXbDQW6J-uwAsRPD6pVoKvuEX_vo_Sdd9UonFPDNioCyzNgwXRDCul9LkxmLltFT6tym_RZCi3w4omChhhMrcGmJDjy14w2ayMWktnFESaeqZcO1O95Qyg-11Rpwa3/s320/IMG_2849.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div><br />
<u>Conclusions</u><br />
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Looking back at this map area, it seemed very ambitious for a first map during field camp, but given our several weeks of mapping in the field class during the semester it wasn't so steep a learning curve as it first seemed. The map was supposed to focus on the igneous contact relationships between the Capitol Dome Granite, Mexican Canyon Gneiss, and the Bliss Sandstone but I think the low angle detachment fault stole the show. We definitely got our hiking in that first week, which whipped me into shape in short order and the high winds abated for the last few days of mapping but they would be back in force for the next map...Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-79937699604983900132011-07-24T18:05:00.000-07:002011-07-24T18:06:40.970-07:00A not so brief reflection on my Field Class from Fall 2011.Below is a description of the field areas I visited for my Field Class during the Spring 2011 semester. Before you continue reading, I should warn you that unlike at Field Camp (which I'll cover in a later post) I did not take any pictures for the majority of the field trips. I was more concerned with learning mapping techniques and getting a good grade than documenting our field areas. Thus most of this post will be <span style="color: red;">terribly boring and entirely too text heavy</span>. I'm mainly writing this as a personal review of my progression as a field geologist and to serve as a record of where I've gone in southern NM.<br />
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<b>January 15, 2011 Robledo Mountains (First Map and the Final)</b><br />
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This outing was mainly an excuse to get us out into the field and taking attitudes with our Brunton compasses. All of our attitudes were taken off of the Hueco Limestone in a drainage near the gravel mine or in nearby exposures. We then plotted these attitudes on a stereonet and on a field map, then wrote a short report on the lithology and similarity of attitudes in the Hueco. It was a simple outing, but you have to start your field career somewhere...<br />
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<b>January 29, 2011 NE of San Diego Mountain</b><br />
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This trip required us to make independent unit descriptions of the Bliss Sandstone (burrowing suggests it is a marine sandstone, and it is of Cambrian-Ordovician age), the Precambrian granite basement (granodiorite with numerous dikes cutting it), and the El Paso Limestone (a mottled Ordovician limestone with occasional algal layers and gastropods. It is commonly silicified, probably by hydrothermal fluids from faulting). Additionally, we began mapping contacts between these units and continued to plot the attitudes of bedding when possible. We constructed a very simple cross-section from our map and attitudes and then tied everything together with a report of our interpretation of the geologic history of the area. <br />
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This field trip was the first time we had done real mapping and was the first experience I had with silicified carbonate rocks. After this report I began to feel like a bit of a field geologist, and the exposure to new rock units awakened my desire to see what else southern New Mexico's stratigraphy could offer.<br />
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<b>February 1, 2011 SW San Diego Mountain</b><br />
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Seeing the other side of San Diego Mountain was like entering into another world. The stratigraphy near the mountain is largely dominated by sedimentary rocks of volcanic origin mainly the Palm Park Fm - a maroon mudstone to fine sandstone with 2mm plagioclase clasts and the Bell Top Fm - a paler maroon, medium sandstone with common yellow staining from hydrothermal activity.<br />
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Across a listric normal fault, the map area is nearly entirely Precambrian granite with lozenges of a biotite rich schist. A beautiful expression of a thrust fault was just a short ways from the map area (I wish I had brought my camera here), and a small travertine deposit was also spotted on one of the minor ridges of the area. Additionally, for my cross-section, I mislabeled my units in meters instead of feet, making San Diego/Tuonuco Mountain the highest mountain in the lower 48 states!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXCQTjRqo9YSmyiBrn0fH-Y2SGiahz_Q19VGcTb8oDBTfibUuIYYczbRWZ_T3N3T7TAG9uFiSapKz5Uxy1ImHWCXMh37wPwN6cSXURVT2IMsfBNcQK8aUAsKOjLwmnvgQVvEd1azrQqny/s1600/Tunuco+Mountain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFXCQTjRqo9YSmyiBrn0fH-Y2SGiahz_Q19VGcTb8oDBTfibUuIYYczbRWZ_T3N3T7TAG9uFiSapKz5Uxy1ImHWCXMh37wPwN6cSXURVT2IMsfBNcQK8aUAsKOjLwmnvgQVvEd1azrQqny/s320/Tunuco+Mountain.jpg" width="263" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tonuco Mountain (AKA San Diego Mountain). Our SW map area was<br />
the left foothills of the main mountian.</td></tr>
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<b>February 12, 2011 Yoast Draw</b><br />
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This was the first (and only) map area in which we were provided a satellite photo of our map area as well as a topographic base to map on. The large scale made locating oneself relatively easy, and the lithology of the area had strong contrasts on the map.<br />
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The Abo Sandstone of Permian age was a red-brown fine grained sandstone with excellently preserved ripple features which contrasted excellently with the blue gray fetid limestone of the Pennsylvanian Bar-B Formation. This area was interesting because it was the first exposure I had to mile scale folding, which in hindsight appeared relatively well on the satellite photo. There was also a large number of cows and a road to a ranch of sorts, which had a well.<br />
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The two non-geologic things of note for this area are that while working with a partner in this area, she managed to lose her Brunton very near the end of the day and that was a real shame. She never found it on a return trip the next weekend, and I feel a little guilty still that I never noticed she had left it behind before it was too late. Also, this was the hottest outing we had undertaken and I had been working without a hat of any kind. I hate wearing hats. They feel weird, confine my vision when climbing, and are more likely to blow away than stay on my head. This trip however I went through my three liters of water relatively quickly and had a pretty deep sunburn on my face by the end of the day, so this was my breaking point and I picked up this hat below. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbkzwowNOwENmV7kiG1WexKT-NfB0UVfx3TdtltMZcvrnk8YgXNnsoaG3LEFPSXl1yhO5YBdAtIqIGcus76PWZJIoX5bySF1-Pomg4gSLZkRknpEj_zhL-hua7w57HFPZm4npV0QpCk_1/s1600/IMG_2621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnbkzwowNOwENmV7kiG1WexKT-NfB0UVfx3TdtltMZcvrnk8YgXNnsoaG3LEFPSXl1yhO5YBdAtIqIGcus76PWZJIoX5bySF1-Pomg4gSLZkRknpEj_zhL-hua7w57HFPZm4npV0QpCk_1/s320/IMG_2621.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dorfman Pacific Co. 863M hat in olive green. I later added a leather strip to serve as a strap in wind.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table><b>February 26 and 28, 2011 Broad Canyon</b><br />
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This map area was larger than usual and so we were alotted two days to map it. Broad Canyon lives up to its name and is a wide canyon with a large degree of alluvium (mostly loose sand and flow banded rhyolite pieces). The Canyon also disects an ancient cinder cone which is excellently preserved.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwH5QaEoJa-V24fEbgXR54q2Ex3uDancpuUNmio5HzAhuq7CU52C3ZjOjjAuonikM4D37teAGm1vGG67xB7Fg5DnxQ9Z3i10YJR4xwwbXiOzmKpiMJfiliNtP3kmg7uSLHIl-s5wC_oMxx/s1600/100_3508.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwH5QaEoJa-V24fEbgXR54q2Ex3uDancpuUNmio5HzAhuq7CU52C3ZjOjjAuonikM4D37teAGm1vGG67xB7Fg5DnxQ9Z3i10YJR4xwwbXiOzmKpiMJfiliNtP3kmg7uSLHIl-s5wC_oMxx/s320/100_3508.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The area also offered impressive canyon walls of ash flow tuff which had been welded and was surprisingly resistant to normal weathering and hammering. I had never seen such thick deposits of ash flows in southern New Mexico until then.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1EyQgVk5SeBJ4viIVM63YjQCAb4U2HOlDlsGw5BQlsPgTSPZ7n0wAsGdSsI4FOTkOm-uyDQ0xh1s81QQuA7q5IAAHVKLF8EmOZgV0B1ajZvEKZpRMX-2aJRSzkCahzh1jDQuy9vbXTyG/s1600/100_3605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn1EyQgVk5SeBJ4viIVM63YjQCAb4U2HOlDlsGw5BQlsPgTSPZ7n0wAsGdSsI4FOTkOm-uyDQ0xh1s81QQuA7q5IAAHVKLF8EmOZgV0B1ajZvEKZpRMX-2aJRSzkCahzh1jDQuy9vbXTyG/s320/100_3605.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>This area was as complex as it was large, with several faults to account for although our field instructor said there were only three main faults we needed to find for the area. We also had the disadvantage of facing high, cold winds and on the second day it even snowed a bit on us. It was hard to believe two weeks before I was so hot I finally conceded to buying a hat!<br />
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This was a good field area with different volcanic and sedimentary units than we had previously worked with and a lot of outcrop to cover. I feel this area was a final preparation before we were sent to map our midterm location the next week. I was assigned to a partner who is purely a rockhound at heart and it was difficult to keep him on task and moving with all of the interesting rocks Broad Canyon had to offer, so it was nice to look forward to working on my own.<br />
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<b>March 12, 2011 Midterm at Selden Canyon</b><br />
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I hardly slept the night before our midterm field trip, because I tend to get nervous before any major event and was distressed about doing well. We arrived at the field area and I immediately realized we were mapping mostly unconsolidated sedimentary units and a paleosol which I had minimal experience with. I walked around the eastern portion of the map area and could only distinguish one or two of the map units in the area, which greatly worried me since I had covered over 1/3 of the map area and hadn't seen a gypsiferous sand at all. I finally found the unit in the west and the area started to make a bit more sense, so I took attitudes on what solid rock I could find, cleaned up a few contact lines and called it a day. We headed back to school to make the final map and I inked in my contacts and attitudes and called it a day.<br />
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When we got our maps back over half of the class had missed the faults in the area and a small fold as well. I missed the faults entirely (thinking the sediments were unconsolidated and unlikely to be significantly faulted) and had the fold relationship mapped through my contacts but not designated by any accompanying symbol or note in the report. Thus the main lesson I learned from the mapping is that areas can appear to be deceptively simple and fault relationships can be subtle but inferred from careful observation of bedding trends and unit contacts.<br />
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<b>April 2, 2011 Palm Park</b><br />
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Palm Park was an intersting location because it contained the Palm Park Formation mentioned above, three different ash flow tuffs, two sedimentary layers between these tuffs, the Uvas Basalt, a conglomerate over that. The most difficult part of this field area was distinguishing between the three tuffs (and thus determining what sedimentary layer could be present in succession as well) and overall I'm proud with how well I did in this regard. The faults were easy to distinguish in this area from the landforms and the dynamic stratigraphy. The most important things I got from this trip were an excellent sample of a tuff with slickensides on it and a bit of my confidence back after my less than impressive mapping at Selden Canyon for the midterm. <br />
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<b>April 9, 2011 Burro Mountains</b><br />
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This location was by far my favorite of our field class. We went to the Burro Mountains to map cross-cutting relationships of dikes within a gorgeous gneiss.<br />
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We also restored the regionally tilted dike orientations back to horizontal on the average attitudes of the dikes in a stereonet. This was a difficult to do at first, due to confusing instructions but after a more clear explanation was provided the restoration was much easier than it seemed.<br />
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As you can see, the dikes are generally rhyolitic and range from granite to monzodiorite. Chilled margins are common in all of the dikes and based on the orientations and mineral compositions of the dikes I argued for a population of four distinct populations of dikes.<br />
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This field area was a wonderful location. It was well shaded, had both intrusive and metamorphic rocks with well preserved textures, and was well concentrated within the area we were mapping. If the Burro Mountains were closer to Las Cruces, I would go there as frequently as I could but alas the 131 miles (three hour drive) makes this difficult to justify. Luckily, Las Cruces has enough interesting local geology to keep me down for too long!<br />
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<b>April 22, 2011 Final: Robledo Mountains Round 2</b><br />
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Our first trip to the Roblado Mountains had been cursory at best and so even our investigation of the attitudes of the Hueco Limestone did not differentiate it between its four members. We also mapped the Love Ranch, Palm Park, and Camp Rice formations, a basalt flow, and alluvium. This made the area dynamic enough to spot even minor faults which initially caused me to over-complicate my map until I found more important faults.<br />
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I forgot to eat lunch entirely while out mapping and so at around 3 in the afternoon I was banging my head on outcrop protruding out of drainage and staggering around less coherently than usual. In the end though I feel I determined most of the important fault relationships and contacts, but I never got the chance to check what errors I made on my map since so much of my late semester work was taking so much of my time I never made the appointment. I feel I did much better on the final than the midterm and I don't have any regrets that I could suspect penalized me. Making the final map at school was an anxious experience though, and I ended up making two flawed drafts I had to start over from before I finally got it right and managed to go have a celebratory beer or three with the class at a local sports bar.<br />
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My field class experience definitely prepared me for field camp, but the shear size difference in mapping areas was difficult to get used to at field camp (even with the extra days). My cross-section construction skills were also shown to be wanting at field camp as most of our class realized that our folding and curvature of bedding was never quite refined from a rough estimation of curve points, so long as bed thicknesses were typically preserved. Overall though, I learned a lot about how to map in only 9 short weekends and I got to see some fascinating rocks in the process.<br />
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<u>Photo Credits</u><br />
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<a href="http://fishorcutbait.wordpress.com/2009/12/31/new-mexico-for-christmas/">Cool as a Cucumber</a> "Broad Canyon: Tonuco Mountain, Dona Ana County"Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-66296866097474855912011-07-23T20:36:00.000-07:002011-07-23T20:36:10.306-07:00Spring 2011 Semester: How my Junior year got me 3/4 of the way through undergradJunior year is commonly expressed as the most difficult portion of college. The classes are no longer remedial, your teachers have often taught you before and know how to demand the most out of you, and it seems every instructor believes their course is the most important class you are taking at the time.<br />
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I cruised through most of my spring semester relatively easily. My course load was initially light because our Field Class did not start in earnest until a month in. With the inclusion of the field class I managed to adjust and keep a steady pace through the majority of the semester which appeared to pass more quickly than most. It wasn't until the last three weeks of the semester that I began to feel the pressures of deadlines and faced the shocking realization that although I had worked steadily and reliably on all of my projects, there was no way I could finish strongly on all of them. I wrote six papers or reports during the last two weeks of the semester, and was remarkably burnt out as I faced the coming three weeks of Field Camp a week after finals. Looking back at the semester, I'm still perplexed how I became so busy during the last month of school but I only had one paper I feel was inferior work and I'm proud to have made it through this semester more than any other.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Tectonic Evolution of North America</b></div><br />
This course is intended to be a capstone of sorts, integrating every course before it into a means of understanding how western North America came to be, from the accretion of terranes onto the craton all the way to the most modern expression of faulting in the Basin and Range province and Rio Grande Rift.<br />
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My main takeaways from this course were how to construct a rough paleogeographic map based on sedimentary rock paleocurrents, rock types, and contributing clast characteristics. I also learned a great deal about applying modern analogs of geological features to hypothesized features of the Western US and surprisingly on the ignimbrite flareup and caldera characteristics (We were supposed to learn about them in depth from a field trip to Valles Caldera in Ig. & Met. Petrology but rough weather canceled that). Overall, this was a low key class that really rounded out my geologic knowledge.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDkTTkaGSO98aIRApefZJUGnGGqZI20B2PnG0Fhzu1WgLZib95aloraC2u4W0iKYxxJvvcrvlkXB21WGpBGSjKbgZJ0SEF5x0r_tyQA6_6Ouaj6zQFdz4nIE5U8SJvWcr-8gnHDLmi7e4/s1600/IMG_2805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJDkTTkaGSO98aIRApefZJUGnGGqZI20B2PnG0Fhzu1WgLZib95aloraC2u4W0iKYxxJvvcrvlkXB21WGpBGSjKbgZJ0SEF5x0r_tyQA6_6Ouaj6zQFdz4nIE5U8SJvWcr-8gnHDLmi7e4/s320/IMG_2805.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside of a flow banded rhyolite dome from the ignimbrite flareup in southern New Mexico. Notice how the rock is oriented towards the supposed vent of the dome.</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Petroleum Geology</b></div><br />
This was a class I was reluctant to take, because I have always tried to distance myself from a fate in the oil industry. I just feel like the culture and tendencies of the industry really wouldn't suit me, and this class certainly solidified that view for me. I learned a great deal about petroleum starting from humble kerogens and given the suitable conditions (source, maturation, migration, reservoir, seal, and trap) its inevitable transformation into oil, gas, and other substances of interest to society. I learned a great deal about how structure can trap fluids, and how stratigraphy can do the same, especially given the complexities of sequence stratigraphy (which was my weak point in this course as well). Most importantly though, as we took a field trip to a near production well in Artesia, NM I realized the gulf between engineers and scientists in the petroleum industry was too vast and full of animosity to shake me of my convictions regarding the industry. Additionally, this was the course I most neglected because our tests were so easy and when all of my papers came due at once, my basin analysis paper was my weakest offering of the semester.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Global Geochemical Systems</b></div><br />
This was the most interesting course I took this past semester, the geochemical counterpoint to the great field and structural lessons I learned from Tectonics of North America and my Field Class. It is meant to be a graduate level course, but with my background in geochemistry I managed to get in relatively easily. This class gave me a much greater appreciation for the different types of reservoirs of the mantle, of each contributing component to an arc system (both continental and oceanic), and since so much of the class focused on modeling of igneous bodies I really grew to appreciate how much the degree of partial melting can influence the characteristics of a melt and the rock that forms from that melt. I had never written so many papers or done so much modeling for a class before, so it was a challenge to complete all of the work and I certainly managed to improve my ability to read geologic publications in the process.<br />
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<img alt="" height="204" 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umh9hW7DJKlAJayuvgQxhrVT4+ewdLJ8Uc1BBeXV0Oo1+9XvnVwfxot7AGuA8MC17A27P7TNzdnmxiWS5YCWHr4EMYyM8mKeg0tE388YnF/yuUyDbvx8lwEN6xFtW3HhbiNo3/OGuF/A1wpCe56gzaBYYFrWI8SmEpW0it57a3i5zyA9S2MZU9LNhJ6/X7lW4v7U61WVVXlyx9FyXoaw7rSuOs9DCpsh2GBa9hJBStKNpE20evJ8aoYwPoZxrLHko2EXhljE388YnF/UqlUoVDg/ywUCnwFpFRlS9O0crlML5XLZVrGI75nbGyMqnvx0M9iUtroMmpBURQ6C49w+R7Oer1OCUkURaFNnmIUzBus1WrGvCWm3ZNO0X6DjoFhgWvYWUvAJbu1f/KlN2+J22fJa+IIrBTGPni4vu/V68a6Mu6SHa1EQq88gG0Uxkqmkwp0i4atVqu8GC13jfge0qiu63wvu6Zp9Cq3pHhegstXURTevki5XKYGjXlIxM7z55qm0d+McrksNm7snvEUbjXYKjAscA2bBWNIstnRChN2dvGw0RjA0uN3n+Vpxt9YG7Ez4QFsozBWMixlX5JeEgdk6/U6RaaN3iM5miOO8BrPazxSq9VSqZRpUGn6EbEnYrFb6VWpPq7FKRw06BgYFriG/ZJcYuWYuYWVnqEpHjZW7nz4h7mLf5i7WLhxtnDjLD2fqb6bGTv27KHLjep7dxpSAGsaxiaTSdF9hUKBB5JGe46NjRUKhUKhYByrbWRY7iaJpoblI8K8QfuGpSP1et1aiNancNCgY2BYEDxL99ekI5ThkExqul61wyUrBbCmYSx9yRVnuqrVR3/GjPak6DWZTIoxnYVh8/m8OMgrYsewNLBAg7Ps6fRP/CPioCp9PJ/PkzcLhYJ1uijjKdps0DEwLAgGYx1ZjphAtnd46p+OmKdf6XDJ2oEkSzM5fC6LmdmTMZZMJsVpK2vDil/DWx0loHxPqqpqmkYNGluj+S5pCFWcXjP+JRC7ZzxFmw06BoYFAUBJV00nlKT83IlMUU2b6BV5WkEkgGGBr6ytb/Cc1kbJmpY/MJUs9AoiQWuGrVaruq7rum6/iJYPwLBRYW5hZVN2ckv/ladXaN2gV9fWN547crW7QT5WUbLQK4gKLRiWqhlyGo1z+w8MGwgWKwdM9+/PLaxsGZjszuhdfcVE+ok9j374zyc/maL3mOZjpa20U18s0Lou6BVEiBYMS+PB8/Pz8/PzNCztRwdtAMMGgoVhjTmo5hZWtuWehK5csj8+fubURG/uwr9+OPNf9E6jZHk6mLmFle25EvQKIkQLhhWX17W628FYzZs1KNyNat5RwcKwUh5V09KHJNkjH/wzrTS6+/0cb1mUrJTSMITZrQCwoLlhy+Uyjb3m83lax0t6tT9KYFrN27RwN6p5RwgLw3YLtQAaVZbtzujP/+qNRms5SbLhLO4NgH2aG1ZpTEtnkgxrWrgb1bwjhLVhuWS/mF9uZNj8B//TYkvS4vIq9AqiTnPDzjempTNJhm20Fc/mWl9U8w6cpobtzuib0p+81H/cWLtbCmDp8dqFfUFfU0hp6RcNhIqczXHYcrnM94TU6/VCodBq1hl3DWt6DcBPmhpW3HMljRV09RX5CKz/eWAB8A1bhqW9vYqijI2N8ef2q20/OkGDvcli4W5U844Q1oY1bmkdvvgnWtPa1Vf88atnTBNo+ZYHFgB/sGVYRVE0TeOJbMfGxhxkC5cMa1q4G9W8I4SFYY16/eTWX7YPlhKZ4jMHi4m0/vLZgaGLP6PH4d/uPz3x8qVbh+ixurYc1BUB4Dp2DUvrtJxtNJDmx4w5F/g7Uc076ly6cXfbwBVjQpZGdbpQHxvEG7uGpTRf/AnhXzctgWFDhTEVIWGULPQKYo9dw7a/Wss7YFh/sJ9g25Q7tZv/+d3vuWShV9AJ2F1LEGai2Oco0qZh35s58N7MAYpkN2V1B3pdXF511HEAAgOGBXZpx7B3ajdptcCd2s219Y3jha9a1evJ8er2XAkpt0G0gGGBXdox7HszB8iw780ccHBqnlIWdQ1AtIBhgV0cG5YHsDyMbem8XK8oHgMiBwwL7OLYsDyAdRDGSnqFZEG0gGGBXWwadm5hRUzhKgWwLYWxbxW/NuqVV0i0qKUIQEiAYYFd7BiW8g+IZQikALalMLZR5kOs9AJRAYYFdmlqWFGIJFnTALalMNYoWegVRAgYFlhhf+xVVGHP4Ee78+/uODz1wfU/fLf0pelj+cFfbfZBbBl6BdEChgVW2B97FSPNl88O9L9zwMWqhdR+IuNknwIAAQLDAitsGnbv0Se1C3sGP3r98q5TE7278+92Z/RtA1caZSpoibmFlRdOzECvIFrAsMAKm4YVaxe+fHaARlr73zmAZVWgw4FhgRX2x2FJstsHCxTA0uPK7Uog3QYgJARp2Gq1StlgeQFEotWC3jCsd7S0y2BxeTX7myHULACAE6RhVVWtVquMsWq1yqt+OSjoDcN6R0uGXV1bfqO4B6W3AOAEadhkMsnrHvKqXA4KesOw3tGSYcvVsyi9BYBIkIat1WqpVKpcLmuaVq/XH/XDXrlZVPP2Dgurig/+/qOn9g+OHBoayWiXf2C6uWD42MEALycG+PQLCTwgF6Bh5+fnybC8xCxzVNAbP4LuYtOw9OZ/bPz9TX3f/zmX+2yu8oe5i6aPu99jvstlbH6xqNfrVLrUwSn4b6VUw7QRrlQ/Ec8laiE8DbZKkIZVVZUuXhyHdVDQG4Z1Fwurdmf0XSPTcwsr/M2Xbl44NdH7+uVde4/9TjwOPMWmYcvlcjKZtDna1gj7hnVQgtqLRjxtsFUCNmy5XGaMURhLBx0U9IZh3cXasN0ZvWdoijYRlL9aeG38RzQU8PLZAZLvzOy9t4pfB30RMcemYVOpFM1niLGb6ddEepsYhNLbpMjUohq00WUUPiuKQr/mvB0+11Kv12nhEFWzls4l1qU2ri+ixlVVlb4Bi6dov8H2CdKwFKXSddKiAuaooDcM6y7Whu0ZLJ0crzLGZmbvvfTvv+aDra9f3rV14JOeodKOwyX+HuARdgxbq9XILHx9DmFqWFVVa7VarVbjsQ5/m6hOTdPoubTCkgl247+5iqKkUilj53lEZVwvJJ6LP9c0rVAo0AfFxum5ruvGIJ2fwq0GHROkYd0iin0OMxaGFfW6+8iV4x//SJzR+hftV90ZvSs9kcgUIVlPsWPYQqFA/qpWq4qiWE8m2zSsGBXqui6ezjSGFY/QzLZpUGn6EbEDYuctrsL6FA4abB8YFshYGJakubb+37fvLB0QAlh6HP/4R5sPfUqGFaNd4Dp2DCt+6+df1VkDlaRSKeM3blPDcjdJNDWsqqokZX5e+4alIzRxZ3EV1qdw0GD7wLCAsVbWD9yp3SxXz/5j4+9vXUkaF2b9L+0YTwEDyXpHU8NKcevY2BifN+YaokFSflA6hegjrt18Pk/fr43YMSy1w8+bz+eNowRGxefzeeowj8pZY8NKp2izwfaBYQFjrRj2vZkDZ/Q9n33zW9OlrxTGitmy94xcRUIs12lqWGmimKxBszo0qaWqqmjYQqFAoa6qquRQbhyagyIFi1/DWx0l4OfVNE15PG8mtSaei39cnJuxHuswnqLNBtsHhgWM2d67xWsWfHyr/z9m3znw7/lfnBn5+ZnhX5wZ+fkbwz8/M/KLMyM7h3/L9br3lWuLy6tBXRSwDw94+fwYcAUYFjBmaVgxAuVFt87oe1bXlmdm7+0cmU5kis8cLCYyxa6+CT5EAL1GC5pAVwxpmECbwLCAMUvD8rICUtGtcvUsY4wky4cFSLLQKwAEDNvR2Bl73T5Y+Mmvrz54uC5VjaUwlgmSTWSKPzx67flj16BXAAgYtqOxY9jU2wNH3j9tWjWWwljG2Mzsvd7hKRLrg4fr0CsABAzb0dgxrPbp7nNTP3m7tN9oWB7GMsZu31mCWAGQgGE7GjuGPTXRq31qsjBLCmMBAEZg2I7GQqxb+ycHfnPtjL5HWui6OTu5//TNtfWNoPsOQASAYTsOm5sLsqMVqWYBpR2QJHvpxt0XtRsQLgCmwLAdh03DGotuifu1ns3qL5259S+v/37H0BSiWgAaAcN2HDYNe+VPcmIXMYz9wfDUttyVrrRujGoBAJyADct3koh5JFHN21NsGvZ00aToFoWxj/X6JMMLJAuAKQFn4E6lUnw3NB1ENW+PsClWcQnB+zd+eenWoUu3Dmmf/uvwe/uHLv5s6OLPXnj9nFGvkCwApgRpWK5XEVTz9gj7YjUtxH1yvNozWPrB4ak9+eln0kW1z8Sw2CwLgESQhlUUhZKModasDzgw7KmJ3u9XvuUtvFX8euA3f9zSP9md0bsMkk1kirvz09ArACIBG5ZkKlZCtGnY8+fP82ryg4ODTorQdxjODPvahX1SO7szF7r7LkuSTWSKz6Y/OTiQD+TSYo8/v4/AC3LBGpaemGYpRzVvt2h1+NUijCWyo5WtQiSbyBR3Dk8hegXASJCG1TSNagcVCgVe8RHVvF3HvlhPT+ws/L6PZrf4o3LnQ2ObXLKbDum9Q0/0ura+8dpHs5jsAoAI0rBiLQe+lgDVvF2npdC1aZ6B4uffkU+zo5XeoamZ2XtL99fopbX1jf2nb24+hBUFADwiSMO6RRT77CctGVZMl2Xk0o27O4am+IKBuYUV/tIjvWYnO2TZ1u07S0F3AUQAGDa2OB5+bRTGXrpxd8fhKdNVWaJeO2FtbHa00jNYunTjbtAdAWEHho0tjg1LYaxUIJbr1bj01ajXeEuWj0HvODzlkWRRnTc2wLCxxb5YjUHrzOy97bnSzOw9+qekV0myn9z6y/bBknEDQndG3z5Y+uTWX3y/dA/heqWHF5KdW1jZnkOAHBNg2BjSaugqjb3yuls7R6ZnZu8tLq9u6b9iKtBERn/hxAxj7MCbt9SMvMurZ7B0crwa3G1wH0mvXkh2bmFl18i0pwEy8BMYNoY4GBwQK26JtWO3DFw5OzFnHcPSq5syuhprvebeub3FoFd+sa5MfHG9ehcgA5+BYWPCpRt35xZWWhp7LW1S+aLXTz4b+sfG338zdcf4fV9N60bJSnqlg1yy8dMrY2xxeXXvK9cShlB9a/9kdrTSfvuSXiHZeADDxgHS3K6RaftuNa7K+qA8r6ZNAjSjZE31Kkr23y79Oahb4SlGyXqqV0g2BsCwkUfUXEvjA+IE19zCSu/hUld6wvSXvCs9seNwaWb2nrge1nTooDujP5vVXV9CcPfeg5CsSRAl65ZeWeMAmY+Gu3IW4D8wbLSRNNeSYXkYywOoRKZolGxXeoJ+8+lXnfZ0ra1vDPzmdo/ZEgLXcxguLq8+d+RqeBZ+kQ23uKdXsVlJstBr1IFhI4wximwq1s++ee+7pS/5Y3VtWfp+qmaKz/RNGPXa/bg2F3u8AHbf8eu//ujPkmS90Ct5J1SraxeXV0987P5IiCRZ6DUGwLBRZen+mnFqu6lh35s5ILWz96gcN6mZYlffBMWz/CUuOL6/IJEpSpL1Tq9SH9xqP4TQJXdnitBrPIBhI4xxesTO4MCd2k2xEdMvp2qm+MzBooVeuVK5ZL3Wa0dJdhf0Ghdg2GgjSdbCrXxkYPnBX6VGjC7bNTI99cUCtdxIr5Jk94xcdVGvDx6u7xm5ajrzwwcrAAg/MGzkEeepLAxr3Ygo2V0j05Q0a25hZefwlIVeRcn+rf7Q3euiymCYWweRJmDD1ut1quYtHkQ171Yhye595ZqFYS1yEhIkWa5XQlwm1Uh5Li5akjCeEXoF0SJgw+bzeV3XRcOimrcz5hZW2v+Svri8KurViFF53unVeEboNU4s3V+L93g6EaRhy+VyoVCQKh6imnfIEZXntV7FM0KvcSJsa5y9IzDD1ut1KnQoGRbVvMMPKc8fvRJvFb+GXmNDONc4e0RghtU0rVqtMqeGRTVv19mdufB85pzNNz+fObc7c8HT/oBYcnAgvyX98VHkAdsAAAutSURBVJNVIumJHekP+nND7p7l/PnzPkjMDrmgDKsYqNfrDNW8A4Iyn8YyJxYIDx24xjkww3KkWBXVvP1HTCwNyQKPWLq/1miN8+bs5IvajaA76AmhMyyqeRNr6xul2ws+nMiYtx+SBR7x2kezpgv+YpyhMXjDtk8U+2wNLe/fnvPcdKZlUeIk2fCkPQSEccFfjPXKYNgQIu6e4qZbur/m+okePFzfd/x6o29tMRgaE/ekBd0X8ARRsvHWK4Nhw4Zxc2rPYOmV97987shVL5ZGmUo2NnqV8ioE3SPwBJJs7PXKYNhQ0Wjvv5rWu/qKHq0/lSQbDx9JCXHicVEx4+R4NfZ6ZTCsFzx4uP7CiRnr7aemHC98tSkrf2GnR1efrqbdkWx2tCL9ZHPJxsNEpjWv4nFpIHLAsC7z2Fa6lEKllc/KA6NqX7ErXXRloypNbW06NDla+sZ46hg4aG5hpdesehilPTz49udBdxB0FjCsm0iKdEWyol7psaV/8vCFPzVt58OZ/5IOiisH1IxulGzU9Uo0WiDh4L8DgDaBYV3DNAJ1Jtnnjz3a92LUq50UU9STbbkr4ooro3eMko0NxouFXkEgwLDuYLHySfrdbppjcHF59YdHr3X1TXSRXtOyXq998TeLxVtiT/hir0ZhXYdIFnoFQQHDusPtO0vG2RW+3Oqt4tf0tuxopffwlMVvu7hxu6uv2J3Ru7OTXLKk1/2nbz53xLxki1H0PYOlVz+c/ae8+W7FRFrvzuouVn8JFdnRyub+SegVBAgM6xqmU9ji5igeVTX6nTfNi0GSTaSf6JXqvBrLDnK9JtL6MweLifSTPqTe+kxNF6WWE2m9q6+4uX/Si8LUIeHYB19CryBAYFg3kSRrqleL760vnJhJmEXB3RldTevFzxekOq+SZHPv3Fb7iuRNCoETab0rXexKF3sGS8fe/1KULL1ti485XgHoQGBYl+GStdBrI8k2imHF6PWpIPRpyT54uL4nf/XR2EJG787oz/QVuw4W1b7i3mPXGGOjpW9IstArAP4Aw7rP3MJKz9AU1+uxD77cbDbL1J3Rew9PSd/0jZKllQMvnbn1rNlmhESm+NyRqzTxNTN7b+ewPExBkeymTPHFk79njI2WvunqK/qp17mFlU7YugOAKTCsJ4hz/abjs92N9w4sLq/+8OijiSm+MGtm9t5Oy0YavYEk29Wnd6V1kuy7099uHyz5ptddI9OdsP0cAFOCNCxVMaDC3VQ5hohfNW+jZC22Zj14uP6jX11T08UtA5PiulejQ8VGGnm8O6N39U08WpzwWLK37yz5fNWQLOhMgjRsKpWiyjGapvGysnGt5i3qxlqvj9YDZIrbBkuilZbur2XOVdQny2OL6fNP7QE1lSzXK1+WcPULW3+32sTYGUgWdCChGCXQdZ2XOYhxNW+SzubHejVuUTWuZuVWWlxe3dp/JfF4DYDaV1TTRWMagQNv3hL3gMl6FQZ2Pb3S2bt104AakgWdRigMm8/nebga72res3frIxe/YIwtLq/uHJ4WddNoV9iOw1OjpW+25a4kMkXaREtrsLoN+aJoxUIiU+xKTyQyxWfM9ErB73NHrnqXgmBtfWPXyHSDU+vbc6UHD9c9OjUAYSN4w1KsyodcO6GaNy9ovCn9u58eOk0Hd2Z+q/aZbbvKFMVQVMpUkOj79MfZt3O53O7Mhe6+y/wjzxwsqpliV9+EsbUt6Y8PDuT9uUDp7M+mx385cMxBg4dyw1v7Pvr5oROudxXEElTzfkSlUlEUhYYFiNhX85bWY/EvzqYxbCJTVNNy8hcuWR7Dnvj4z1vMFoRRPCv+07gTzJ/L7G4jOQC/Mz6MbwDgLkEa1qhXFvdq3qZ7ChpJlvzY1TdhzLAljcM22qqwOTv5P/5tZufIlM96NV5s+3r1bRAZABcJ0rDK09DBGFfzbph2oIFkt+au0KIC4+BAV1rf+8o1cSzV2DiPcGmGzWe9ir1yS6+QLIgcAY8SuEJU+mzHsOyxVrYMTNLslnFwwKhXY/vSJNjcwkpQCbQWl1dd1CskC6IFDOsr1qMEnG8W7+8YKpmWk0lk9f6xSqOVANT+pqwej3owFgkhxeTiAIQWGNZvGs10iTSauerO6Fv6J61DwsXl1ZGLX0Rdr0TThJAAhBwYNgC4ZC1W4Jum49qWK3Xat2OLhJDAASfHqy9qN+LxBzgSwLAOmZm917QcoQXGHQdGJMl27OCjaUJI4ICT49WewRIKm/sJDOsESsLSZgJAOz/iXLIdq1dCSggJHEB6ldaZBN2p+APDtoyY48oih4tbZEcrvUNTnaxXwqL4I2iKqFdI1k9g2NawTiHoBWvrG7N36961D2KPUa+QrG/AsC3QNA02ACGkUS33RKa47/h1JOLxFBi2BfrOVRotojLWgwkJiFAAM5Ms9OoPMGxr2KxpGBLmFlZ6BjtugRcwRfzRhV59A4ZtGTt1ucMAX+TU4esQAIdnEIZefQOGdQKXbPj12uFraYFEdrQCvfoJDOuQ7Gil9/BUJPQKyQIR6NVPYFjnhHNqyyJhCiQLgM+EzrCtlvJmIehzqJhbWGmUIxGGBcBnwmVYB6W8WdB9DiGmORKhVwD8J1yGdVDKmwXd53AiSRZ6BSAQwmVYB6W8WdB9Di0k2W4UEAQgOKJq2EhX8/aNgwP5TX3jKIINOo1XX33VL2k1IRcqwzoo5c2C7nNIwE1guAmMMdwExliYbkK4DOuglDcLus8hATeB4SYwxnATGGNhugnhMqyDUt4s6D6HBNwEhpvAGMNNYIyF6SaEy7DOeO2114LuQvDgJjDcBMYYbgJjLEw3IQ6GBQCAcALDAgCAV8CwAADgFTAsAAB4BQwLAABeAcMCAIBXwLAAAOAVMCwAAHgFDAsAAF4BwwIAgFfAsAAA4BUwLAAAeAUMCwAAXhFqw9brdVVVpWIH1sVoTV91UL82JChPw4931E1gjOm6Tj8JqVSKH+ycm4AfA8ZYtVql1Ka8mh8R8psQasPm83ld18UfKetitKavOqtfGxJ4WR2RTrsJlUollUrV63XGGP+V6LSbQBQKBZ46udPugKqq1WqVMVatVnmZ1PDfhPAatlwuFwoFqWCXdTFa01ed1a8NCaaG7bSbwPUq0mk3geCWYZ13B5LJJC/ix0tMhf8mhNSw9XqdbqJkWOtSiaavOqtfGxL4F8NUKsXDtw68CZqmKYrCy7ixzrsJjLFyuSwWr+u0O1Cr1VKpVLlc1jSN/8UN/00IqWE1TaO/1R1uWKJer2uaxn+7Ou0m8M6Xy2UedHTaTWCMJZNJXdf5PzvtDszPz5Nho/WHNqSGVQzQXy3rYrSmrzqrXxs2xPHoTrsJ/MLFX4lOuwnValXSQafdAVVVyYziOGz4b0JIDcuR/s5YF6M1fdVZ/dqwkc/n+RRHp90ETdPK5TJ7ep6n025CPp+X+txpd0BVVfoxEL/KhP8mRMywpsVoedhv+qqz+rUhIZVKUQgvTnp22k0QO88HozvtJhjnPDvtDlDISaus+HRf+G9C2A0LAADRBYYFAACvgGEBAMArYFgAAPAKGBZElVqtpigKzS8DEE5gWBAZeP4XWmQjGXZsbIxeVVVVXIVDW6Fo7ti4+xYAT4FhQTSoVCq0ak3X9Xw+Ly1domVthUJB1/WxsTG+Fmd+fp7yB9G+28ilOwFRB4YF0aBcLktjArRWulwu05NCocBfovR0YsRK74niOlAQaWBYEA14smCeG4mkqes6bSkWo1rjEQpsxbyiAPgADAuiBB+K1XXdvmFphCFy+0RBDIBhQfSg7/vcsJQVxThKQM+hVxAgMCyIBjSFpet6oVAgn3LDMsYosKWZLprUIuHSe1RVpVAXS7uAz8CwIBrUajWKTPliLD7TRa+SWGmgludRpfkxkSCvAXQeMCwAAHgFDAsAAF4BwwIAgFfAsAAA4BUwLAAAeIVs2KNHj+YAAAC4wdGjR58yLAAAANeBYQEAwCv+P5vOlFwPNdbkAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" width="320" /> <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Statistics for Engineers and Scientists</b></div><br />
This was another of those classes that I went into with a set of expectations that were almost immediately shown to be hugely unfounded. I believed the class would focus on statistical analysis of populations and the errors of those analyses, but the course was much more focused on probabilities of outcomes and similarities of populations. Additionally, there was a focus on the distributions of populations that I felt had less impact on any geological work than I would have liked. There was also a strong emphasis on proofs in the class which further added to my sense of the abstract to the course. I felt the course was geared much more towards the engineering and business students than for a student with a scientific background. I learned a lot in the class, but time will tell what will be useful as a geologist and in everyday experience.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Intro to Fluid Mechanics</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">This was the surprise pleasure of my semester. My roommate in civil engineering warned me of his struggle in this course and so I went in prepared for the worst and that may have made all the difference. I really enjoyed the balance of physics problems for assignments and the engineering/laboratory experience I gained from lab and lectures. I learned a great deal about how civil engineering supports modern society and about the basic properties of fluids in various systems.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGS038KCsYcK0EUX7fLMNZV4ndabL4GIXu8R1tFbTYieLlD5p1x5KJGsCpQGeJXp3p1UBOLHIqPPZKGPvLco1lSeBvE0R0aRukSJsShmKyZhH6tNnsL3yTeUDH_bfT8SPVEQLl5C8qpy2/s1600/Jet+Impact+Diagram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGS038KCsYcK0EUX7fLMNZV4ndabL4GIXu8R1tFbTYieLlD5p1x5KJGsCpQGeJXp3p1UBOLHIqPPZKGPvLco1lSeBvE0R0aRukSJsShmKyZhH6tNnsL3yTeUDH_bfT8SPVEQLl5C8qpy2/s200/Jet+Impact+Diagram.jpg" width="172" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;">My main takeaway from this course was how prevalent the measurement of energy is for any physical system (especially using Bernoulli's Equation). I also had to construct a working fountain in a group of four students, and I learned just how complex even a "simple" engineering project can be. It was very time intensive and the engineers had a much more stringent system of reporting their work than I had ever encountered. It was a great learning experience to see how the other half (the engineering students) live and work while studying among them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: left;">Overall, this was a very demanding semester and I feel like it took a lot out of me. I hadn't had a collection of courses with such disparate topics and approaches to those topics since high school. It was hard to adjust from class to class, and the pre-sunrise wake up during the start of the semester in the cold, winter months was particularly difficult to maintain. I have never taken so many naps in my life than I did for those five months. I made it through this challenging semester, but I proved to myself just how much work I could take on and still succeed.</div>Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-52332992180725257492011-07-18T23:59:00.000-07:002011-07-23T20:37:25.961-07:00Visiting Kilbourne Hole (Geology, Rockhounding, and Geocaching)I have to admit that I was ashamed of how long it took me to finally drive out and visit the famous Kilbourne Hole. I had heard that the dirt roads were a bit tricky to navigate so I brought along my roommate as a hiking partner and to read the driving directions (the good ol' buddy system).<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk9MZhUTF-1Zod5zvUtNX-F_DDiGaGh2HP3ABy8O4Q5XhakN7dDzIWxsEiaWrCXPMZlGNXooW3twqLxKFvkZiiQ7DeoLp_6TWTRL8FVTlaY_btzTCZag4bQ7Eq42nOErTzqxr5XE4xqaMQ/s1600/IMG_2455.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk9MZhUTF-1Zod5zvUtNX-F_DDiGaGh2HP3ABy8O4Q5XhakN7dDzIWxsEiaWrCXPMZlGNXooW3twqLxKFvkZiiQ7DeoLp_6TWTRL8FVTlaY_btzTCZag4bQ7Eq42nOErTzqxr5XE4xqaMQ/s320/IMG_2455.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<a name='more'></a>Kilbourne Hole is a maar - a volcanic crater believed to be formed by a violent eruption as a magmatic body boils the groundwater at initial contact, producing a gaseous eruption which displaces country rock and brings up the steam and magmatic material. At Kilbourne Hole, surge deposits were emplaced by a steam and debris (ash and rock) mixture and make up the well defined non-volcanic crater walls.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWa0wJopSt9lLpBi5N1f5ywb26-iHB1m-8i0osm1IRbnIABpSWammapdpPp2sosk7ATfH9nUDgbjRT6yXtgge5XJzYXby85KHLcHkSq7X_uk_6lKzwyg7ajzr-Ais9hzASr1x8erWtT2jd/s1600/IMG_2470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWa0wJopSt9lLpBi5N1f5ywb26-iHB1m-8i0osm1IRbnIABpSWammapdpPp2sosk7ATfH9nUDgbjRT6yXtgge5XJzYXby85KHLcHkSq7X_uk_6lKzwyg7ajzr-Ais9hzASr1x8erWtT2jd/s320/IMG_2470.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> What makes Kilbourne Hole special is that the basaltic magma which contacted with the groundwater to produce an eruption also contained an abundance of mantle xenoliths which are preserved inside basaltic bombs. These bombs often shelter the xenoliths from the majority of weathering (which is very important to preserve unstable minerals from the mantle, which would oxidize relatively quickly).<br />
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What complicates finding these bomb xenoliths and also makes Kilbourne Hole more interesting is that the maar erupted through a the Afton flow which was a basaltic flow originating from cones to the northeast of Kilbourne Hole. Since the Afton flow has been dated however, we know Kilbourne hole is younger than the ~ 70 - 81 ka flow.<br />
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Anyway, now that the basic geologic background of the area has been covered I'll talk about my trip. It had rained maybe three days before I went to Kilbourne Hole so the roads were still somewhat washed out: perfect to test out my new '04 Jeep Grand Cherokee! It handled everything we threw at it and after a bit of wandering to figure out where we were and almost hitting to large birds of prey we stirred up, we made it to the crater rim. There was an abundance of shells for every type of firearm you could expect a rural area to harbor along the rim edge, but even the litter couldn't spoil the view.<br />
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I took a few pictures from the rim to fulfill the requirements for <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=61aba237-bb76-4ecc-adbf-794e018d697e">this geocache</a> and then headed to the western side of the rim to find another. After a good half hour of searching, we found the second cache and had worked up a ridiculous sweat. It was August 8th when we went and temperatures were in the mid 90s (°F). We rock-hounded around on the East side of the rim for a half hour or so, giving me a chance to use my newly purchased rock hammer to break open a few small bombs. Eventually my roommate and I ran out of water so we headed back to the jeep.<br />
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I had brought an milk gallon and a 2-liter soda bottle of more water so we tore off our shirts and cooled off with that just in time for some confused border patrol agents to drive by in their Wrangler. I didn't care I was just happy to cool off and then drive home with a wicked sunburn, a spaghetti sauce jar full of xenoliths, and a happy day out at Kilbourne Hole!<br />
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Photos are all mine but much of the geologic information comes from this excellent <a href="http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/tour/landmarks/kilbourne_hole/home.html">NMBGMR page</a> by Shari Kelley at New Mexico Tech, which compiles a solid arrangement of sources on the Kilbourne Hole area.Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-79544292129892903182011-07-18T22:13:00.000-07:002011-07-18T22:25:54.897-07:00Fall 2010 Classes: Finally getting to the good stuff!After two semesters taking "general education" courses: Intro to Geology, Fossils and Evolution of Life class, Mineralogy (with a semester of mineral identification and another for optical interpretation), and a Geochemistry class which was great but more on the theoretical side, I I was plenty ready to begin taking more field and rock based courses. The fall of 2010 semester did not disappoint and certainly validated my choice to major in geology.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology</b></div><br />
Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology happened to be a reprise of Geochemistry for the first couple weeks, with a solid review of Bowen's reaction series, the layers of the Earth and of the three major plate tectonic margins. I did however begin to better appreciate that tectonic motion is strongly tied to mantle convection and my first introduction to thermodynamics as they apply to earth systems was a refreshing change from the more elementary chemistry and physics explanations I had received in college. Our textbook for the class <u>Principles of Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology 2nd Edition</u> by John D. Winter is really a great reference and was the first geology text I wanted to make sure I kept.<br />
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My main take away from the course however was how igneous and metamorphic <b><i>textures</i></b> of minerals within a rock aid in determining the <b><i>petrogenetic history</i></b> of that rock. Phase and Ternary diagrams were also used to their full effect in this class, and these really helped me to understand the basics of the processes occurring within magma chambers during crystallization, melting, and recharge events. Overall though, it was nice to actually deal with rocks in hand sample (even if we did get a bit sick of basalts) and to use thin sections and to find which skills we acquired in optical mineralogy were most useful was also a thrill.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSeOmQ3jFfJp9-9cmMqDwfFzk6BX2XAKnae8D3Zm4WPpCFwGS-zKr1VbdvU1ASCyn8AKkeNkruDpCqEyyPhrX25nFOeZTlNFIuXZBpxgBo9peOGsTc7tUzgBSHpGubR2a2D9i_vFkbMSq5/s1600/IMG_2566.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSeOmQ3jFfJp9-9cmMqDwfFzk6BX2XAKnae8D3Zm4WPpCFwGS-zKr1VbdvU1ASCyn8AKkeNkruDpCqEyyPhrX25nFOeZTlNFIuXZBpxgBo9peOGsTc7tUzgBSHpGubR2a2D9i_vFkbMSq5/s320/IMG_2566.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mafic enclave within rhyolitic or dacitic rock in Cleophus Canyon, near Ft. Selden, NM. Access is limited since there are petroglyphs within the area as well.</td></tr>
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<b>Sedimentology and Stratigraphy</b></div><br />
Sed/Strat was a significant curve ball for me and I did not start out strongly in the class. We began the course by learning about carbonate rocks of every basic sort and I had an exceptionally difficult time estimating the percentage of matrix each rock had. Once I had a decent handle on grain and matrix estimation I did fairly well in the class. I enjoyed thinking about sediment transportation in various environments and the sedimentary structures / bedforms that characterize each environment.<br />
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I took my first measured section in this class outside of La Luz, NM and learned about the complexities of deciding how best to depict and correlate that section. I struggled (and probably still aren't comfortable) with the intricacies of sequence stratigraphy and learned that seismic interpretation is also not my forte. I did enjoy the well log assignments we did in the class, and isopach maps were also fun to interpret and use.<br />
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One of the most memorable part of the class however was reading the short book <u>The Nature of the Stratigraphical Record</u> by Derek V. Ager which was a great complimentary text to our first introductions to sedimentology and stratigraphy. Among other concepts, Ager establishes and defends his theory that the bulk of the geological record appears to be preserved remains of catastrophic events which occur irregularly but within uniformitarian conditions. I highly recommend reading the book if you can borrow or easily purchase it, since it so eloquent and yet humorous in its treatment of the geologic record.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Structural Geology</b></div><br />
I found in structure what I consider to be a geologists butter to a petrology and sedimentology bread. We learned about the finer points of stress, strain, and shear as well as the bookkeeping methods used to interpret what a rock has experienced since deposition. I found Mohr's circles to be neat and for a time geometry had returned to being useful. We learned more on metamorphic fabrics than we did in Petrology, and in this class I finally began to appreciate the complexities of folds and more importantly of faults. This class was the first exposure I had to the physical aspects of thrust processes, the typical geometries thrusted rocks take, and the complimentary basins that form from the thrusting.<br />
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Possibly even more important though, this class introduced the first legitimate geologic map work we had to do. I took my first strike and dip for this class, made my first scaled cross section, and learned to appreciate the "<b><i>Rule of V's</i></b>" in the field and on maps. However, an assignment where we were required to hand record more than one hundred strikes and dips and plot them by hand onto a stereonet led me to have a slight distaste for any work with stereonets.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><b>Isotope Geochemistry</b></div><br />
Isotopes began, like Geochemistry and Petrology, with an introduction to the nucleosynthesis, the different layers of the earth, and a brief review of the tectonic margins. Then we learned about the <b><i>mass and temperature dependence</i></b> of fractionation of isotopes, expressed as vibrational speed differences which determine bonding and other physical effects which can separate isotopes of the same element from one another. I'll remember that so well because we had to dance at different speeds relative to our neighbors to understand how we would fractionate from one another. We then went over the general behavior of Rb, Sr, Sm, Nd, U, Th, and Pb in earth systems (restite versus melt partitioning of igneous systems, mobility in oxidized systems, etc.). We also briefly went over K-Ar isotopes and the very basics of U-series disequilibrium. This class also had a required lab project and paper to write by the end of the semester, and it was very hectic to get enough data and paper written by the deadline but it was nice to do more work on Valles Caldera. Our coverage of the stable isotopes were a little heavy on oxygen, but I feel I learned enough to adapt to any other stable isotope systems thrown my way with a little effort and thought.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrg_NoHhF5mbmUfjQDWmxvYaRy0H8OjtCt6cN9MqQhcjXDxKJtd_iySrPFXgZ8Jr_lkQDXyS9j8c3i5yjzViIyGu9PbvXmoE-yHofUVzuATVqHrmtTRJbiXzVtAd1IOpvt92cvj_QwSVz/s1600/IMG_2600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNrg_NoHhF5mbmUfjQDWmxvYaRy0H8OjtCt6cN9MqQhcjXDxKJtd_iySrPFXgZ8Jr_lkQDXyS9j8c3i5yjzViIyGu9PbvXmoE-yHofUVzuATVqHrmtTRJbiXzVtAd1IOpvt92cvj_QwSVz/s320/IMG_2600.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leucocratic banding in a Proterozoic amphibolite or gneiss from the Caballo Mountains. The contact aureole was well expressed in our trip area.<span class="st"><i><br />
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</tbody></table><div style="text-align: center;"> <b>Cartography & GIS</b></div>This was a class I had high expectations for. The enrollment was extremely high for a non-general elective and I had heard from some peers that it was a difficult course. However, difficult and time consuming are not the same to me and I did not have any trouble academically in the course. We learned largely about how to construct a serviceable map and how to operate the major functions in ArcGIS. I was hoping to get more into the geodesy side of cartography and at least learn a bit about projection systems as they relate to geodetic ideas, but we only briefly addressed these topics. I was also hoping to see more scientific data in our maps, but beyond a very interesting map with well water data we did mostly social and political maps. I learned a fair amount and it was an informative class but it did not mesh well with my expectations and so it left me wanting. I did however get reminded of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVX-PrBRtTY">this part of a West Wing episode</a> which was probably worth the cost of admission.<br />
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Overall, it was a great semester and I learned more in this semester than I have in any other since my acceptance to NMSU. I am certain I will look back on the Fall of 2010 as the semester when I could say: "By then I was sure I wanted to be a geologist".Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-42608765672376663402011-07-16T17:21:00.000-07:002011-07-18T22:22:15.676-07:00ASU Analytical Trip (August 11, 2010)So, after returning from my east coast trip I worked for a while under Dr. R until it came time to take another trip to do analytical work on another university's equipment. This time we headed to Arizona State University to use their SIMS - Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry - machine (a CAMECA IMS 6f).<br />
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Our samples were predominantly quartz crystals of Dr. R's student CD, who placed the crystals onto mounts and polished them down until they presented flat surfaces exposing melt inclusions. These mounts are placed in a holder, and all of this is sputter coated with gold.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RRFVTIluv5azjsgU0sbWJCrv4sxPWB-54Oz0GCE6VNIWKnAr9zDO54dIfb8SilKDf8Was0bYUQQu1ymhnK-GeJhIgEI91qRW6m6KgcEQLmrTZiv9Yw7qx5mupPnVgD3zqYrLU8hRxoZC/s1600/IMG_2407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3RRFVTIluv5azjsgU0sbWJCrv4sxPWB-54Oz0GCE6VNIWKnAr9zDO54dIfb8SilKDf8Was0bYUQQu1ymhnK-GeJhIgEI91qRW6m6KgcEQLmrTZiv9Yw7qx5mupPnVgD3zqYrLU8hRxoZC/s320/IMG_2407.JPG" width="240" /></a></div> These crystals were then bombarded with oxygen ions so as to ablate the polished surface ionizing some of the ablated material and sending it through an energy filter to sort by ionization and a magnet to sort by mass before collecting a target ion.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqtPr7J_kb9Ko9Jse0_vl3FuKxVMtoO9ap42mj8b61wdBCZoi51DW48nw1_TWQgjun0mHURGooqb9tNGuCD3kRjEA1Bv3jtFHSN5NViW3jGYqXftre4Xya6fARJB6WM60gV7rimds7tzu/s1600/IMG_2408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfqtPr7J_kb9Ko9Jse0_vl3FuKxVMtoO9ap42mj8b61wdBCZoi51DW48nw1_TWQgjun0mHURGooqb9tNGuCD3kRjEA1Bv3jtFHSN5NViW3jGYqXftre4Xya6fARJB6WM60gV7rimds7tzu/s320/IMG_2408.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> In our case, trace elements of about twelve types were of interest to us, particularly Ti. Using our knowledge of the volcanic setting these quartz crystals formed in and the Ti concentrations of the inclusions we were able to show that current Ti-in quartz barometers, thermometers, and thus analogs for depth do not effectively describe realistic values for CD's quartz samples. We also got an abundance of trace element information to help characterize the different categories of inclusions we came across.<br />
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While we ran our multi-day analytical sessions we had a maintenance crew who was doing work on the building unplug one of our pumps to create vacuum in the machine and so it crashed, which definitely freaked CD and I out. Luckily it was an easy fix and though we missed a bit of run time in order to let the machine pump down we were analyzing samples by the next morning.<br />
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Additionally, the lab manager was kind enough to give me a tour of all their nearby equipment which included another, older SIMS machine, a TIMS machine, and a high pressure high temperature multi-anvil ram that I found really awesome.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>We were lucky to have a bit of rain ease away the 100+ °F heat we had most of the time and I managed have dinner with an old classmate and her husband who had moved to Phoenix the year before and see how they were. Overall, it was a fascinating trip and it was a real treat to see some equipment that was not directly related to our work while at ASU. The SIMS lab staff were excellent and we had some got some excellent data, which is what these trips are all about.Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-42891111096225776772011-07-16T16:02:00.000-07:002011-08-02T22:45:28.866-07:00Catching up after a year + of silenceIt has been over a year since I've posted on this blog, which can tell you one thing: BUSY YEAR. Seriously, it has been a good kind of busy and somehow never got around to recording any of that hectic goodness so I'm attempting to hit the geologically important points of the past year in a few posts. Specifically I'll try to touch on:<br />
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<ul><li><a href="http://ilmarinenos.blogspot.com/2011/07/asu-analytical-trip-august-11-2010.html">My analytical trip to ASU to use the SIMS there.</a> </li>
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<li><a href="http://ilmarinenos.blogspot.com/2011/07/fall-2010-classes-finally-getting-to.html">My Fall 2010 Classes: Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, Structural Geology, Isotope Geochemistry, and Cartography & GIS.</a></li>
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<li><a href="http://ilmarinenos.blogspot.com/2011/07/visiting-kilbourne-hole-geology.html">Something on my trip to Kilbourne Hole.</a></li>
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<li><a href="http://ilmarinenos.blogspot.com/2011/07/spring-2011-semester-how-my-junior-year.html">My Spring 2011 Semester: Tectonic Evolution of North America, Petroleum Geology, Global Geochemical Systems, Statistics for Engineers and Scientists, and Intro to Fluid Mechanics</a></li>
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<li><a href="http://ilmarinenos.blogspot.com/2011/07/not-so-brief-reflection-on-my-field.html">The maps our Field Class composed on weekends for the Fall 2011 semester</a></li>
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<li>Spring Break in the Los Angeles area </li>
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<li>Field Camp proper (a post for each of the three maps)</li>
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<li>Finally, a look at where I stand now and what I expect to happen in the near future (summer work plans, master's programs consideration, semester abroad in Belize)</li>
</ul><br />
It is a bit of a tall order after not updating for so long, but I'll try to be as thorough as a year worth of activity deserves.<br />
<ul></ul>Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-59097784351344015952010-06-27T17:28:00.000-07:002010-06-27T17:28:08.049-07:00New York and PhiladelphiaShortly after my analytical trip to California I returned home and immediately left for the East Coast. For our trip we visited Philadelphia, Long Island, and New York City. Although there wasn't a major portioning of geology for our trip I did see some interesting things it was great to see some of the landforms and features of the Eastern US.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>In Philadelphia, we visited all of the typical tourist spots of American History: the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, the US Mint. We also walked around a great deal, soaking in the city and resting in the parks of the city, most placed in large squares about a square block in area. I saw a fair amount of schist and gneiss in the walls of Eastern State Penitentiary, the famous prison of Pennsylvania. The walls sparkled with micas but were otherwise drab metamorphic rocks with regular foliation.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTTeFuQamEmovlq2LHBO9SUrxvZP-7-nTsbBx0RiZeTHkEzejlFfxOHjIAUAZN_v4H8F9w3kyflz_E73RfqqkxuiPS_vXqaXJ5xq_EfMvB2cuqSjUaTF8adKTMkL1koaK9yiNQIe8NwAU/s1600/IMG_1371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDTTeFuQamEmovlq2LHBO9SUrxvZP-7-nTsbBx0RiZeTHkEzejlFfxOHjIAUAZN_v4H8F9w3kyflz_E73RfqqkxuiPS_vXqaXJ5xq_EfMvB2cuqSjUaTF8adKTMkL1koaK9yiNQIe8NwAU/s320/IMG_1371.JPG" /></a></div><br />
On Long Island we visited the beach, where I was surprised to see the local park service people were working to protect sand dunes. In New York City, I was glad to visit Central Park which was very near our hotel. It was fascinating to see evidence of glacial activity preserved in the middle of a city. I had never had a chance to actually feel the striations of glacial movement, so it was a real treat.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXO3ekDjz2x_y2PAM3opnobyPqM86acDEdeBEU_n8WEjiBfglqrOEprfFO4o_npP3QiIebS2O7p7zmlc5JPr9Qf1gXFwUj4VBkxQN9L1e3tf_Ubc1KCKYsVMD36j3nlk42jWKpks4MRe8s/s1600/IMG_1475.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXO3ekDjz2x_y2PAM3opnobyPqM86acDEdeBEU_n8WEjiBfglqrOEprfFO4o_npP3QiIebS2O7p7zmlc5JPr9Qf1gXFwUj4VBkxQN9L1e3tf_Ubc1KCKYsVMD36j3nlk42jWKpks4MRe8s/s320/IMG_1475.JPG" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RXRyuJ2wHyett-K3Jq2rZb5UXuhgDnjiGN9f11O4hlnK6oNSG3IlyuFgt3_Sfayyjjsdny1yPz25Lpb9DaBFFiqmY2mbInE05b0EMmJXmk2oC-nml7HMUhpcERZItYUdFrdgsxU8KBse/s1600/IMG_1471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1RXRyuJ2wHyett-K3Jq2rZb5UXuhgDnjiGN9f11O4hlnK6oNSG3IlyuFgt3_Sfayyjjsdny1yPz25Lpb9DaBFFiqmY2mbInE05b0EMmJXmk2oC-nml7HMUhpcERZItYUdFrdgsxU8KBse/s320/IMG_1471.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcPIUVAIUF9LYdSZGlnriUFXaUaIUoNoQulsck7Fbcf27jzSQFZ7e0Esv2i9rywAvjY6L3rWePPCmSG-chNZQTtfG-_jjuwCCrhtuZpwG9zHyjucjltfD_4d7x7amkxOld-Rt-Zwp3nCy/s1600/IMG_1481.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlcPIUVAIUF9LYdSZGlnriUFXaUaIUoNoQulsck7Fbcf27jzSQFZ7e0Esv2i9rywAvjY6L3rWePPCmSG-chNZQTtfG-_jjuwCCrhtuZpwG9zHyjucjltfD_4d7x7amkxOld-Rt-Zwp3nCy/s320/IMG_1481.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We also visited the American Museum of Natural History, where I took enough pictures just of the paleontological to run through my camera's battery. I was really pleased to see how well done their general geology section was, and their sampled deep sea chimneys from the Juan de Fuca Ridge were fascinating.<br />
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We took so long walking through the museum that we had the gem and mineral section close on us just 15 minutes after we walked in, but that just means I will have to come back and give it the attention it deserves!Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-38423087919539467802010-06-27T16:03:00.000-07:002010-06-27T16:03:16.050-07:00Colorado Plateau Trip (South-East Rim of the Grand Canyon)We awoke in <a href="http://ilmarinenos.blogspot.com/2010/05/colorado-plateau-trip-part-1.html">Bonito Campground</a> to frost on our tents and a cold breeze blowing off the nearby mountains. I had forgotten to check with someone who had a copy of the schedule of duties for our trip and had slept in, unknowingly neglecting my group's turn to prepare breakfast. After everyone had their fill of oatmeal and bagels, we made up for our mistake by doing the dishes and cleaning up instead of the scheduled group.<br />
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We headed out and stopped to take another picture of <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4E-8lMvYq2UhjtJz9TCQgaTakTJkniTWVh0TPoyF_EcyrYTTrIRqpzwTsXitZNjGckSP5A9chbgE057rbx0RwHMRX-XNRInKW9QwFO5ntdLulqqym1BLR-b2DP3stCuIttooJaIAydb5/s1600/IMG_0611.JPG">San Francisco Mountain</a> and then began our drive to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon at Desert View. It was a relatively short drive (83 miles) and although we saw a few minor canyons on our approach, it was relatively plain scenery with a slight climb in elevation as we approached the Grand Canyon.<br />
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We parked in the huge lot for the Desert View visitor center and walked to the observation point. Speaking personally, every time I see the canyon for the first time, it takes my breath away. Its size is just staggering, and its colors are so varied that it seems more like a work of art than layered strata.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqXwUgHcFGgAqGqeVWnloOocgPClTsHsrsSdgDXISGWnYULgX7pqaWbkXH_T_P69xQ63AMmwdgyb8Jo6o2uYJLoPb8kPrne-91XBXhPeeK9vBahzGB9nXRg8ZC0FZWOq8X8XI3QMqdM87I/s1600/IMG_0636.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqXwUgHcFGgAqGqeVWnloOocgPClTsHsrsSdgDXISGWnYULgX7pqaWbkXH_T_P69xQ63AMmwdgyb8Jo6o2uYJLoPb8kPrne-91XBXhPeeK9vBahzGB9nXRg8ZC0FZWOq8X8XI3QMqdM87I/s320/IMG_0636.JPG" /></a></div><br />
I found myself frustrated by the hazy conditions of the canyon that day because, due to the winds of the moving cold front that just seemed to follow us, dust was picked up in the turbulent conditions. Still, it was sunny and warm enough to truly enjoy the magnitude of erosion and time that lay before us.<br />
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Our guide and teacher Dr. L discussed the roughly 1<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">°</span> dip of the Kaibab limestone (shown in the photo, possibly exaggerated due to my poor photographic skills). He pointed out for us where strata pinched out and where new layers of rock appeared as you looked further down the canyon to the West, and reminded us that the river once flowed North-East (shown by reversed dendritic features of the Colorado outside of the Grand Canyon in the picture below). We had a view of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hance">John Hance's</a> old asbestos mine. My peers presented posters on the the general canyon and on caves and waterfalls within the Grand Canyon, especially in the Muav and Redwall limestones.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlE6mlYLbyErbFbVAu6Rwmhgc4D3uoNjvIDWEXTFd-Uio10kIjceRFjP2qHCvPEUbvRi4QKxuzwEUNgXBPn1YBZbPIir8anHH99LB98euQXgXJYhvltK9Z4zDYQTH4RGIlivZ4FWzxX0Pk/s1600/IMG_0660.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlE6mlYLbyErbFbVAu6Rwmhgc4D3uoNjvIDWEXTFd-Uio10kIjceRFjP2qHCvPEUbvRi4QKxuzwEUNgXBPn1YBZbPIir8anHH99LB98euQXgXJYhvltK9Z4zDYQTH4RGIlivZ4FWzxX0Pk/s320/IMG_0660.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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No comprehensive trip to the Colorado Pleatau could ever be said to be complete without visiting the Grand Canyon, and although I'd been there once before it was still as amazing to see it at another visitor center. This visitor's center was really interesting because it had a watchtower which, although under construction, an amazing view 70 feet above the ground.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhgcJFBqTrJ7bQse1mYEpBRca0uGmnZ3EVJUJsCcdm6o2neJdBSn3_meTwsZvLWWNJ8pGhBabUKOBCa8NZ9mtj-QR3pyHxKR0AU7v3HeT0BRN0FSu29xAbRTje_54YjPNfeYqIBbOnqDG/s1600/IMG_0646.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhgcJFBqTrJ7bQse1mYEpBRca0uGmnZ3EVJUJsCcdm6o2neJdBSn3_meTwsZvLWWNJ8pGhBabUKOBCa8NZ9mtj-QR3pyHxKR0AU7v3HeT0BRN0FSu29xAbRTje_54YjPNfeYqIBbOnqDG/s320/IMG_0646.JPG" /></a></div>Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-8179320949094787382010-05-30T23:19:00.000-07:002010-05-30T23:19:38.127-07:00Geochemistry trip to UCSC and UC DavisOver the summer I will be working for Dr. R as a sort of undergraduate lab assistant, and my first proper stretch of work for him was traveling for a week through California to run samples on ICP-MS machines. It was an enlightening, if exhausting experience and I feel really privileged to have been taken along.<br />
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We began our trip by heading out on 23rd and drove most of the day. We stayed at a motel about three hours out and got up early to head the rest of the way to Santa Cruz. From there we met most of the people who work at the University of California at Santa Cruz <a href="http://keckisotope.ucsc.edu/">W.M. Keck Isotope Lab</a>. We performed some quick chemistry to prepare our samples while the lab tech prepared the Neptune we used and when everything was ready we began to run samples' Thorium. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSGFqgylCc1lEtA9CChAGQtKzmsUv4xkL4w6QmFVDU9e50-luXU6RVM3ncZDPFuPTq-phNzunFmtfx3XXWDOWUGcD6T8ubOThgUf0kmGZxyUjZT_t_xR-QVEjMXxRp_DQ0JW0Fz-hpSML/s1600/IMG_1164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBSGFqgylCc1lEtA9CChAGQtKzmsUv4xkL4w6QmFVDU9e50-luXU6RVM3ncZDPFuPTq-phNzunFmtfx3XXWDOWUGcD6T8ubOThgUf0kmGZxyUjZT_t_xR-QVEjMXxRp_DQ0JW0Fz-hpSML/s320/IMG_1164.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The standard we were using (Thorium A) was producing very consistent ratios, implying that our samples were being analyzed precisely as well, so with such reliable stability we decided to run until the machine couldn't keep up the consistent results. We continued to analyze samples throughout the night and the next day until late that night, reluctantly shutting down the Neptune after such a good session. It was both a privilege and a chore to personally run the machine for a good stretch of that time, but it will have been good practice if Dr. R's proposal to get a similar machine goes through.<br />
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The next day we had to wait three hours to successfully restart the plasma torch on the Neptune. It kept arcing and blowing out when we added Argon or Nitrogen gas to the system during the usual start up procedures. The tech finally got it started and finished up our Th samples that night and had a late dinner before driving to just outside of Davis.<br />
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The next morning we headed in and got our first look at the UC Davis campus. I was very impressed by how large and modern it seemed. All of the buildings seemed very new and the (ICP)<sup>2</sup> lab there was shocking. They had two ICP machines (a Neptune "Plus" <b>and</b> an Element) as well as a no doubt <i>expensive</i> air shower to presumably keep the room clean. The machines seemed well maintained and much newer than the ones at UCSC, and we were ready to begin running our samples in no time.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ67gTpSrgVZVG1aNssromJ54VfSClIORv2cDZp5GkZomA_utOPSX7SzAUjIP0b2ONDbJrWUmDsG1V9Im0T3Wdn2V5VnMKkQJTnbT-fLcGBvZ8lK1vbNf02_JYGdccVcSy02Ft5S_WfEY0/s1600/IMG_1168.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ67gTpSrgVZVG1aNssromJ54VfSClIORv2cDZp5GkZomA_utOPSX7SzAUjIP0b2ONDbJrWUmDsG1V9Im0T3Wdn2V5VnMKkQJTnbT-fLcGBvZ8lK1vbNf02_JYGdccVcSy02Ft5S_WfEY0/s320/IMG_1168.JPG" /></a></div><br />
Here we were running Lead isotopes, so the procedure was slightly different on this machine, but what really shook things up was the auto-sampler on the Neptune Plus. The auto-sampler seems like a good idea, but the calibration on the aiming of the sampler to place a tube into our sampler to analyze it did not work very consistently. We had to babysit the auto sampler most of the time, but beyond that our analyses went very smoothly for Pb. My only other complaint about our experience at the lab was their clean room was temporarily in the engineering building across campus and since it was there we had to wear bunny suits to protect the nano-engineering clean room next door.<br />
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After two good days of Pb analyses, we tried to analyze some samples for Uranium isotopes that we had brought along in case we got ahead of schedule. The software that ran the Neptune was acting up however, producing odd levels of certain isotopes, despite a careful tuning and peak-centering procedure. With nothing left to run, and the Uranium samples out of the question we left early and drove straight from Davis to Las Cruces in one long drive.<br />
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Along that drive we went a little out of our way to pass through Owens Valley. Long Valley Caldera is in this valley, and we stopped for a short hike to Obsidian Dome. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpMpDI99Q_biD4HdYgfjkpef3W5z94nAmI80ErH3RVKWBibxsIbzd8C4sL7vJ8WW9iIX_RkG8_j1IsBby1LCXQC8G-JrzVrMMSwUrNeXFaFB8MPuv38UrVfJ993msr2YNpboM11rbQL3Fz/s1600/IMG_1203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpMpDI99Q_biD4HdYgfjkpef3W5z94nAmI80ErH3RVKWBibxsIbzd8C4sL7vJ8WW9iIX_RkG8_j1IsBby1LCXQC8G-JrzVrMMSwUrNeXFaFB8MPuv38UrVfJ993msr2YNpboM11rbQL3Fz/s320/IMG_1203.JPG" /></a></div><br />
It was my first time in the area and after hearing so much about Long Valley (as a caldera produced by a super volcano like Valles Caldera here in New Mexico) and Owens Valley itself as a field area, it was nice to see everything for myself. It was also nice to get some fresh air and see some geology beyond analytical work. Overall, it was a great week of getting to know Dr. R a bit better and the incredible opportunity to get some hands on experience with an ICP-MS as an undergraduate.Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-80407498404148859292010-05-22T14:10:00.000-07:002010-05-22T15:44:10.880-07:00Colorado Plateau Trip (Sunset Crater)<div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Reading all of the current anniversary posts on Mount St. Helens in the geoblogosphere has reminded me that I should write about my trip throughout parts of the Colorado Plateau. The trip lasted for nine days (May 9-17) and focused mainly on Utah. Our guide for the trip and the teacher of our Geology of the Colorado Plateau class was Dr. L, he was insistent that our trip was merely a "sampling" of the geologic area and after spending eight days in the region I think I now understand what he meant.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We began our trip with a 7 AM departure time, agreeing beforehand that we would stick to "New Mexico" (Mountain) time throughout the trip to avoid confusion when traveling through Arizona. We drove solidly through New Mexico, stopping only in Gallup for lunch before continuing on to our first national monument. Throughout the drive it was interesting to note that the graduate students who made up the majority of our car were fascinated by the young, scattered volcanic features of Central and Western New Mexico. They were thrilled by a paleovalley that had been filled by a basaltic flow and the cinder cones along the roads we took were often pointed out, even from a distance. It was an enlightening experience to see how spoiled the Southwest (and New Mexico in particular) had spoiled me for dynamic geologic histories compared to the graduate students in our company.</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">We drove onward until arriving at Sunset Crater National Park. Here we saw our first and last exclusively igneous parts of the trip. Sunset Crater is a young cinder cone just north of Flagstaff. It is 340 meters (1,120 ft.) tall, and erupted between 1080 and 1150 AD according to paleomagnetic data.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJltpGlOORToYh4hozjmtB3aMENOFzna9QVqpY-gYS1XLSEtZJjdAm_nQtQvUH8Sd8VCzpKRKT-b241fJtcBWB-c5adcQYQw7Em-wbJX-_6xyr3LgWtUX4D1vSGWewLgo1_6tNQhM_mwoJ/s1600/IMG_0617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJltpGlOORToYh4hozjmtB3aMENOFzna9QVqpY-gYS1XLSEtZJjdAm_nQtQvUH8Sd8VCzpKRKT-b241fJtcBWB-c5adcQYQw7Em-wbJX-_6xyr3LgWtUX4D1vSGWewLgo1_6tNQhM_mwoJ/s320/IMG_0617.JPG" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I found this cinder cone interesting mainly for how colorful it is (due to the young scoria deposits that cloak the cinder cone) and the impact it had on indigenous life in the area. It appears that the 2100 km<span style="font-size: x-small;"><sup>2</sup></span> of ash that blanketed the area forced out the native people known as the Sinagua Indians.</span> </div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">The educational and cultural aspects I gained most from this park were more small and personal than the cinder cone and the volcanic field that produced it however. While walking the short trail at the foot of Sunset Crater I learned about a fascinating feature of volcanic fields: hornitos.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvH92JRT3iWk0Qjx5n8ZZP-ivR_iG0GTxnKrbx4f7F-7H7a8x98uQpUeVMxELBWLrcx-3X-ZONjpLWtnX_ZcaARZeopN4vlEClqhoMLKduGfaYtcz3udxmujES48GK4ZX_lEp16TPqYTm9/s1600/IMG_0614.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvH92JRT3iWk0Qjx5n8ZZP-ivR_iG0GTxnKrbx4f7F-7H7a8x98uQpUeVMxELBWLrcx-3X-ZONjpLWtnX_ZcaARZeopN4vlEClqhoMLKduGfaYtcz3udxmujES48GK4ZX_lEp16TPqYTm9/s320/IMG_0614.JPG" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">Apparently, these small openings are eruptions within eruptions and are produced by upwelling within lava tubes. What is significant about hornitos at Sunset Crater is that the natives who evacuated the area apparently placed corn and presumably other goods within the hornitos as a ritualistic gesture, and some of the impressions from the sacrifices were preserved in the lava and are on display at the visitor's center.</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">Beyond that, this young volcanic field (the San Francisco Volcanic Field) held another treasure. San Francisco Mountain, an eroded stratovolcano, was within view of the park and is believed to represent an analog to Mount St. Helens, due to its significantly eroded, asymmetrical body.</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4E-8lMvYq2UhjtJz9TCQgaTakTJkniTWVh0TPoyF_EcyrYTTrIRqpzwTsXitZNjGckSP5A9chbgE057rbx0RwHMRX-XNRInKW9QwFO5ntdLulqqym1BLR-b2DP3stCuIttooJaIAydb5/s1600/IMG_0611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4E-8lMvYq2UhjtJz9TCQgaTakTJkniTWVh0TPoyF_EcyrYTTrIRqpzwTsXitZNjGckSP5A9chbgE057rbx0RwHMRX-XNRInKW9QwFO5ntdLulqqym1BLR-b2DP3stCuIttooJaIAydb5/s320/IMG_0611.JPG" /></a></div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"></div><div style="font-family: inherit;">We camped that night on cinders, within sight of Sunset Crater at a place called <a href="http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/coconino/recreation/peaks/bonito-camp.shtml">Bonito Campground</a>. A cold front moved in late that night, raining and hailing on us in between strong gusts of wind. Not a very auspicious first night, but it certainly wasn't the worst we saw on the trip...</div>Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-82094504272781847692010-05-03T22:51:00.000-07:002010-05-03T22:51:02.003-07:00Finals WeekSo ironically enough, finals week has always been a time of relative relief for me. Projects are turned in and all that is left is studying and hoping I can wake up early and still function enough to take an exam. This will hopefully mean that I will be writing a bit more often than usual up to the 9th when my Colorado Plateau class departs for our field trip. It really is a relief to have the poster for the class done. I ended up covering the Late Cretaceous rocks on the Kaiparowits Plateau, and I found enough figures and sources to be both proud of the poster and know enough of what I'm talking about to not sound like a complete fool (knock on wood).<br />
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I made it through my entomology final easily enough, taking an indulgent half-hour to double check my work before heading out. My peers seemed to care less than me, some heading out significantly earlier than I could believe possible. Maybe they just finished enough of the test and had better things to do.<br />
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My chemistry final was another story. I can't determine if it was the 8 AM time slot or if I just didn't study enough, but the final was significantly harder than it should have been (and would have been any other time). I was terribly embarrassed when my professor joked after I turned my exam that some of the class wouldn't know how acid affects carbonate and I had to admit that I wrote on the test the carbonate became carbonic acid rather than obviously effervescing to CO<span style="font-size: xx-small;">2</span><span style="font-size: small;"> and water. Still, I am confident I did well enough on the exam and time will tell where I stand in that class.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">Speaking of chemistry, I finally got to apply for the summer job as Dr. R's laboratory assistant and hopefully I'll be officially employed before the end of the semester. I have to admit I am a little nervous about my mineralogical knowledge being strong enough to pick out grains from the samples I will be testing, but more than that I just don't want to break any of the expensive equipment I will be working with all summer. Still, the job really is ideal and although I am a little sad to have to stay behind in Las Cruces over the summer when everyone else is returning to their homes, I will learn a lot and be earning some money while I am at it.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Money will be less of an issue than I expected this semester, since I was awarded a significant scholarship tonight at our department's awards ceremony. I'm elated and slightly uncomfortable by the award, since it is so large and it is given to students who work while in school. While my potential job for Dr. R certainly counts, I know a lot of other more than deserving peers I was selected from. It is hard to avoid sounding snobbish complaining about an embarrassment of riches like this, but accepting any form of praise has always been difficult for me (monetary or otherwise).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;">I hate to publish a post without any pictures, but I am much too tired to really continue writing any more and I can't seem to think of anything appropriate to accompany everything I've written today. Maybe I'll edit in some photos later if something comes to mind. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to fall asleep after reading a bit from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Map_that_Changed_the_World">The Map that Changed the World</a>.</span>Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-3619085927731335232010-04-18T01:24:00.000-07:002010-04-18T01:24:17.278-07:00Open magma systems and a Mothra on topSo for the past few days I have been diligently working on my Geochemistry paper and on my Entomology independent project. It has been very slow going on both beyond initial framework setup for the writing. I usually don't have as much trouble as I have when writing, and the problems I have had are entirely new to me.<br />
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For my geochemistry paper, I have had to worry for the first time in a long time about: plagiarism. See, with the crystal samples given to us by Dr. R I have no idea what the locality they were taken from was like at all. I've certainly been to Valles Caldera enough times, but never have I taken any samples of my own from the caldera's formations, and with his published papers he has given us to use as reference, it's had to say anything without having to paraphrase and cannibalize heavily from his writing. My interpretations are entirely my own but everything from the background and methodology to the major sources I am citing are all heavily borrowed from Dr. R's papers.<br />
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The ten grains we successfully analyzed match Dr. R's conclusions that the 1.61 Ma Otowi Member we are studying originated from an open magma system. The difficulty for me now is how to balance respect for my teacher's publications with further reading I've done and my general ignorance of the member beyond its geographical location. Dr. R suggested in the papers he gave us that "sweated" wall rock was principally responsible for the open system dynamics we seem to see, but I've come across a few other papers suggesting that an injection of magma spurred the eruption and contributed to the variance we see in rubidium-strontium isotope ratios to suggest an open system to us. Now I have to pull all of it together into a draft Dr R is willing to buy into, and still not see enough of his own papers to blow a whistle on the derivative writing I currently have.<br />
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Meanwhile, my entomology project is significantly less demanding and although I realized I ought to start writing 9 days before the due date (April 23), I have more than half of it already done. I've drawn and written three quick comics (he asked for strips but I don't know what to make of that), a movie review of Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) and four website reviews (just a paragraph each). The website reviews were surprisingly fun, and I got to talk about the <a href="http://www.prehistoricstore.com/index.php">Prehistoric Planet Store</a> and the <a href="http://www.ars.usda.gov/sp2userfiles/person/3559/soundlibrary.html">USDA Insect Sound Reference Library</a>. Mainly though, any excuse to watch a Godzilla movie and get points on an assignment for it is ideal.<br />
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The next project I'll have to undertake is my Colorado Plateau poster. I still haven't settled on what I would like to write on. Part of me wants to deal with the boundary of the Interior Seaway and the Sevier Orogenic Belt. The other part of me wants to go nuts with the inter-fingering of the Mancos Shale and the Drip Tank Member, which are really impressive just due to the dynamics of the shoreline of the Great Interior Seaway. I'm not sure what I'll do, but I ought to choose quickly. I just don't want to fall into the trap of using my professor's publications for this assignment as well, though Dr. L has some really interesting papers dealing specifically with the Cretaceous...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Ercb7/namK75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Ercb7/namK75.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Overall, not a lot is going on in my life besides writing and getting ready for finals when the time comes. These papers and projects are a huge part of my grade though (equivalent to a full exam in Entomology) so I really want to get them done and done right. Meanwhile the weather just gets better and better here and I'm stuck inside typing away when every instinct worth listening to in me wants to head outside and take a literal breather. Life goes on, and I'll definitely have the summer so things could be better but I'm doing really well as my second year nears to its conclusion and I'm really proud of that.<br />
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<u>Photo Credit</u><br />
Ron Blakey, Northern Arizona University Geology. "Paleogeographic map of the Late Cretaceous (75 Ma)". <a href="http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/%7Ercb7/namK75.jpg">Link</a>Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-46804519149290664322010-04-09T01:01:00.000-07:002010-04-09T01:01:21.041-07:00The laser tags me back for my neglectSo it's been a long stretch of time again since I've posted anything, and with the uneventful spring break I had there really isn't much excuse why I didn't jot <i>something</i> down with everything that has been happening.<br />
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School has been pretty time consuming lately, and with a sudden urgency to write papers coming due before the end of the school year I will be doing a lot more writing on my Geochemistry project, Colorado Plateau poster, and some Entomology papers for my elective class than any recreation writing. I have a lot of anxiety right now about all that writing simply because I haven't started on <i>any</i> of it, but I hope to remedy that by the weekend.<br />
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I've been really happy to be learning about the (TIMS) mass spectrometer and the chemistry that goes with it. I'm reluctant to be such an easy catch for Dr. R, but geochemistry has really caught my attention this semester and if I work for him this summer I will probably get even more into his type of work. Next semester should be a good time to test how much I really enjoy it though, when I'm taking more sedimentary based classes.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.geo.cornell.edu/geology/research/derry/graphics/Sector54.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.geo.cornell.edu/geology/research/derry/graphics/Sector54.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>My schedule for next semester is essentially complete after today. I have GEOL 399 Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology, GEOL 420 Stratigraphy and Sedimentology, GEOL 465 Isotope "Geoghemistry", GEOL Structural Geology, and GEOG 381 Cartography and GIS. This will be the heaviest 15 credits I have ever seen assembled together, but I certainly won't be working next semester so I feel that I persevere. It feels odd to have all of my general education credits nearly covered as this semester comes to a close. My only non-departmental elective I haven't covered is an engineering or programming course, but the GIS course could be covered under the new catalog if my sources are right... <br />
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Thursday was an unusual day considering the past month. I had been severely neglecting my LIBS work by doing Geochemistry work and today I finally got back to my LIBS data. I hadn't realized that I had 12 data sets just waiting to be analyzed so it was long overdue to sit down with Dr. M and run the Unscrambler software to analyze my spectra. Running those 2100 shots with 13701 spectra each took a long time though, and so I was at school from 8:50 to 6 with only one two hour class to go to, and I was sad to miss out on the laser tag event the school was hosting that night. I guess when you trade up in laser class it's hard to go back to the simpler tools of learning you had as a child.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.thesydneytraveler.com/files/2007/12/codered.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="http://www.thesydneytraveler.com/files/2007/12/codered.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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I have had some very good times lately though, and I have to say this is a very happy time in my life right now. Coming off of spring break after visiting with a lot my good friends back at home and taking it relatively easy in the shadow of midterms, I can't complain. I may have two midterms next week already and due dates on papers quickly approaching but this may be the golden semester compared to what in my future classes. All I know is that tomorrow will be a relief from today's nonsense, and over the weekend I am going to make some serious dents in those papers!<br />
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<u>Photo Credit</u><br />
Cornell Geology Department Facilities. "Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometer"<br />
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The Sydney Traveler. "Code Red" (for Code Red Leisure Centre)Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-22599779286590820282010-03-18T23:33:00.000-07:002010-03-18T23:33:30.325-07:00Midterms and MolaritiesSo this week has been a little more busy than typical, due to a combination of several midterms this week and coming down with a quick cold (or some similar illness). However, with midterms comes the great relief one feels at the end of an important exam. Every day this week has felt like a Friday, partly because of the improved weather and partly because each test finished and school day completed brings me closer to Spring Break.<br />
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This week has also been exciting because a group of my peers and I in Geochemistry have been diligently working on preparing the crystals our teacher wants us to analyze. Our teacher is an isotope specialist, who focuses a lot on the element Strontium, and works mainly with igneous rocks. Subsequently we are going to run the entire digestion, column chemistry, and mass spectrometry work on crystals from Valles Caldera in the Jemez Mountains.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.lpi.usra.edu/science/treiman/greatdesert/workshop/valles3/valles3_imgs/redondopanorama2a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="98" src="http://www.lpi.usra.edu/science/treiman/greatdesert/workshop/valles3/valles3_imgs/redondopanorama2a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
This caldera was the result of a small super-eruptive volcano, and there are calderas below the Valles (the Toledo Caldera being the main example). I've been all around the area many times both camping and hiking, but have somehow never read anything about the geology of the area beyond the eruptions that caused the caldera systems. It'll be interesting to learn about this place in a new light.<br />
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This geochemistry work however has shown me two very important things about myself. I, unlike my geochemistry instructor Dr. R, am a very shaky person when it comes to handling fine instruments like micropipettes. I have also found that I have a more than healthy respect for hydrofluoric acid and have been extremely relieved to have made it through our digestions without burning myself with any of it. I did have the thumb of my glove disappear and I definitely burnt myself with <i>something</i> in the clean lab, but it was really very minor considering the concentrations of the acids we use to break down these crystals.<br />
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The irony of all this exciting work is that Dr. R had been putting it off for some time hoping to photograph the crystals with a special computer he ordered and had been waiting for. Since we started this week, his computer naturally came today after we've dissolved them and have since started to prepare them for column chemistry to get the Sr out.<br />
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I feel truly privileged to have to opportunity to get the clean lab and analytical experience this Geochemistry project will offer. It has really made me appreciate just how difficult preparing and analyzing rocks is on the chemical side of Geology. I'd always known that it took thousands of man-hours to make geologic maps, measure sections of an area, and the like but I never knew putting samples through a mass spectrometer would be so involved. I only hope that I don't mess up any of our samples, and that we can finish our runs before the write up for the class is due...<br />
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<u>Photo Credit</u><br />
Allan H. Treiman and Lunar and Planetary Institute. "Redondo Panorama 2 (Annotated)"Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-34164542004463955242010-03-08T22:34:00.000-08:002010-03-08T22:35:36.736-08:00Paradox Basin lives up to its name for meSo, as promised I have the figure of the evaporite deposits in Paradox Basin, UT. I've been really fascinated by these well logs, trying to figure out what sort of settings they must have formed in. Since the key is difficult to read: green is halite, maroon red represents potash, and the gray is a gray shale. <br />
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<a href="http://s56.photobucket.com/albums/g174/Ilmarinen/?action=view&current=ParadoxBasinPennsylvanianEvaporites.jpg" target="_blank"><img alt="Paradox Basin Well Logs" border="0" height="212" src="http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g174/Ilmarinen/ParadoxBasinPennsylvanianEvaporites.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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As you can see the pattern of deposition is always shale during stages of furthest transgression, followed by evaporite rock forming until the last of the potash dried. Glaciation is believed to have subsided from time to time and the basin or salt flat would have recharged. My main issue with this stratigraphy, given the near certainty that recharge must have occurred, is that the highly soluble potash top layer should have by all accounts been dissolved when the area was recharged. We also see slight layers of halite before any shale is put down which would have capped the potash and kept it in place. If the recharge really did come from glacial melting, why does this recharge water not pick up the evaporites faster than it caps them with shale?<br />
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From the 28 cycles of halite we see in the sequence, our class determined that the rate of deposition for the evaporite and shale layers averaged around 0.1 mm/year (well within believable bounds considering modern deposition rates). The glacial cycles also match historic trends well (not our current outlier, but previous cycles of ice ages) so the resurgence of glacial water was a dependable factor.<br />
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The deep valley/basin model some suspect formed the deposits would have provided (in my mind) enough water to dissolve the evaporites without having a deep enough water column to worry about temperature preventing uptake of evaporite sediment. A salt pan model seems like a better candidate to me, but even that seems unlikely given the extant of the evaporite deposits, which can be pretty sizable.<br />
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I was already excited to see some of the salt tectonics of Paradox Basin in person when our class goes to visit the Colorado Plateau this summer. Now, after our teacher has introduced some features that could have placed that salt, I'm more interested to learn about current theories of what was happening in that part of the world that we now have these wonderful deposits of salt to consider. It also makes me wonder what other curious oddities nature has hidden in remote locations of our planet, waiting to puzzle us and earn a namesake to remind us that not so long ago we thought we had most of the basics down...<br />
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<u>Photo Credit</u><br />
Hite and Liming. "Pennsylvanian Stratigraphy of Paradox Basin"Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-85762003327119676572010-02-22T21:52:00.000-08:002010-02-22T21:52:48.386-08:00The month of waiting around...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Well it has been quite a while since I've written here, but I have excuses! Mostly I was waiting for my professor to put up an image from a slide he had in class so I could talk about the salt and potash deposits in the Paradox Basin. My Colorado Plateau class had a great discussion on the Pennsylvanian salt deposits in that famous basin system, and I really wanted to have the stratigraphic representation of well logs he put up before I began talking about anything relating to the basin.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div>I've also been waiting for insurance people to settle the totaling of my '99 Chevy Lumina, which was hit by a drunk driver on Superbowl Sunday (February 7th). It was a long and anxiety inducing process, but I finally had it towed away sometime today while I was at school and we settled on the money it was worth last Friday.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjDn_51JAAPwDCmsKceM1VPTz5s9gPSwNbc2n3avLoApSKZFOFhYRz4_QjDrEbR1aczfzXyEWmxn-XCdC50N92zHbFTlqd2TRgDHxdWO8Uz9sXWQwvBTlFbDuAXZdB6tH4YQORk_yrIzm/s1600-h/IMG_0444.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtq4acFTEJdpaPOVja54dSbe_gqyqs4wpdBL2Sd6s4SRTGsNjqFRg_64AcV9CmN1Tpe3PKyMk042ZrctkU9O81LKTP7TqVuYhLdj0HqqO6V9A3BbUkag1mlW_gO-4BUbsPZUsX_nmDi21_/s1600-h/IMG_0478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtq4acFTEJdpaPOVja54dSbe_gqyqs4wpdBL2Sd6s4SRTGsNjqFRg_64AcV9CmN1Tpe3PKyMk042ZrctkU9O81LKTP7TqVuYhLdj0HqqO6V9A3BbUkag1mlW_gO-4BUbsPZUsX_nmDi21_/s200/IMG_0478.JPG" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjvdY1dwtNhMwvnEdk4KxcyY5zq6LRAO9nCG1vP4oZJ7wQUxPRJNffrrDu83q8YAnOtMDvbFGvGCgdE3lN9iflrMl7hui7BNdnN7NvV0WEdsd_pqsIClG8LYN2xTI-py6oBTqx5ePKhCt/s1600-h/IMG_0488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAjvdY1dwtNhMwvnEdk4KxcyY5zq6LRAO9nCG1vP4oZJ7wQUxPRJNffrrDu83q8YAnOtMDvbFGvGCgdE3lN9iflrMl7hui7BNdnN7NvV0WEdsd_pqsIClG8LYN2xTI-py6oBTqx5ePKhCt/s200/IMG_0488.JPG" width="200" /></a></div><br />
Now I have been looking at vehicles, mostly jeeps and small four wheel drive capable cars, so that I can get for around the compensation money the totaling gave us. This has left me spending a lot of time researching potential replacement vehicles and biking to and from classes at the university. The half mile ride isn't too long or cold to need a vehicle, but the entire campus is placed on a hill and it seems all the more steep for my lack of motorized transport.<br />
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These things aside, my life has been pretty ideal. I have done very well on my first round of exams, especially in Geochemistry, Entomology, and regular Chem. The weather here in Las Cruces just keeps improving, with temperatures almost reaching short-weather highs. Almost.<br />
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The main academic concern I have right now is with my LIBS oil research. I have seven oils analyzed with at least 140 samplings for each. Enough, I feel, to begin using the analytical software my adviser has to examine what our LIBS data can be used to investigate. At the moment the primary concern is still looking at reservoir rock traces in the oils to show how LIBS analysis could be used as a first notification of changing conditions in oil samples. If the LIBS data will be useful for those ends will be interesting to see. The technology has always been introduced to me as "quick and dirty" and I have had enough oil on my hands to believe it.Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-37761033326080690112010-02-11T13:36:00.000-08:002010-02-11T13:36:04.714-08:00Graduating to three dimensionsLooking back at my academic career an interesting thing occurs to me: my teachers were always holding out on us with the third dimension.<br />
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Before I began learning the beautiful things calculus can represent and model, the only time I recall using the third dimension in any work I did was for measuring simple volumes (of spheres, cones, cubes, etc). My entire world seemed to be made of algebraic curves and trigonometric triangles. When someone traveled on an airplane for example, I made a line or curve across a flat map to track their progress. Molecules had simple lewis dot structures to show their orientation and that was that.<br />
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As I learn about the true mechanics of waves, moving bodies beyond simple particles, and molecular arrangements due to certain bonding schemes I realize the main difference between college level and high school level learning seems to be paying attention to a third dimension. Towards the end of my high school career I had some advanced classes in physics and some calculus that introduced concepts that consider the third dimension, namely the right hand rule for cross products (not that we were told that was what was going on) and to find where those volume formulas of yore were derived from.<br />
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I remember the right hand rule enraged me when my teacher explained that was how all the electromagnetic forces we would be considering were handled. Why should I have to contort my hand and then align it with the forces explained in a problem? Surely there must be an easier way?! <br />
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There was were vectors. I think our teachers teased us with our early introductions to vectors. Planting the seeds of a third dimension then and there, possibly testing our potential for higher learning with those first rudimentary lessons that never seemed to go anywhere but was still "in the curriculum". I must have passed those quiet tests, those subtle moments that lay my entire intellectual merit bare for inspection. <br />
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I have had a lot of instructors put their faith in me as a competent student based on a prior teacher's recommendations. I can't say with any confidence if I deserved that trust and opportunity, but here I am in college coming to terms with everything they didn't teach me. However, I am also coming to realize how they still laid the groundwork for later education, whether I was going to make it here or not. Now I understand why graduation felt like a hollow ceremony compared to my entry into calculus: I had been weighed and measured long before that decorated day.Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-2927273200347169202010-02-06T23:52:00.000-08:002010-02-06T23:52:56.163-08:00The Jung and the RestlessThis semester, I have a considerable number of blocks of time in between classes where I have to find something to do, but it isn't worth heading back to my apartment or start doing research work. Lately I've been spending the majority of that free time walking the shelves of the main library on campus.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://lib.nmsu.edu/images/library5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://lib.nmsu.edu/images/library5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Zuhl library is an interesting place for a number of reasons. First, it is purely a literary repository with Branson library containing the public documents, maps, and other great caches of scientific works. Secondly it has a huge collection of petrified wood donated from its namesake: Herb Zuhl. Thirdly, it has the most accommodating seating and lighting to read and lounge away free time. With the weather warming up, most of the people squatting in the libraries for the warmth are also clearing out, so it has become a great place to haunt.<br />
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So, for the past three or four months I have had a terrible time committing to a book. I've browsed and surveyed over a half dozen books, but haven't settled on anything since I finished Khalil Gibran's <u>The Prophet</u>. I tried reading John Wesley Powell's account of his trip down the Colorado River, read a bit of a fictional story of a sleepwalking bookie with a family curse, and a few other odd books just picked at random from the shelves to fill my time.<br />
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After nearly a week of this fruitless searching, I think I've settled on reading through the Carl Jung's <u>Psychology of the Unconscious</u>. I had actually begun to consider reading his works a long while back, but repeatedly found the compilation-style volumes usually offered in bookstores to be uncouth and frustrating. Now that I have a large library at my disposal I can find more well portioned works of his. As much as his ideas are referenced in psychology, music, and countless other places I have yet to come across any non-psychology/philosophy major who has read any of his vast writings.<br />
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As much as the cliche of self-discovery in college is touted, separation from parental influence is the main reason I've seen people change. People pick up new music tastes, new friends, start smoking or drinking things, but only minor worldview changes occur. My own personality and opinions have been rather static for a long while now, at least from the start of high school. As nice is it is to offer a reliable element to my friends' lives I've felt stunted and unsatisfied. I'm hoping if I start looking towards my subconscious, I'll overcome most of the neurosis in my life.<br />
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As happy as I've been with my classes and social intimacy, I haven't been at peace with my life. There's not much to complain about with my lot, but I do find myself wanting. My school work keeps me pleasantly occupied and learning, and my friends and family are more distant than I'd like but I know they are there for me. That just leaves myself to work on, and I hope that the promising ideas I've come across from Jung will help fill my free time and the personal vacuum I've felt in my life.Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-19648099054026618802010-02-03T16:54:00.000-08:002010-02-03T16:54:12.034-08:00Sit and nodAs I progress through my undergraduate experience, I've realized a somber truth: many of my peers are either too fearful to discuss concepts, or (more frighteningly) they are generally too inept to follow the instructional process most teachers use. I was raised and instructed to believe that "there is no such thing as a stupid question" and "if you don't understand speak up" were cardinal rules in education. Now that I am paying beyond three figures for my education, I intend to make that money count for something beyond credits to earn a degree.<br />
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I feel badly for the teachers who have to deal with the indifference and mild entitlement I've seen. I can't speak towards whether this is a generational phenomenon or if modern higher education has always been plagued thusly, but as I get deeper into college I wonder why so many classes are presented as informative entertainment. My entomology class is entertaining, but when more than half of a lecture there is spent with the professor playing a BBC documentary series on insects, I wonder if he enjoys instructing this course. As smart as some BBC documentaries are, or comparative productions from the Discovery channel, can anyone really believe this is really at COLLEGE level instruction?<br />
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The teachers I do know well enough to ask how they treat introductory level courses, where the worst level of indifference occurs, usually have ambivalent takes on their situation. They view their basic courses as a chance to introduce new concepts to students they would otherwise would miss out on and inform their pupils enough to have a conversation in the subject they are attending. These professors also tend to tell me that they feel most of their lectures fall on deaf ears, with students reading powerpoint slides online before an exam and pass with a "gentleman's C". Looking back on how tedious retaking calculus classes was in my freshmen year, I wonder how a professor can teach three introductory level courses each semester, year after year. The word steadfast comes to mind...<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="241" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3109/2924350054_96752e3b0e.jpg" width="320" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This whole rant started when I noticed peers afraid to speak up in class, so that's where I'll return to. Geochemistry is currently my favorite class, in part because Dr. R will call on students and seek an answer from them until he is satisfied. In there, the silence is often deafening and everyone seems to squirm and feel uncomfortable about being picked out (myself included). I feel like this keeps me honest in a way that no other course I have this semester lets me get away with, and so when I sit though another class where only a single teacher's pet type is chiming in regularly this makes me self conscious of my own commentary but also baffles me why nobody else seems to care. It's a catch-22 and its cause is contagious, so I tend to grow partially antisocial in my classes as a result.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I don't think I will ever understand why some people are as cripplingly shy as they are but, in my mind, when the majority of a classroom is silent because nobody wants to answer a non-rhetorical question only the two causes I mentioned earlier could be responsible. I'm at college to learn and I expect some my peers are just here for the ride and others are figuring out why they're here, but it worries me that so many are spending so much of their parents or their own hard earned money to be mediocre and mute in class. I know the value of an education and the loving investments my family has put forward for me to be here, and I intend to make them proud.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><u>Photo Credit</u><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">Seevas.</span><span style="font-size: small;"> "</span><span style="font-size: small;">The first lecture of biochemistry xD". http://www.flickr.com/photos/seevas/2924350054/</span>Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-86979124079817796652010-02-02T17:39:00.000-08:002010-02-02T17:39:09.539-08:00Elemental substitutionSo with no Optical Mineralogy classes to attend this week, I've been a little starved for new and exciting geologic material. With the disappointing hour short lecture in my Colorado Plateau class (on the Cambrian and Devonian transgressions of the sea on Rodinia), I was left with my only other geology class: Geochemistry.<br />
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While the class originally struck me as too much chemistry in one semester (I am taking the second semester of "scientist level" intro chemistry) I've recently grown to reconsider. In mineralogy, solid solution series' and coupled substitutions were the bane of my formulae memorization but were also fascinating to me. In geochemistry, I am spared most of that former pain and can now learn beyond the balancing of charges and comparing ionic radii to what it really means to have have cations interchangeable in a mineral's composition.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="287" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Olivine_%28peridot%29.jpg" width="320" /></div><br />
A similar pleasure came from Dr. R's explanation of chemical systems typically "treating" different isotopes of an element identically, and yet sometimes preferentially depending on weight, energy levels, and other factors. It made me wonder why in all of the years of general, chemical, and physical science I had never been taught anything beyond radioisotopes. Granted radioactive atoms are vastly more important for current uses in geology, yet here all isotopes are presented in a whole new light.<br />
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In the midst of an uneventful week for me (who cares about Groundhog Day after elementary school?) it was nice to have a moment of novelty from what seemed a dry well. I've been learning a lot of new concepts and details in my classes but this isotope surprise has really cheered me. Six more weeks of winter, even in relatively toasty Las Cruces however...<br />
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<u>Photo Credit</u> <br />
Aram Dulyan. "Olivine (peridot)". Natural History Museum, London.Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-88806029193197907192010-01-28T13:28:00.000-08:002010-01-28T13:29:53.991-08:00Keys in handSo after writing last night about my expectations for the LIBS lab research I was to do today, something interesting happened. Right after Geochemistry, I headed to ask for keys and my adviser and Dr. M must have become tired of the requests because she asked Lee to sign out some keys to me. I can now work just about whenever I want on my research!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/45/106561520_3b02e29e6a.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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The downside of this moment was that Dr. M reminded me that we wouldn't be having Optical Mineralogy on Monday or Wednesday. I think despite the early (to me) lecture time of 9:30 AM, I'm going to be sad to miss out on that class as my first of the day. It will be nice to sleep in though, depending on the way the weekend turns out.<br />
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Right now though, I am trying to occupy myself on my now empty Thursday afternoon. With the slow, cold rain coming down my options are limited to indoor activities. I think I'll bone up on my Geology fundamentals by finally reading my intro Geology book. I can't tell if it's the weather or just finding out that J.D. Salinger died yesterday, but I'm feeling apathetic.<br />
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<u>Photo Credit</u><br />
Bram_app. "Yale Keys". http://www.flickr.com/photos/bramapp/106561520/Ilmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-56891972276602061442010-01-27T18:16:00.000-08:002010-01-27T18:18:17.664-08:00Full Sample of Classes<div style="font-family: inherit;">So after a week without labs, I've finally been to every class I signed up for this semester. This is also the first time that I feel I have a context for how long the semester is going to last. I mean the semester is always around 3 months long, but this is the first time that the long term has been more in focus than the week to week way I've handled past semesters. I think part of the reason I've been treating things this way is because I don't have any math classes or truly heavy midterms to worry over.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">I finally have a Geochemistry book for class tomorrow, which is nice. I still can't fathom how a paperback textbook of its size costs over $130, but that's another issue from what I'd care to discuss. After asking at the desk for online textbook orders if the Geochemistry books were in, I was informed my order was canceled and the books weren't there. After checking my e-mail however, I discovered that not only were the books in, but they were ready to be collected. Needless to say I've lost nearly all respect for the bookstore here. Where I used to excuse their inconsistencies and poor service with the transitional stage of the Barnes & Noble buyout, I now think the staff is just generally inept.<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">Tomorrow brings another session of LIBS work and this time I will actually try to collect some usable data! I wish I had some keys to actually get into the labs, but I guess my requests for keys helps the department gauge my progress and commitment. Let's go with that...<br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">In more long range news, I've signed up for a poster topic to accompany me on the end of the semester Colorado Plateau field trip. During the eight days of geologic goodness in the trip I will be giving a brief presentation on the Late Cretaceous (Andean mountains and an inland sea).<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: inherit; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Waterpocket_Fold_-_Looking_south_from_the_Strike_Valley_Overlook.jpg" width="400" /><br />
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</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">I'm not entirely sure what I have committed myself to, but I do know that my poster will not cover the Laramide orogeny and doesn't encompass the K-T boundary (some other lucky peer will have that famous sliver of time). This class is already the most intimidating and instructive course I have taken in college, but I know I will gain immeasurably from it. My only qualm with it is that it is only scheduled once a week!<br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: inherit;">Basic synopsis is that context has been established for my current semester, time will be flying by, courses are heavy but lightened by their fascinating content, and I have a considerable amount of learning ahead of me. Still living one day at a time though, and tomorrow is Geochem and a session with the LIBS lab...<br />
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</div><div style="font-family: inherit;"><u>Photo Credit</u><br />
</div>USGS. "Waterpocket Fold - Looking south from the Strike Valley Overlook". http://3dparks.wr.usgs.govIlmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4944098861870809530.post-56607930976057389322010-01-25T16:52:00.000-08:002010-01-25T16:52:02.236-08:00The dizzying heights of Optical MineralogyWell I thought I would be immune to the nausea-inducing peculiarities of the petrographic microscopes we were warned about in Optical Mineralogy, but I was mistaken. Trying to discover the different scale each objective displays at, I was moving the focus and stage at the same time. I noticed right away that my body was displeased with what my eyes were telling it but tried to work quickly through it and ended up compounding the feeling. I don't think it is like sea sickness, not that I've ever felt those effects, but it is its own sensation. I'm still nauseous, and I've definitely learned my lesson. One thing at a time on the microscope, which follows nicely with the scientific principle of only modifying one variable at a time in an experiment.<br />
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I find it oddly coincidental that on the day of my first foray with the colorful thin sections I was introduced to the fluorescence of scorpion exoskeletons. Apparently, when an adult scorpions' cuticle is exposed to UV light, it produces a fluorescent glow due to the beta-Carboline in that casing. This only occurs in adult scorpions, and when they molt their new casing takes time to produce the fluorescent effect again, and their shed casing continues to glow.<br />
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<img height="299" img="" src="http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/gallery/displayimage.php?imageid=1732" width="400" /><br />
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The two theories I find credible as to why this occurs are to lure in prey and/or as a form of sun protection when scorpions were more diurnal.<br />
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My main point in these two topics is that the properties of light have been a huge impact in my studies lately, and when even my Entomology class brings up the properties of light, I feel like science is both deeper and more interconnected than ever. I may feel slightly different when I go a couple days without talking about photons, spectroscopy, or similar topics but right now things are oddly in harmony.<br />
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<u>Photo Credit</u> <br />
skinheaddave. "Leiurus quinquestriatus, freshly moulted under UV light." http://www.arachnoboards.comIlmarinenoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05840662050059943684noreply@blogger.com0