Upper Crust 2022

“Our three sleeping tents were protected by an electrified bear fence. This is about as dark as it would get at night” - Abby Kelly University of Cincinnati | 1

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TABLE OF CONTENTS Letter from the Department Head...................................04 Nevada Field Trip ...................................................................08 Faculty & Staff News ............................................................10 Undergraduate Program Director Dylan Ward............20 Department of Geology Graduates 2021-2022...........28 Alumni News............................................................................29 Department of Geology Donors 2021-2022.................47

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Letter from the Department Head The longer I sit in the Department’s Chair, the more I’ve come to appreciate all the living and moving parts that make up our Department.

From my viewpoint amidst the ad min, teaching mineralogy, petrology, and other courses on the hard-rock side (now being recast with critical minerals at the center), and my engagement with all my friends, students, and colleagues, the Department is as creative and productive as ever.

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I don’t know what I’d do without our fabulous staff who just get things done: Kate Cosgrove managing all of our budget matters; Sarah Hammer keeping our labs running and doing many other things to help keep the faculty focused on their work; Mike Menard keeping our hardware, instruments, vehicles, and all the other wheels and gears running smoothly; and Krista Smilek guiding our students and their courses, finances, and decision-making, and

changed through time (this approach is called “petrochronology” nowadays).

My faculty colleagues had another banner year in external funding. New funding this past year totaled over $2 million! (not to mention the over $1.5 million in continuing external funding). Funding was awarded from the National Science Foundation (to multiple proposals), the USGS, the Ohio Water Resources Council, the Duke Energy Foundation, the Conservation Paleobiology Network, the Ohio Geological Survey, and Parks Canada on topics including geophysics, bedrock mapping, imaging of groundwater dynamics and monitoring groundwater quality, ecology, Quaternary glaciation, biogeochemical markers, and climate reconstruction. The diversity of funders and the range of topics bespeaks to the creativity of our faculty and graduate students. Our community should be proud of both the individual and collective accomplishments.

Along with just under 100 peer-reviewed publications last year – including four in the renowned Geology and 20% having graduate students as first or co-author – the evidence is clear: we are a research-active group with a very strong pulse.

marshalling everything through the complex UC systems. You guys rock!

And I’ve learned that to do it right, being Department Chair is a full-time job (surprise, surprise, right?) but I’m keeping a few research fires burning. One blaze is collaborating with colleagues at the KGS and the Illinois State Survey analyzing the REE potential of carbonatites and a variety of mica peridotites in the Illinois-Kentucky Flurospar District (a project that was initiated through the help of one Paul E. Potter). Another is mapping mid-crustal meta-igneous bedrock in southwestern Connecticut. I’m collaborating with colleagues at UMass and the USGS on monazite and xenotime geochronology linked to the trace element chemistry of garnet to track how crustal thickness

Our undergraduate majors and graduate students have done their best coping with the still on-going effects of Covid-19. In all honesty, there has been a vague malaise lingering in our building as we just can’t quite get the pandemic completely behind us. To put it simply, all our students are facing their prospects in an uncertain world.

They need our support. But don’t get me wrong, our students continue to achieve.

Several of our majors are involved in research projects and six of them applied for and were awarded GROGUs (the Departmentfunded Geoscience Research Opportunity Grants for Undergraduates) putting them on the road to research capstone projects. Our graduate students continue to make us look good, too, successfully receiving external funding for their work, including grants from the University Research Council, UC’s chapter of Sigma Xi, GSA, the Dry Dredgers, University of Cincinnati | 5

the Ohio Geological Survey, and SEG. For the second year in a row, one of ours won the highly competitive and prestigious Dean’s Dissertation Completion Award.

Thankfully, we were back in the classroom with our students this year, with full-on mask wearing last fall and mask-optional classrooms beginning earlier this spring.

For our majors, we are still offering broadbased education in modern geology: we had courses in mineralogy, petrology, structural geology, geomorphology, paleontology, geochemistry, sedimentology, groundwater, and geobiology. For juniors, seniors, and our graduate students, upper-level courses in R, geomechanics, and groundwater modeling are opportunities to build their quantitative skills.

On top of all that, Carl Brett took undergrads out into the field all year long (following university-required, strict safety protocols last fall); these trips include Carl’s graduate students and his cadre of undergraduate TAs. Transportation costs for these trips are supported by our endowed funds: thank you.

I was on an outcrop of Kope with Carl last fall for a couple of hours and Carl not only knew just about everything in the rocks, but he linked many field observations to larger global cycles and processes…very exciting and a pleasure to learn about the latest thinking about our celebrity bedrock.

We are also getting more students into our labs and getting them more hands-on experience with instruments, large and small.

Our Undergraduate Geochemistry Teaching Labs initiative to acquire new equipment to use in our classes continues. The College expressed its approval by awarding us $21.5K in Information Technology and Instructional Equipment (ITIE) funding for portable spectrophotometers, and portable pH probes. Just to mention a few examples, through Andy Czaja’s geochemistry and Aaron Diefendorf ’s biogeochemistry courses, and Reza Soltanian’s research at the TEMMS, our students are getting more hands-on practice with instruments and collecting data. Dylan Ward is running LiDAR drone surveys as part of a collaboration at the Cooper Creek 6 | The Upper Crust

Experimental Watershed and having students work with big data. Dan Sturmer teaches applied geophysics and plans to take a group of undergrads out to Nevada this summer to collect field data on the Spruce Mountain landslide.

Another component of our teaching mission has been brought back to life, post-lock down.

We are running department field trips: this May to northern Nevada and in early August a trip from Duluth, MN up to Thunder Bay. Again, your generous support of the Department makes all of this happen. During the past year, the Department dedicated $106,000 to support our students through scholarships, hands-on learning, field trips, and awards.

There are other interesting and novel projects afoot. In collaboration with the Geology-Math- Physics Library, the DAAP Library, and the Engineering Libraries, we invested $5K in a new, high resolution, largeformat scanner which now being set up in the GMP Library. I have in mind digitizing and archiving the rich and multiple-file-cabinetsfull history of the Department recorded in photographs, field trip guidebooks, letters, sketches and drawings, notes, and other materials that Warren Huff has kept and safeguarded. Later this summer I will be talking with the digital archivist and university records manager and the manager of UC’s Preservation Lab on how to approach this project. We are also investing $1,600 to rehab several of our student petrographic microscopes to bring the total number of completely functional ‘scopes to about 20.

This is a good thing since to paraphrase Ron Broadhead, in many, many 21st century avenues of the geosciences, “we need to know what rocks are made of and how they are put together.”

Again, this year, it has been rewarding connecting and reconnecting with many of you.

I’ve enjoyed our conversations at our recent GSA meeting here in Cincinnati, in the Department and the field, over the phone, and, of course, via email (and thanks to our loyal readers of Friday Field Notes! As always, I

welcome your comments and your generous sharing of photos.) Over my many years in the Department, I’m still impressed at how engaged and dedicated our alumni are, both newly minted and, shall we say, of more distinguished vintage, and everyone in between.

Despite the pandemic-related challenges of the past two years, our community remains as strong as ever. I know I speak for the faculty, staff, and students when I say your commitment to and support of the Department are treasured. Your support is vital for our continued success in teaching the next generation, our research with our graduate and undergraduate students, and strengthening our social fabric through field trips, outreach, and an array of departmental activities. I hope to see more of you during the coming months and with your help, keep the Department successful and moving forward.

With best regards,

Craig

P.S. As many of you know, Dr. Attila Kilinc is retiring after 52 years of research, teaching, and service to the Department. We are planning to celebrate Attila this coming fall with an in-person event in Cincinnati. Details will be coming soon!

HOW TO GIVE If giving by check, donors should make their check payable to The University of Cincinnati Foundation and in the memo portion of the check, write-in “Research Fund in Geology” or “Geology Alumni Graduate Fund”. Please send your donation to The University of Cincinnati Foundation PO Box 19970 Cincinnati, OH 45219-0970 If online, donors should go to https://foundation.uc.edu/give Once on the website, under the “Select Area to Support”, click on the “UC Colleges/Units” button. There will be two drop downs. On the left drop down, they will select “College of Arts & Sciences”. On the right drop down, they will scroll down and select “Research Fund in Geology” or “Geology Alumni Graduate Fund”.

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Nevada field trip May 4-10, 2022 Nevada field trip, May 4-10, 2022 Led by Dan Sturmer, fifteen members of the Department – four undergraduate majors, four graduate

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students, three alumni, one of our staff, and three faculty -- went on a field trip to northern Nevada in early May. The trip was multi-disciplinary, multi-faceted, very educational, and a ton of fun. The geology of the Basin and Range in northern Nevada is tremendously varied and complex, illustrated by the stops organized by Dan (and described in the 185-page guidebook he assembled). Highlights included the Sierra Nevada frontal fault, the geomorphology of Lake Tahoe, Cretaceous plutonic rocks of the Sierra Nevada batholith at Donner Summit, Pliocene plant fossils and diatomite, Miocene tufa mounds, recent fault scarps, gigantic sand dunes, and petroglyphs, rocks of a Miocene lacustrine fan-delta system, 35 ka basalt lava flows (with olivine and pyroxene megacrysts), the latest Miocene to Pleistocene Lunar Crater volcanic field, upper Ordovician organic-rich black

shales, Carboniferous conglomerates, strongly deformed Cambrian phyllites, and thanks to Melissa McMullen (B.S., 2009), a tour of the Barrick Cortez Carlin-type disseminated gold mine (the main pit and the principle processing plant). And one of the principal highlights surrounding us every day: the vivid and beautiful Basin and Range landscape. For all his hard work and generosity, a very special thanks to Dan! We hope to run the trip again…in 2025!

Photo Captions: Group photo at Donner Summit: Seated, left to right: Wayne Goodman, Mike Lewan, Marty Goodman, Adam Bernhardt Standing, left to right: Andrew Michel, Jake Janszen, PJ Schomaeker, Cole Farnam, Sam Little, Nathan McCarthy, Vince Nowaczewski, Dan Sturmer, Krista Smilek, Dylan Ward (photo by C. Dietsch)

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Faculty & Staff News 10 | The Upper Crust

Photo Credit: Aaron Betts

Aaron Diefendorf I hope everyone out there is doing well. It’s been a quasi-productive year, although challenges of COVID still remain. As I write this, my wife and kids have COVID! And, supply chain issues are wreaking havoc on keeping instruments fixed and presents many challenges for keeping research moving forward. Tom Lowell and I received a grant from NSF to study diatom biomarkers.

Meg Corcoran (who co-wrote the proposal) is finishing up her PhD and will defend this coming spring. Watts Dietrich joined our group this past fall and is focused on the diagenesis of these diatom biomarkers for his MS. A new cadre of undergrads have joined the lab including Megan Hamilton and Michael Schenk. We also received NSF funding to expand the analytical capabilities of the Stable Isotope Laboratory. We managed to get a bit of field work in last fall with lots more planned for this coming summer. It was great to see many of you at the recent GSA meeting here in Cincinnati.

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Andy Czaja

Hello friends! Despite the continued disruptions from the pandemic this year, my lab was able to get some work done studying the early evolution of life on Earth, the oxygenation of Earth’s atmosphere, and the search for ancient life on Mars.

Once again, this year I have focused on my Mars work as a science team member of the NASA Mars 2020 mission (Perseverance rover). As I noted in Upper Crust last year, one of the main objectives of the mission is to search for evidence of ancient (fossil) life and collect samples for return to Earth on a future mission. If Mars ever hosted life, it’s most likely to have been microbial. And my role, as a microbial paleontologist is to advise on what samples to collect that might hold evidence of ancient life. If it’s there, we should be able to find some evidence, but we will almost certainly need higher magnification and more sensitive instruments to really be sure, so that’s why we want to bring the samples back. Recent 12 | The Upper Crust

planning for the sample return missions are targeting 2033, only eleven years from now!

MARS REPORT: The first year of the mission has been a rousing success! In addition to successfully piloting the first aircraft on another planet, and taking breathtak-

ing images of an ancient crater lake (check out https:// mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/), we studied the crater floor units and collected eight samples, all of which represent igneously emplaced rocks. These will be a major boon for understanding the geologic history of the area and also should allow us to calibrate Mars’ crater chronology by determining the exact ages of these rocks. As of the middle of April 2022, we have arrived at the delta in the crater to learn about its sedimentology/stratigraphy and to also search for organic biosignatures. I anticipate a lot more exciting news to report next year!

My current students have all had successful years too, despite the pandemic restrictions. Andrea Corpolongo (Ph.D. candidate) continued work on her NSF-funded project studying the paleontology and paleoecology of 2.5-billion-year-old fossil microbes from the Kaapvaal Craton of South Africa. Andrea also continued to be a strong advocate for our department’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as well as an outreach program to promote our science to the general public. Camden Goland (M.S. student) is continuing work on a project to study thermal alteration of fossil organic matter from some of the same geologic units that Andrea is studying, despite not being able to be in the lab this year.

Desirée Baker, who started in Fall 2021, began work on a NASA Exobiology-funded project looking for evidence of oxygen production by microorganisms in 3.2-billion-

year-old deltaic sediments from the Moodies Group of South Africa. This project has major implications for how we might search for similar evidence in the deltaic sediments in Jezero crater on Mars! In the last year, both Andrea and Desirée joined the Mars 2020 science team as well, as student collaborators and Andrea is currently leading the production of a manuscript about the minerals detected by the SHERLOC Raman spectrometer on Perseverance.

My former students have been busy and successful as well. Andrew Gangidine (Ph.D. 2020), finished his postdoctoral fellowship at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC and took a permanent position as the Curator of Earth and Space Sciences at the Cranbrook Institute of Science in Brookfield, MI. Finally, Jeff Osterhout (M.S. 2016), after earning a Ph.D. at the UCLA in 2021, began a postdoctoral fellowship at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, CA working on aspects of Mars Sample Return.

Finally, I am looking forward to welcoming a new student in the Fall. Brianna Orrill received her B.S from Arizona State University in 2021 and will likely work on a project relating Mars and the Early Earth.

For more goings-on in my lab, please check out my website at http://andyczaja.com.

Photo Captions: Group photo at Donner Summit: 1. Perseverance’s first sample seen in the drill bit, 9/1/2021 2. The front edge of the delta in Jezero crater. It is here we hope to find evidence of ancient life that might have existed in this paleolake.

(Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS)

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Brooke Crowley It’s hard to believe that it’s already time to write another newsletter update.

The past 12 months have gone quickly. Looking back, it’s overall been a positive and productive year. We have an excellent new cohort of graduate students, including two students who are working directly with me: Clark Ward and Jonas Zajonz. Clark is pursuing a master’s and comes to us from Nebraska. Jonas is from Germany and is pursuing a PhD. He’s also working with Josh Miller. Emily Simpson has been working hard on her PhD research and passed her qualifying exams this Spring. Way to go Emily! We will have a new MS student joining our lab next Fall, Andrew Hensley. He will be working on a funded collaborative project on Haiti’s recently extinct rodents.

I’m thrilled to be working with such a great group of engaged and enthusiastic young scientists.

My own research continues to move along nicely. I am wrapping up several very diverse projects, several of which have involved isotope values in feces… I hadn’t anticipated that this would be a research direction I would pursue, but feces can be collected without ever handling or disturbing wild animals, and it turns out fecal isotopes are very wellsuited for assessing diet and tracking foraging areas for individual animals. A special issue in Frontiers in Ecol14 | The Upper Crust

ogy and Evolution called “A Golden Age for Strontium Isotope Research? Current Advances in Paleoecological and Archaeological Research”, which I helped organize, is also finally complete.

It was a pleasure working with my fellow co-editors and I am proud of our final product.

Travel-wise, I haven’t been up to much (thanks to COVID), and mostly, I have been focused on lab-based work.

However, I have been able to visit family (in Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Michigan). My husband and I have also been enjoying regional State Parks, and we continue to thoroughly explore Cincinnati on foot. If you haven’t tried this, I highly recommend it. Let me know if you’d like some ideas or route suggestions.

On a more personal note, I was diagnosed with breast cancer in early March. I did not share this with many people at the time, but now feel comfortable letting others know. I had surgery at the end of March, with about a month and a half of followup radiation therapy. To my knowledge, the cancer is now gone and I can move on with my life. This was a personal challenge, but also a learning and growing experience. Among the things that I learned is that I am part of a very loving and caring community here in Cincinnati (both at work and at

home). I couldn’t ask for better colleagues and friends.

Thank you for your kindness and support.

Lastly, we are trying to gather contact details for alumni who would be interested in being part of an alumni mentor network. The primary goal of this network is to help current students connect with alumni who have had various experiences following graduation, but I am also hopeful that it could be useful for keeping alumni connected as well. We have a Google Survey that asks for

details regarding when you graduated, your preferred contact details, and the types of networking activities you might be interested in participating in in the future: https://forms.gle/o9p6wWrykYuC2reUA. Everyone is invited to be part of this network, and the more people that participate, the stronger the network will be. If you haven’t previously completed the survey (or even if you think you might have but can’t remember), please consider doing so.

Photo Captions: 1. Embracing an early January snow storm at Cumberland Falls State Park, Kentucky

Strontium analysis allows researchers to peer back in time to see how animals lived August 13, 2021 The New York Times turned to a University of Cincinnati expert in strontium analysis to explain how studying this element can help researchers better understand how extinct animals like woolly mammoths lived.

Brooke Crowley, an associate professor of geology and anthropology in UC’s College of Arts and Sciences, has analyzed strontium, hydrogen and other elements to track the movements of hawks, jaguars and even extinct horses based on what they were eating — or more precisely, where they were eating.

Strontium is absorbed in the food chain and becomes a telltale marker for researchers to learn about the habitats important to animals, including long-dead woolly mammoths that roamed Alaska.

A study in the journal Science by the University of Alaska pieced together the 28-year life of a woolly mammoth they named Kik that roamed what is now the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge more than 17,000 years ago. The researchers were able to use strontium analysis of Kik’s surviving tusks found in the permafrost to track his yearly movements.

The unique strontium signature from the food he ate each year was embedded in layers of the growing tusks that researchers examined. Another elemental signature in the tusks — nitrogen — suggested Kik died from starvation.

“It’s rather amazing how much one can learn from little tiny bits of material from a now-extinct animal,” Crowley told the New York Times. “I’m particularly impressed that the authors were able to track this individual mammoth’s movements for his entire life.”

Crowley, who was not involved in the University of Alaska study, has examined strontium in other collected Ice Age mammal specimens to understand their migrations and use of the landscape in North America.

The New York Times article (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/science/mammoth-tusks-map.html) University of Cincinnati | 15

Spruce Mountain Quadrangle south of Wells. The goal of the mapping will be to better understand formation of the Middle Pennsylvanian Hogan Basin, strata of which is exposed in several mountain ranges in east-central Nevada. He also continues to work on geomechanical modeling to explain the distribution of structures within the Ancestral Rocky Mountains orogen.

I am sure that you have heard about our GSA joint NorthCentral/Southeastern section meeting that we hosted in April here in Cincinnati. I served as the technical program co-chair with Alan Fryar from the University of Kentucky. I think the meeting went very well and it was really interesting being involved in the full planning and watching the meeting come to fruition.

Dan Sturmer It has been an incredibly busy year. I finally returned to teaching on campus this spring. It has been nice to get back to a more normal schedule. Our older daughter Ivy is finishing up Kindergarten and Eliana (3) is enjoying pre-school. Sarah continues to teach online courses in the Environmental Studies program UC and she is finishing up a M.Eng. in Computer Science here at UC. Vince Nowaczewski successfully completed his Ph.D. qualifying exam in March. This summer he will be in northeastern Nevada where he will be mapping the

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This summer is already filling up. The weekend after finals I will head to Reno where I am presenting a talk and a poster at the Geological Society of Nevada symposium (postponed from 2020). A few days later I will lead a 5-day field trip for the department around central and northern Nevada. I will likely do some more field work, including mapping with Vince at Spruce Mountain and leading several undergrads to do field work on the Spruce Mountain landslide in Nevada. Several undergraduate students will be working with me this summer on DEM landslide analysis, shear-wave velocity analysis, and landslide statistical analysis projects…more about this next year. Additionally several of the students will assist with GRP and refraction seismic analysis of areas along Cooper Creek and at the TEMMS along the Great Miami River. Those projects are spearheaded by Reza Soltanian and Dylan Ward. Additionally, I will be working on several grant proposals and will be working on manuscripts throughout the summer and fall. We are going to Maui for a week in July which will be a really nice break.

It was a busy publication year with 8 papers released in the last year. One of them involved building a set of paleogeographic maps to document changes in late Paleozoic sedimentation and tectonism in eastern Nevada (Cashman and Sturmer, 2021, P-cubed). During the making of this paper my co-author and I realized that the traditional Antler Orogeny story doesn’t really match the

data we collected (more on this in next year’s edition).

A set of papers focused on late Paleozoic sedimentation in western North America, including a summary of the late Paleozoic in North America (Sturmer et al., 2022, P-cubed), Adam Jones’ MS thesis work in the Oquirrh Basin (Jones et al., 2021, P-cubed), and the influence of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains on sedimentation in the mid-continent (Wang et al., 2022, P-cubed). My former M.S. student Nick Ferry and I ran a field trip to several landslides in the Las Vegas area as part of the 2022 GSA joint Cordilleran/Rocky Mountain section meeting (Ferry and Sturmer, 2022, GSA). I also co-authored papers with several graduate students in our department, including papers focused on a debris flow in Mammoth Caves (Bosch et al., 2021, Journal of Cave and Karst Studies), geophysical analysis of compound bar deposits (McGarr et al., 2021, Hydrological Processes), and modeling carbon dioxide injection in fluvial deposits (Ershadnia et al., 2022, Chemical Engineering Journal). Finally, I was the lead author on 3 meeting abstracts and co-author of 9 other abstracts.

This has been a busy teaching year as well. Last fall I two versions of our Careers in the Geosciences class, one at the 2000-level and one at the graduate level. This is the first time that the class has been taught at multiple levels, and it was a great success. This spring has been very busy for teaching. I taught three courses, including structural geology, Earth surface processes, and a newly-developed 7-week natural hazards course for UC Online. Next fall will also be busy, with Careers in the Geosciences (undergrad and grad), Applied Geophysics, and co-teaching regional tectonics seminar with Craig.

We are also planning to have the Career Days event in fall 2022, probably in September. If you are interested in participating, please let me know!

Photo Captions: 1. Washoe Valley seismic survey deployment crew including students and faculty from UC and University of Nevada, Reno.

2. Burros joining our Blue Diamond landslide field trip 3. La Madre landslide deposit (gray) atop Jurassic Aztec Sandstone (tan and red) 4. XRF analysis of paintings in the UC art collection.

5. Presented a poster with Stefan Fiol (left) from CCM looking at the how landscape geomorphology influences the evolution of drumming patterns in a valley in the Himalaya of India.

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Carl Brett The past year was a bit rough from end to end. My old Silver Toyota Sienna (2004) finally gave up the ghost, without much fanfare. That vehicle had carried so many loads of rocks and fossils, kids and students; in 2020, its transmission nearly gave out and for a while, I thought it was over. But with a change of trans fluid the old car began shifting more and more easily and the minivan and had a remission for nearly another year. I had hoped to get it over 300,000 miles and almost but not quite made it. In February, our entire family got Covid for a second time, despite having shots and booster, both times it was not much worse than a cold, but the after effects may have contributed a bit of fatigue and malaise that have plagued me for the past months.

On the other hand, the year had its highpoints. In June, 2021, former PhD student Christopher Aucoin completed and defended a dissertation detailing the onset of the Richmondian invasion, a coordinated immigration of over 50 species, mainly from warm water tropical areas, into the Cincinnati region, that took place in a couple of phases ~446 MA, each one occurring abruptly in just a single small scale cycle. Chris also documented the relationship of early phases of this bioevent to a detailed sea level history and disturbances of the global carbon cycle.

My current students, colleagues and I resumed more active field work in several areas. PhD student, Cole Farnam has established the presence of the latest Ordovician (Hirnantian) strata in Ohio, which, though perhaps less than 100 Kyr after the great Hirnantian extinctions, show an already well established Silurian fauna, indicating a remarkably rapid recovery to a new relatively stable fauna that then largely persisted for millions of years into the Silurian. We continued sampling of Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana and spent time working with colleagues at the Ohio Geological Survey core facility at Delaware, Ohio analyzing drill cores from central Ohio and integrating with outcrop studies in the Upper Ordovician and Silurian.

Masters student Josie Chiarello made good headway in sampling and assembling data pertaining to two newly proposed Late Ordovician faunal invasions of corals, stromatoporoid sponges and varied brachiopods. We measured and sampled several newly blasted roadcut sections and made extensive faunal counts. She will finish her thesis this summer.

Allison Young worked toward completion of her dissertation on sub-surface-outcrop stratigraphy of the Lexington-Point Pleasant formations and also moved up to an important position as geologic project manager for Tetra Tech, an environmentalengineering firm; she will be working with our department to develop student internships with this company.

During the pandemic, I worked with undergraduate student 18 | The Upper Crust

Sam Little on the extensive collections of the famed Dry Dredger, Steve Felton, who passed away in 2019. Sam worked diligently on the project and subsequently has become an active Masters student. He is making further important discoveries on the patterns of the famed Richmondian Invasion. His project also illustrates the very productive relationship we have with the Cincinnati Dry Dredgers, America’s oldest and one of the largest and most active amateur paleontological groups. Sam is fully documenting strata in a “research trench”, which has been excavated on private land by Dry Dredgers Dan Cooper and Matt Phillips; Sam’s work is also partly supported by the Dry Dredgers funds. In turn, I am working with these individuals and others to help document and publish on their many excavation sites around the world.

In May 2021, I spent a week with family near Nashville, Tennessee and I combined this trip with field work with colleagues and former PhD students Pat McLaughlin (PhD, 2006; now at the Illinois Geological Survey after several years at the Indiana Survey) and Jay Zambito (PhD 2011; professor at Beloit College). Pat and Jay were sampling Devonian and Mississippian rocks in the nearby region for phosphatic sediments at very interesting new sections near Gallatin and Westmoreland, TN. There is currently an effort to sample and studying the geochemistry of nodules of calcium phosphate minerals: not just because our country’s phosphate supplies are dwindling, but because some of these nodules also contain concentrations of rare earth elements used in multifarious high tech applications including the manufacture of cell phones, digital cameras, and LED lights.

Our former student, Tim Paton (MS 2017) and I spent a couple of excellent days studying new Ordovician sections south and east of Nashville. A very exciting discovery was a new roadcut with the famous Millbrig bentonite, in a ditch, which was resting on a remarkable bed of phosphate pebbles with even a few whole trilobites, apparently buried alive by the ash.

During a very productive week in central New York State, I worked with several colleagues and students, including Pat McLaughlin (more phosphate prospecting) and ran a special multi-day field trip course for my students, and visited localities where I am doing research in conjunction with some very dedicated amateur paleontologists. I also spent time at the Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) near Ithaca, NY. Together with PRI director Warren Allmon and Greg Dietl, Director of Collections, my long-term collaborator, Gordon Baird (Emeritus, SUNY Fredonia) and I received funding from the National Science Foundation to curate, database, and fully document our Devonian research collections amassed during four decades of field study in New York.

PRI will dedicate an entire floor of a newly renovated building to housing these collections. We are working with PRI to make certain that this archive is fully documented. We will also produce a digital atlas of Devonian fossils for the general public.

This process has also included writing monographic chapters on Middle and Upper Devonian strata in New York to be published as a major book through PRI this year.

During the summer of 2021 there was a great deal of activity literally right outside the door of the Geology-Physics Building. Excavations for the new Clifton Court Hall, in the space be-

tween our building and Clifton Avenue, began to take shape in July and by August there was a major exposed pit section ~5 m deep for the basement section and an additional 6 m side-hill excavation for the wall of the building. Together, these cuts provided an excellent, though completely ephemeral, exposure of the middle Cincinnatian (Late Ordovician ~447 Ma) Miamitown, Bellevue, and Corryville members. These units were named in the early 1900s, for exposures near the University, but in the present day, most all of the old type exposures are under concrete in this very urbanized area. Fortunately, I was able to document these beds in some detail in photos and measured sections before they were covered. Although they accidentally destroyed our extensive “rock piles”, which I have used in teaching for years, the folks from Messer Construction kindly brought up several large blocks from the basement excavation and made them available for our study. Thus, we were able to learn new things from strata literally right under our feet at UC. Two new undergraduate students Nathan McCarthy and Bianca Neale, inspired me with their skills and motivation. They were so excited and focused that they began going out to fossil localities on their own almost every weekend. The had wanted to find a rare and beautiful type of fossil echinoderm, an edrioasteroid or seated star, a dime- or quarter-sized disk with a five-rayed “starfish” webbed together with scale-like plates. I had told them of a locality where a specimen of this rare fossil had been found on an earlier field trip. During a warm day in February, they sent me a cell phone photo of a slabs covered with the rare fossil Isorophus cincinnatiensis-the official fossil of our fair city (really; Google it!). I challenged them to find the layer in place and sure enough they found it 4 meters up on both sides of the roadcut. They brought back many dozens of specimens, including a slab with more than 130 specimens, one of the densest occurrences ever found. Nathan studied the size distribution and interactions among these tightly packed encrusting animals. This past April he presented their findings at the North Central Section of Geological Society of America here in Cincinnati.

We had hoped to get back fully to face-to-face teaching in 2021, after the difficult and often isolating 2020, but that was not to be. It was a bit of a juggling act trying to come up with virtual classes and still cater to the students who came in to school. I broadcast and recorded most of my classes from the University. I still ran some single day field trips by spacing students out in large vans and having them wear masks except on outcrops. Yet, I found these students to be genuinely plugged in and quite appreciative to be getting back out on real rocks again. The up and coming freshmen and sophomore cohorts were among the best I have taught in 45 years. In fact, they were an inspiration to me and reminded me why I do not want to retire any time soon.

Field Trip Groups Field trip group at Trammel Fossil Park, Sharonville, Saturday April 9, 2022. Note Professor Dave Meyer (far left), Ben Dattilo (center), new UC graduate student Ian Forsythe, next to Ben on right and immediately behind undergraduate Nathan McCarthy (seated), and Cole Farnam (second from right). Photos by Stephen Pekar (Queens College), next to Nathan.

Nathan McCarthy (green coat) makes and interesting discovery at Lawrenceburg, IN, examined by Carl and others.

The latter GSA meeting occupied a good deal of time in the winter of 2022. Professors Craig Dietsch and Rebecca Freeman (University of Kentucky) as well as our Dan Sturmer, coconvened a very successful meeting where our colleagues and students made nearly 50 presentations. I plugged away during the winter and early spring of 2022 and produced two new articles/guidebooks on the Ordovician and Silurian sequences, chemostratigraphy, cycles, and depositional environments in the Tristate Area.This was done in collaboration with colleagues Ben Dattilo (UC PhD, 1994; now at Purdue university, Fort Wayne) and Chris Waid of Ohio Geological Survey, PhD student, Cole Farnam, and Kyle Hartshorn (Dry Dredgers), a remarkably skilled avocational stratigrapher. In the end, we ran two full-day field trips that were well attended and seemingly very well received. In turn, we made some important new connections. The two guidebooks, each with a major stratigraphic synthesis, will be published, one each, through the Ohio and Kentucky Geological surveys.

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Note from the Undergraduate Program Director

Dylan Ward It’s hard to believe I’ve been here at UC for a decade this August. In that time I’ve graduated five individual graduate students with four M.S. and two PhDs awarded between them, working in the Teton Range, the San Rafael Swell of Utah, the central Kentucky karst, and the Andes of northern Chile. These landscapes provide exceptional examples of landscape evolution: by glaciation, by stream incision through layered rocks, by dissolution.

They are all great landscapes for adventure.

ongoing climate change in Earth’s long history. This has created an opportunity for us to communicate beyond the classically geologically-oriented students, and also a challenge. How do we use our limited number of credit hours to develop students who have enough technical depth in one or a few narrow fields to call themselves experts, yet are broadly trained enough to work effectively with interdisciplinary teams, and to act as independent and flexible problem solvers?

Taking over as Undergraduate Program Director this past year has been a different kind of adventure. I’d like to start by saying that I got off to a good start thanks to Carl Brett; we have all benefited from all his years of service in the role and his deep care for and personal investment in our students. Carl showed me all the things he was doing for our students over the years and I was amazed, many that are well beyond the defined scope of the job, but, I think, vital to the community of the department. Carl, and Krista Smilek, always have the answer when I get in too deep. Thanks to Krista, too, who is always in touch with our students and makes this job possible, and irons out all the technical lumps that come up along the way.

Looking to the future, we would like to maintain and strengthen the core Geology BS program, including a rigorous field component and a high co-required science and math requirement, while broadening the appeal and reach of the geosciences to students with interests in other sciences and engineering, planning, business, and even arts and music. We have noted a strong student interest in working on research projects, and in learning not just background knowledge, but how to do things. The ongoing development of the geochemistry teaching lab, the TEMMS groundwater research station, and the reintroduction of the departmental, alumnisupported undergraduate research grants program are all contributing to a reinvigoration of undergraduate research in the department. In addition, we are gearing up to re-envision our BA program to serve a larger number of interdisciplinary dual-majors who would like to gain the unique deep-time perspective that our department provides.

I come into this position as the department is going through a transition of sorts, (although such change is perhaps the more typical state of affairs). Our name change to the Department of Geosciences reflects the field of Geology outgrowing its name, or at least the common perceptions of its name. The geosciences comprise a broad and interdisciplinary field which is inclusive of classical geological methods and knowledge but is no longer defined by them. The relevance of the geologic deep-time perspective and systems-level understanding of the Earth to current societal needs and challenges has never been greater: from environmental protection and restoration, to a changing landscape of energy resources, water availability, natural hazards, and the context of 20 | The Upper Crust

And finally, I am always happy to hear what folks in various industries are seeing with regards to incoming employees, and how our program can help to make sure key hard and soft skills are in place.

Dylan Ward dylan.ward@uc.edu

Joshua Miller

The UC Office of Research is excited to announce the winners of the 2021-2022 University Research Council awards to faculty, who each received a $25,000 award for their two-year projects and to graduate students, who received up to $7,500 for summer research projects. The URC funding program is UC’s oldest and most prestigious internal funding mechanism. Since 1971, the URC has worked in partnership with the Vice President for Research to advance high-potential research, scholarship and creative work. As part of the Research2030 strategic plan for research, a new program focused on early-career faculty, the URC Faculty Scholars Research Award, was established last year.

“Such faculty represent the bright future for UC, and this program seeks to bolster their efforts early in their career to help them identify solutions to the complex questions, problems and challenges facing society,” says UC’s Vice President for Research Patrick Limbach.

Awardees were selected based on the quality, novelty and impact of their research, scholarship and creative activities, along with a clear potential to make further, sustainable contributions to knowledge creation and

improved societal outcomes. We are especially pleased that graduate students Megan Casey Corcoran and Madison Quinn Gaetano also received awards.

Project: When giants grow-up: Changes in dietary ecology and mobility of sauropod dinosaurs during their growth and maturity “Sauropod dinosaurs hatched from eggs no larger than soccer balls and could grow to be over 100 feet long, but the ecological and biological transitions necessary to accomplish this transformation are shrouded in mystery.

Using a unique collection of teeth from Rapetosaurus krausei (Sauropoda; Late Cretaceous, Madagascar) ranging from recently hatched to fully adult individuals, I will use tooth shape, tooth wear patterns, and geochemistry to establish the most comprehensive test for how diet and individual mobility changed with sauropod growth and development.

University of Cincinnati | 21

Eva Enkelmann

Editor’s note: Our former colleague (2013-2017), Dr. Eva Enkelmann, who is currently at the University of Calgary has created a marvelous website entitled Rocky Voices at (https://www.enkelmann.org/blog). I invite you to have a look at it.

Warren Huff One of the outcomes of having been associated with the clay science community for many years was a recent interview I was involved in with Kevin Murphy, a long-time colleague and the Executive Director of the Mineralogical Society of the UK and Ireland. You can watch the interview at (https://bit.ly/3vnGWC3).

And for those of you who would like to scroll back through the department’s history, including former faculty and staff plus campus buildings, there is a link at (https://bit.ly/35X1o2o).

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Reza Soltanian

Last year was another great year for me and my group here at UC. We have been productive both in terms of obtaining research funding and publishing peer-reviewed papers. Perhaps most notable accomplishment is obtaining $520k funding for our work on groundwater

and surface water exchange at the Theis Environmental Monitoring and Modeling Site (TEMMS) from NSF. In summer 2022 we will perform variety of field work from GPR surveys, piezometer installation, and water sampling for water quality analysis to data acquisition for

University of Cincinnati | 23

on understanding spatiotemporal dynamics of reaction hotspots in heterogeneous riparian sediments.

This work was published in Water Resources Research (volume 57, issue 12) where Corey showed that the interface between highly conductive sediments such as gravel and organic rich sediments such as silt are important in developing reaction hotspots.

river hydrodynamics using acoustic doppler current profiler. I have hired a highly computational postdoctoral scholar, Pei Li, who will join us in April 2022. Pei has been working at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory before joining UC. Below I highlight three of our important publications in 2021.

NSF postdoc fellow Corey Wallace finished his postdoctoral term and joined Geosyntec Consultant as a Senior Engineer. He will be missed but he is still collaborating with us at least. Corey’s last publication at UC focused

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PhD student Reza Ershadnia has been really productive this year. I would like to highlight his publication in the Geophysical Research Letter (volume 48, issue 23). In this work Reza investigated mechanisms that enhance lateral methane plume migration in shallow aquifer systems. He showed that representation of capillary pressure heterogeneity controlled by multiscale sedimentary architecture is necessary to capture multiphase flow dynamics of methane plume.

Tyler McGarr successfully defended his thesis and published a manuscript in Hydrological Processes (volume 35, issue 9). In this paper, Tyler coupled geophysical techniques with physical and chemical sediment analyses to quantify exchange dynamics between groundwater and river water in a compound bar deposit at TEMMS.

Photo Captions (Pages 30-32): 1. Conceptual model of surface water and groundwater exchange and nutrient transformation within heterogeneous fluvial sediments. Groundwater flow adjacent to a gaining river is primarily toward the river during baseflow conditions (b), but shifts away from the river as river stage rises during high-flow conditions (c), typically in response to storm events. As infiltrating river water delivers nutrients into the river bed and bank, aerobic respiration (green), nitrification (red), and denitrification (blue) hot spots develop in different facies based on their physical and chemical properties. Hot spots (orange) develop within intermediate conductivity facies adjacent to low conductivity, high organic matter sediments. Sediment grain size controls the magnitude of exchange and transport (indicated by the size and length of red arrows). From Wallace, Soltanian et al. (2021).

2. Example of multiphase flow and transport simulations of methane leakage in shallow unconfined aquifers by Reza Ershadnia. Two modeling scenarios in the left and right colums are the same in terms of permeability and porosity distribution and they only differ in capillary pressure (pressure difference at the gas-water interface) distribution. Comparing two scenarios shows that capillary pressure heterogeneity controlled by underlying sedimentary facies types places leading-order controls on lateral methane plume spreading in aquifer systems. From Ershadnia et al.

(2021).

3. Example of geophysical data collected by Tyler McGarr. (a) Measured electromagnetic induction (EMI) data displayed on the compound bar adjacent to TEMMS and within the Great Miami River. (b) Inverted EMI data using numerical models by Tyler for each bottom of layer depth.

Warmer colors indicate high electrical conductivity associated with finer grained sediments. Cooler colors indicate low electrical resistivity associated with gravel- and sand-dominated facies. Tyler found warmer colors correspond to cross-bar channels fills that are baffle to flow but are ideal sites for contaminant and nutrient transformation. From McGarr et al. (2021).

4. Corey Wallace and Tyler McGarr installing cameras at the Theis Environmental Monitoring and Modeling Site in Summer 2021.

5. Installing groundwater wells using a Geoprobe in April 2022 at Theis Environmental Monitoring and Modeling Site. Three new shallow monitoring wells were developed.

6. Tyler McGarr and Reza Ershadnia taking groundwater samples the Theis Environmental Monitoring and Modeling Site.

7. Tyler McGarr and Sage Peterson (from Targeted Compound Monitoring) working on installation of in-situ Vulink and Aqua Troll 200 In-Situ sensors in observation wells at the Theis Environmental Monitoring and Modeling Site.

8. A wonderful day outside at UC Science Day in May 2021. Corey Wallace, Reza Ershadnia, and Tyler McGarr demonstrating grounswater contamination and plume migration using our aquifer kit.

9. Portions sediment cores extracted from the Theis Environmental Monitoring and Modeling Site are now part of the ice age exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Beautiful demo of sedimentary architecture observed in glacial deposits!

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and the 2022 NC/SE GSA sectional meeting in Cincinnati OH through an oral communication. Kaaviya did a fantastic job and showed outstanding oral communication skills and handled questions professionally. Well done, Kaaviya! I am proud of our UC students and feel fortunate to work with highly motivated and enthusiastic students who keep me engaged and teach me how to become a better mentor and scientist.

I am looking forward to starting my new role as editor-in-chief of the journal PALAIOS, a bimonthly academic journal dedicated to the study of life through Earth history, published by the Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) since 1986. In this position I have the chance to read and handle numerous peer-review articles on scientific topics ranging from paleontology to sedimentary geology.

Yurena Yanes

This academic year has been full of exciting events in my research group. My two PhD students, Catherine Nield and Ezekiel King Phillips, both passed their qualifying exams and are working on various new research projects to complete their dissertations.

Catherine Nield is planning fieldwork this summer to collect fossil land snails in Alaska. We plan to collect samples throughout various Quaternary Loess, permafrost, and archeological deposits around central Alaska. Ezekiel (Zeke) King Phillips is working hard in the lab analyzing the stable isotope composition of numerous modern and fossil land snails from Ohio and Kentucky to assess their dietary ecology. Both students are working really hard to graduate next year.

Together with Catherine and Zeke, I organized a technical session on “Actualistic Paleontology: Learning from the modern to better interpret the past” in the North Central/Southeastern Geological Society of America (GSA) sectional meeting, celebrated in Cincinnati OH. The session was a success, covering a broad range of topics, and included many student presentations.

I have continued working with undergraduate student Kaaviya Muruganantham. She completed a research project and presented her results in two scientific conferences, the 2021 GSA annual meeting in Portland OR through a poster presentation,

Finally, my career has taken a turn after accepting a position as a rotating Program Director in the National Science Foundation (NSF), where I manage the Sedimentary Geology and Paleobiology program (SGP) of the Division of Earth Sciences (EAR) under the Directorate of Geosciences (GEO). This new professional opportunity is allowing me to expand my scientific and administrative skills, and augment my training and education in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion issues in STEM fields. I’m looking forward to seeing what new opportunities may come in the near future.

Amy TownsendSmall About to present to City Council about the importance of reducing #methane emissions!!

Our landfill is the largest methane emitting landfill in the USA! @CityOfCincy

Photo Captions: 1.Yanes’ lab at East Fork Lake, Ohio. From left to right: Catherine Nield, Kaaviya Muruganantham, Yurena Yanes, Zeke King Phillips.

26 | The Upper Crust

David Nash As some of you know and many of you don’t know, David Nash has (had) a brain tumor. It came on very sudden and he had surgery this morning. He was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday, as he was having problems moving. After a lot of testing, he has a brain tumor that was fairly large and fast growing. Ruth Anne called me last night to tell me David was going to have surgery this morning. I was waiting to share the news until after I heard back from Ruth Anne.

Please see her note below: David is certainly a loved member and character in our department and community! Please keep him in your prayers, thoughts, or whatever to you to bring good energy!

It was a very long day of surgery, but David’s surgeon told us that it went as he had expected. They resected his tumor, removing 90+%, which is what the surgeon had told us to expect. The tumor is very near parts of the brain that control motor function and sensation on the left side, so they could not get all in that area. David withstood the surgery pretty well, and when I saw him at about 7pm was alert and pretty well-oriented but in a great deal of pain at the surgical site.

I am hoping that they can get the pain under control, so that he can rest more easily and maybe even sleep. (Some of you know he spent four days and nights in the ER waiting for a bed, and essentially had no sleep this past week.) It was hard to judge his motor function tonight; his surgeon thinks that there will be a little more weakness on that left side initially, but that it should subside over the courses of days to weeks.

The tissue samples have been sent to pathology and for DNA testing. Those results should take about 2 - 3 weeks, after which we will know more about next steps. In the meantime, he will need in-patient rehab (they are still talking about Tuesday for that transfer, but that seems really fast - hopefully, he’ll seem more able tomorrow).

Again, I want to thank you all for your love and support, and ask that you continue to send it our way. Right now, we have things pretty well in hand. Nathan is here with his girlfriend Andrea, who is basically managing the home front.

David’s sister and her husband arrive tomorrow. Because of COVID protocols, visitors are really limited, so we will just have to continue to let you know how things are going this way.

I am grateful to you all.

Ruth Anne

Attila Kilinc

This is my last Newsletter before retirement. On April 12, 2022, I gave my last lectures in my courses “Physical Geology” and in “Earthquakes and Society”. It was a bittersweet experience for me. I felt relaxed thinking that I do not have to prepare to teach and at the same time I felt, after 52 years of teaching at UC, I will no longer be with students. I was fortunate to be a member of this department.

But, as they say, “life is short, eat desert first”.

I feel our department is in good hand with many very talented faculty who will continue to add to the reputation of the Department, College, and the University.

Our immediate plans include flying to Athens, Greece in August and taking a cruse which will stop at several Greek Islands including the Santorini. A volcano that I always wanted to see. Perhaps, a year later we plan to fly to Los Angeles and take a cruse trip which will go through the Panama Canal. George Rieveschl used to tell me more than 20,000 people died from malaria during construction of the Panama Canal and he was suggested to work on malaria rather than the drug he invented: Benadryl. Since then, I wanted to see the Panama Canal.

I will continue my research on thermodynamic analysis of silicate melts and perhaps learn more on artificial intelligence and machine language.

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Department of Geology Graduates 2021 -2022 Congratulations to all the Graduates of the UC Geology Department!

Summer 2021:

Spring 2022:

Dean Sampson, BS Lisa Shantz, BS William Wright, BS Samantha Niewierowski, BA Reza Ershadnia, MS Rachel Bosch, PhD

Wade Bernhardt, BS Patrick Boylson, BS John Car, BS Austin Gentry, BS Frank Guy, BS Kyle Roberts, BS Amanda Somerville, BS Maegan Thomas, BS Jesse Bacha, MIN Abigail Kelly, PhD

Fall 2021: Matthew Miller, BA Maxwell Linder, BA Evan Rouse, BS Reed Sanchez, MS Christopher Aucoin, PhD

28 | The Upper Crust

Summer & Fall 2022 Reza Ershadnia, PhD Allison Young, PhD Tom Uhl, MS Josie Chiarello, MS Andrew Michel, MS

Alumni News

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Alumni 1960’s HENRY SCHOCH (BS ’66) Judy and I weathered the Covid storm without incident, received our second Pfizer shots in mid-February, and have resumed a modest social life. Among other things, we meet a large group of NPS retirees every other week for supper at one of varied restaurants hereabouts – outdoor venues if possible, but sometimes we throw caution to the winds. Post-inoculation, I volunteered several mornings at Grand Junction’s largest vaccination center, mostly helping to herd folks through the process. But one morning I was tasked with disinfecting the clipboards and pens used by registrants. We were processing about 500 people per hour, and found it almost impossible to keep up with the flow. It reminded me of the I Love Lucy episode at the candy factory.

Sadly, though the State of Colorado has done a pretty good convincing its citizens to get poked, the very conservative western-slope county where we reside has a lot of endemic dyed-in-the-wool resistance.

Thus, we’re snuffling around at the bottom of the pile with the likes of Mississippi. On the other hand, many of my neighbors could recite the 2nd Amendment verbatim, except, of course, for the well-ordered militia part.

Even during the worst of it, I made a point of getting out just about every day for a bike ride or a hike or a bit of photography.

One of my indoor diversions was to delve for the first time into higher magnification photography. I found a long-discontinued but like new Nikon PB-6 bellows on eBay, a focus rail, and a new Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens with aperture ring (something of an oddity in the digital age) and began to experiment.

30 | The Upper Crust

A while back, a friend showed me a little sliver of amber that he bought at a rock shop in Moab, earlier provenance unknown. Packed with it, however, was a penciled notation on a scrap of paper. “Termite,” it said. And sure enough, there was a little dark speck of something trapped inside. Stem to stern, the insect is about 1/16-inch long.

A bit of online research reveals that the majority of amber comes from the Kaliningrad Oblast, a curiously detached bit of Russia wedged between Lithuania and Poland on the Baltic coast. Lesser amounts originate in the Dominican Republic and a few other spots around the globe. If Russian, then the hapless insect got mired down in sticky pine sap during the Eocene, about 44 million years ago. If Dominican, then it was enveloped by the sap of an extinct species of Hymenaea about 25 million years ago. Either way, it’s a very old insect, one whose state of preservation puts to shame anything the ancient Egyptians were ever able to accomplish.

The surface of the amber was irregular and reflective, so I had to try various camera and lighting angles to get a decent result. Each of the attached images is a composite of from twelve to sixteen separate frames aligned and merged digitally to achieve greater depth-of-focus.

I shared the resulting images with a local geologist friend* whose grandson is an entomologist. The grandson confirmed that the insect is indeed a termite based on the number of abdominal segments and the beaded nature of the antennae.

Additional insanity: I read somewhere that immersion in CO2 would temporarily anesthetize spiders and insects. Accordingly, I repurposed a peanut butter to create a gas chamber. I used Shrader valves with their inner cores removed as inlet and outlet, and a bicycle tire inflator to slowly meter gas flow so it wouldn’t batter or freeze the bugs. It works, except that when asleep, the top-heavy little critters fold up their legs and roll over, so it’s impossible to arrange them in a lifelike pose, and when they revive after a few minutes, they’re itchin’ to go and won’t sit still long enough for me to shoot a stack of photos. And so, a failed experiment, at least for now.

This is all for now.

Take care, Hank *William (Bill) Hood, who worked for Amoco, among other jobs, and later taught at Southern Illinois University. Have you ever crossed paths with him?

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Alumni 1970’s BILL HARMON:

WHAT IS A GEOLOGIST INTRODUCTION

“Back around the mid-teens [i.e., 19-teens], Jack H. Lowe of the Sidney, Nebraska Telegraph described the geologists as he saw them – men who had often frustrated him in his efforts to get a good story. ‘If you see a man walking down the street with oil on his shoes, where it shouldn’t be, and no oil on his hair, where it should be, that’s an oil man. If he has a faraway look in his eye and seems to be contemplating the depth of the first Jurassic sandstone in Persia, that’s a geologist. Have pity on him. He’s just as lonesome as he looks.

He’d love to tell you everything he knows, but he doesn’t know how. When he greets St. Peter at the gate and is asked to give an accurate account of his life on earth, he’ll start out saying, ‘Well, whatever I say I don’t want to be quoted because you can ++-never tell what might happen, but…’ That, my friends, is a Geologist.’’” (Blakey, 1985, p.

1).

“Petroleum geologists are a special breed. Walter Youngquist once wrote that ‘little boys who pick up rocks either go to prison or become geologists. They are Boy Scouts who hated to give up camping when they went to college so they majored in geology. After all,’ he explained, ‘what other business could an individual be in and go to the Grand Canyon or the Swiss Alps and claim he was working?’” (Blakey, 1985, p. 2). “’A man simply cannot become a geologist,’ wrote newspaperman Lowe, in the Midwest’s early days of petroleum geology. ‘He is born one, raised as one and educated as one. It requires a certain kind of temperament, a deliberate sort of speech and patience beyond measure. A geologist listens to more silly questions than any other human, and he must weigh each question and devise each answer with the greatest of skill. He must 32 | The Upper Crust

be able to talk at length without disclosing what is foremost in his mind. He must know how to be polite but firm, decisive but evasive, positive but negative, effusive but quiet… Furthermore, a geologist must know what is going on down in the depths of Mother Earth, and that something we always thought was reserved for the Lord.’” (Blakey, 1985, p. 3).

NO GEOLOGISTS WANTED: An oil scout is a general handyman. He is an information man who watches wildcat wells, reports on showings, finds where leases should be taken, and keeps tabs on everything that’s happening in the neighborhood in the oil business. Now young fellow, I’m not hiring you as a geologist. You’re a scout.

You can use geology if you want to, but the oil companies don’t have much to do with geology.

They don’t have any confidence in it. And if you could use your geology, that’s all right, that suits me fine, go ahead. But you’re not employed as a geologist. (Walter Wrather, about the oil business in 1905, in Blakey, 1985, p. 60) TOO DAMN MANY QUESTIONS: “Most operators in Oklahoma relied on their ability to ‘smell’ oil. If they were not adept at that, they sought out an undiscovered oil seep or drilled near someone else’s success. They thought little about geologists one way or another. Some looked upon the sudden crop of educated youngsters as dandies. One driller refused to let a geologist on the derrick floor because he wore one of those “fancy new” wristwatches. Others saw them as competition. A geologist who approached a well near Dale backed off when he spotted a shallow grave with headboard and footboard near the well. At the foot of the grave were the toes of a pair of boots sticking up; on the headstone was scrawled “He asked too damn many questions.” (W. Dow Ham, in Blakey, 1985, p. 61) “The oil geologist must have all of the knowledge and skills that an Eagle Scout should have, plus special education and training in the scientific field pf geology. Star study, map making, pioneering, camping, marksmanship, cooking, first aid woodcraft are only a few of the things he must learn. Added to all this he must have the

courage and enthusiasm for his job that will carry him on to remote and dangerous corners of the globe.” (Dr. Bela Hubbard in Our Oil Hunters, in Blakey, 1985, p. 72) “The geologist is the keystone of a great arch involving not only his own but many other industries. No other group has done more to raise living standards worldwide. I like to quote this little statistic to my lawyer friends. Less than 10,000 active petroleum geologists, and lesser numbers in the past, have pointed the way to trillions of dollars worth of energy for the benefit of mankind. By comparison, there are millions of lawyers in the United States and hundreds of thousands in government. Their numbers are increasing pari passu with the trillions of dollars of our national, state, municipal, and private debt, plus the scores of billions of annual government waste, for all of which they are chiefly responsible. But, for the grace of God, I might have been one of them” (Lewis Weeks, in Blakey, 1985, p. 107) “If I were a barrel of oil, comfortably located in a pool, hidden in a trap deep in the ground, the region I would be safest for me – where I might live out another 50 or 100 million years in peace and dignity – would be in some country where minerals and exploration are nationalized. The reason is that in countries such as these, there is but one hunter, and the chances of eluding him are far better than the chances of being discovered. The most dangerous place for me to live, as a barrel of oil, would be in the United States where there are thousands of hunters and each has a different weapon.”

(A. I. Levorsen, in Blakey, 1985, p. 129) “I regard geology as a cultural subject, as much so as art or literature. In the dictionary sense, it contributes to the ’training and refining of the mind.’ It does so, in particular, by making us aware of the immense sweep of geologic time and of the vast forces operating in the earth as we see it today.” (Lewis Weeks, in Blakey, 1985, p. 160) “We usually find oil in new places with old ideas. Sometimes, also, we find oil in an old place with a new idea, but we seldom find much oil in an old place with an old idea. Several times in the past we have thought we were running out of oil whereas actually we were only running out of ideas.” (Parke A. Dickey, in Blakey, 1985, p.

166)

Many geologists eager to impress their employers or clients, proceed to pad their reports with geological terms and other impressive-sounding phrases. E. H. Cunningham-Craig was not impressed. “It should be the geologist’s endeavor to try to see how short a report he can write, provided all the essential matters are covered, and not how long he can make it. …The geologist should write out his report three times, each time making it shorter by cutting out all that does not seem absolutely necessary.

“Clearness is no less essential. Technical geological terms should be eschewed as much as possible, because it is probable that for most of those who read a report few will have more than a smattering of geological knowledge. It is not difficult to explain in simple language all that can be conveyed by sesquipedalian scientific phraseology. … it is not enough that the writer is clear in his own mind upon a point, he must set it down so that the reader cannot fail to be clear in his own mind as to what is meant to be conveyed. …

Therefore, short crisp sentences, without conditional clauses, should be the rule.”

“Graces of style and the neat turning of phrases are to be avoided; it is possible to give a literary flavor to scientific work, … but it is not literature that is required from the field geologists, but facts. If in reading over the draft of a report one comes across any sentence with which one is particularly pleased, the wisest course is to cut it out at once. Be literal rather than literary.”

“The point most essential of all is to stick to facts. If the certified facts cannot be given, the geologist must say so clearly. “To the best of my belief …”; “As far as I could determine ..”; ”It seems to me that …”; and many other similar phrases should be tabooed. Indeed, the geologist should avoid as much as possible the first-person pronoun and to write the report in the third person The report will read better and will appear more forcibly to both scientific and commercial readers if the writer does not intrude his personality, but allows the facts as ascertained by him to speak for themselves.” (in Blakey, 1985, p. 182, 175).

Reference: Blakey, E. S., 1985, Oil on their shoes – Petroleum geology to 1918: Tulsa, OK, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 191 p.

University of Cincinnati | 33

J. TODD STEPHENSON (MS ’79) I was recently appointed by the State of Ohio and the Ohio History Connection to be a member of the Ambassadors group which is responsible for the UNESCO World Heritage nomination for the Ohio Hopewell Earthworks sites in Ohio. I am the lone geologist on that committee. Dr. John Hancock, UC Professor Emeritus - Historical Architecture is one of the strong leaders of the group. I have worked on documenting the diverse geological provenance sites of the raw materials that the ancient indigenous utilized for creating the amazing artifacts that have been found in the Ohio Earthworks. Following is a summary of my volunteer work for that group.

I am scheduled to give three lectures next summer at Fort Ancient Earthworks & Nature Preserve in Oregonia, Ohio. They will follow a common theme of, “Geologic Origins of Ohio Hopewell Artifacts.” I would highlight the possible origins of each raw material, examples of artifacts made from each material, locations of artifacts found in Ohio and the possible meaning of each. It will be a brief overview of this information but will draw upon the acknowledgement of the ability of the indigenous people to be very good geologists, artisans, traders, miners, etc. I plan to focus on Four Categories of Raw Materials: highlight the differences of the categories; identify location/provenance/geography of the raw materials; what does the raw material look like in outcrop; distance of transport; examples of crafted artifacts; possible meaning/utilization of artifacts.

1.

Element - Example – Copper (Great Lakes).

2.

Mineral - Example – Mica (Southern Appalachians).

3.

Rock - Example – Obsidian (Yellowstone NP).

4.

Fossil - Example - Shark Teeth (Chesapeake Bay).

I also plan to use a theme of the ancient Native Americans in Ohio were incredible “earth scientists and engineers.” (You could even highlight they were keen on STEM before STEM was cool!). Based on the material I have read from many sources and including the Ancient Ohio Trail website, I have summarized that they were characterized by some of the following things: Aware & observant of surroundings - habitat setting (higher terraces for earthworks); soil types (agriculture and mound building material); high ridges for land trails; streams, rivers, creeks for water-borne transportation; atmospheric observations with focus on solar and lunar phases Exploration - know what clues to look for, where to look and were curious; oral traditions passed down Experimentation – e.g. - what type of clay makes the best pottery or what type of tempering additives made a difference to the pottery; what kind of flint makes the best points; trial and error assessment of utility Extraction - collect from surface or in streams; primitive engineering practices on following & mining veins of ore Processing - make preforms to consolidate material in order to make it easier to transport Transportation - hiking and/or canoeing; understanding topography and stream drainage patterns Construction - build/create weapons, tools, implements, vessels, decorations, ritual objects; build and design massive and intricate Earthworks and engineer them to last Artistry - effigy carvings in various earth materials; fashioning stencils, jewelry, using copper or silver or mica; painting using pigments from selective minerals Accurate units of measurement (mathematics and geometry; civil engineering/surveying) Astronomical understanding of lunar, planet and star movements Division of labor: manual laborer, farming, hunting, architects, craftsman, artisan efforts, etc.

Education/training by oral tradition and practice (original home schooling approach) View the procurement of raw materials as a quest for power, prestige, maturity, etc.

Trade relationships - “supply chain” issues

WILLIAM “BILL” HARRISON Harrison interview, 9/21/2021 https://news.yahoo.com/storing-carbon-dioxide-undergroundcurb-235500013.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=fb&tsrc=fb

34 | The Upper Crust

GARY TAYLOR (MS ’74) Editor’s note: Gary and his family live in Colorado where he is currently President of the Board of Directors of the Wet Mountain Broadcasting Corp/KLZR Radio in Westcliffe, CO, and is also a regular host on station KLZR (91.7), The Mountain Express Wednesdays, 7:00-8:00 AM and Valley Views, an interview show.

Gary has soaked up music wherever he has lived, including Cleveland (rock, folk), Chicago (blues), New Orleans (Dixieland), Cincinnati (bluegrass) and Warsaw/Krakow (euro). Growing up in the tall shadow of Cleveland DJ “Moondog” Alan Freed, he was introduced to radio as a DJ for a schoolmate’s basement station in junior high.

He also works with the High Mountain Hay Fever Bluegrass Festival, coordinates the Summer in the Park concert series, and is an organizer of the High Peaks Music (Folk) Festival. With TC Smythe he has been part of the singer/songwriter duo Smythe & Taylor for the past 20 years, taking them from New York to San Francisco, Canada, London, Oxford, Paris, Poland, The Netherlands and Ireland.

In his past life he was a paleontologist and geologist and is pleased to be living on top of the Precambrian of the Wet Mountain Valley. He and Kathy will be celebrating 50 years of marriage this summer.

JOHN KUNDTZ Thanks Warren, I am headed on a short vacation this week, so I will send the books down when I get back.

I will also include the original photos if you like them as well - Now that I have digital copies, I would be happy to part with the originals.

Speaking of ties and jackets, I found this picture from one of Wayne’s Modern Sedimentology Field Trips to Florida.

Much different dress code from Paul’s Class! Brings back good memories ...

Take care, Stay Safe and Healthy, John

STEPHEN D. MEYERS (MS ’77) Published in the Cincinnati Enquirer, April 29, 2022 Obituary Stephen D. Meyers of Goshen. Beloved husband of 45 years to Helen (nee Young) Meyers. Cherished father of Stephanie Meyers (William Ingstrup). Proud grandfather of George Ingstrup. Dearest son-in-law of June Young. Dear brother-in-law of Rosemary Young. Cherished friend, admired teacher, and mentor to many. Brilliant scientist. Passed away April 27, 2022 at the age of 72. Family and friends will be received Thursday, May 5 from 10:30-11:30 AM at St. Columban Church, 894 Oakland Rd., Loveland, where Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11:30 AM. Interment Gate of Heaven Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, plant a tree in his honor. tuftsschildmeyer.com

University of Cincinnati | 35

RON BROADHEAD

The offshore Mancos play in the San Juan Basin as a component of the Mancos total petroleum system Ronald F. Broadhead

ABSTRACT Historically, the offshore Mancos play of the San Juan Basin has produced oil from noncommercial to marginally commercial reservoirs consisting of dark-gray marine shale with thin beds and laminae of fine-grained sandstone of limited permeability. During the last decade, horizontal drilling with horizontal wells has resulted in substantially increased production. However, placement of the offshore Mancos play within the Mancos total petroleum system has been poorly understood. Here, the offshore Mancos play is interpreted as a carrier bed play within the Mancos total petroleum system.

Unconventional reservoirs of the offshore Mancos play are stratigraphically equivalent to updip conventional reservoirs deposited nearer to the shoreline and to downdip source rocks matured to peak oil generation. Offshore Mancos facies include a proximal facies to the southwest, a medial facies, and a distal facies to the northeast. Oil production has been obtained from the proximal and medial facies.

Mancos shales contain oil-generative kerogens that are within the upper oil window near conventional reservoirs in the south and have matured to peak oil generation downdip of and to the northeast of the offshore Mancos reservoirs. Uniform API gravities of light sweet produced oils that transcend thermal maturity variations of Mancos shales indicate that oils generated in downdip mature source rocks migrated updip through the carrier bed sandstones of the offshore play and into the conventional reservoirs.

Residual oil saturations are consistent with the concept of migrating oils moving updip through only a small number of interconnected pathways within a carrier bed.

Copyright 2021. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists. All rights reserved.

Manuscript received March 11, 2020; provisional acceptance April 30, 2020; revised manuscript received September 15, 2020; final acceptance November 19, 2020.

DOI:10.1306/01152120038

Bulletin,Crust v. 105, no. 9 (September 2021), pp. 1765–1777 36 | AAPG The Upper Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/aapgbull/article-pdf/105/9/1765/5386874/bltn20038.pdf

by Warren Huff on 07 September 2021

1765

AUTHOR Ronald F. Broadhead ~ Emeritus, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (New Mexico Tech), Socorro, New Mexico; ron.broadhead@ nmt.edu Ron F. Broadhead, emeritus principal petroleum geologist at New Mexico Tech, studied shales under Paul Potter at the University of Cincinnati and subsequently worked for Cities Service Oil Co. in Oklahoma.

From 1981 until retirement in 2020, he worked for the New Mexico Bureau of Geology, a division of New Mexico Tech, as a petroleum geologist, where he also taught petroleum geology.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Two anonymous AAPG reviewers, John Breyer, and Frances Whitehurst (AAPG technical geologic editor) reviewed the paper and offered helpful and substantive suggestions. Their reviews are appreciated.

DATASHARE 135 Cross sections are available in an electronic version on the AAPG website (www.aapg.org/ datashare) as Datashare 135.

STEPHEN REIDEL (BS ’70, MS ’72) (A note sent to Prof. Tom Algeo) Hi, I was just looking at your webpage for Geology. You did a great job with it. I received my BS in 1970 and MS in 72. I really enjoyed the ‘4-day field trips’ page. I was on 3 of them and they were great learning experiences. I shocked my wife with my picture in the photo from 1967. I had just started geology after transferring from physics. I was taking Warren’s into class and Frank’s mineralogy but because I was a junior, I was told I should go. It was a great field trip and combined with Warrens and Frank’s classes, I was hooked; I knew geology was for me. I retired from the Pacific NW National lab in 2008 and became an adjunct at the branch campus for Washington State University; I just ‘retired’ from that. Your webpage reminded me how great the UC Geology department is and how much I learned from great faculty. I was really surprised to see Attila still teaching but glad to see it. I learned Thermo and ore geochemistry from him which were really great classes. Keep up the great work

Alumni 1980’s GEORGE LOSONSKY (MS ’83, PHD ’92) Hi Warren, yes I’m still in Baton Rouge. My youngest son lives here too, he works as an environmental driller. My older son is a chef in Chicago, where he spent 7 years working for Grant Achatz at Alinea and related restaurants. He’s a Kent State graduate. My oldest, Nadia lives in Austin where she does landscaping/gardening. So two out of three inherited the “I want to work outside” bug from dad.

The two pics are: Nissan stadium after the game on January 22, and Geha (Arrowhead) Stadium after the game on January 30.

George Losonsky, PhD, PG

University of Cincinnati | 37

BILL HANEBERG (MS ’85, PHD ’89) is the lead author on a report of potential radon exposure in Kentucky. And Sarah Derouin (PhD ’08) has described the publication in an article published in EOS. It’s an interesting mix of geoscience and health.

Read the entire article: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2020GH000263

RESEARCH ARTICLE 10.1029/2020GH000263 Key Points: RESEARCH ARTICLE • Bedrock geologic units in Kentucky

10.1029/2020GH000263 have lithologically controlled

indoor‐radon potential Carbonate sedimentary rocks Key• Points: generally have higher indoor‐radon • Bedrock geologic units in Kentucky potential than nonshale clastic have lithologically controlled sediments and sedimentary rocks indoor‐radon potential • We used geologic map coverage and • Carbonate sedimentary rocks radon test results to produce an generally havestatewide higher indoor‐radon interactive indoor‐radon potential than nonshale clastic potential map for nonspecialists sediments and sedimentary rocks • We used geologic map coverage and Supporting Information: radon test results to produce an • Supporting Information S1 interactive statewide indoor‐radon • Table S1 potential map for nonspecialists

Supporting Information: Correspondence to: • Supporting Information S1 W. C. Haneberg, • Table S1 bill.haneberg@uky.edu

Citation: Correspondence to: W. C., Wiggins, A., W. Haneberg, C. Haneberg, Curl, D. C., Greb, S. F., Andrews, bill.haneberg@uky.edu W. M. Jr., Rademacher, K., et al. (2020).

A geologically based indoor‐radon potential map of Kentucky. GeoHealth, Citation: 4, e2020GH000263. https://doi.org/ Haneberg, W. C., Wiggins, A., 10.1029/2020GH000263 Curl, D. C., Greb, S. F., Andrews, W. M. Jr., Rademacher, K., et al. (2020).

Received 27based APR 2020 A geologically indoor‐radon Accepted 2 NOV 2020 potential map of Kentucky. GeoHealth, Accepted article online 10 NOV 2020 4, e2020GH000263. https://doi.org/ 10.1029/2020GH000263 Author Contributions: Conceptualization: Ellen J. Hahn Received 27 APR 2020 Data curation: Douglas C. Curl Accepted 2 NOV 2020William C. Formal analysis: Haneberg, Amanda Accepted article onlineWiggins, 10 NOVStephen 2020 F. Greb, Kathy Rademacher, Mary Kay Rayens Author Contributions: Funding acquisition: J. Hahn Conceptualization: EllenEllen J. Hahn Investigation: StephenC.F.Curl Greb, Data curation: Douglas William M. Andrews Jr. C. Formal analysis: William Methodology: C. Haneberg, Haneberg, AmandaWilliam Wiggins, Stephen Amanda Wiggins, Douglas Mary C. Curl, F. Greb, Kathy Rademacher, Kay Stephen F. Greb, William M. Andrews Rayens Jr., Kathy Rademacher, Mary Kay Funding acquisition: Ellen J. Hahn Rayens, Ellen J. Hahn Investigation: Stephen F. Greb, (continued) William M. Andrews Jr. Methodology: William C. Haneberg, Amanda Wiggins, Douglas C. Curl, Stephen F. Greb, William M. Andrews Jr., ©2020.

Kathy Rademacher, The Authors. Mary Kay Rayens, Ellen J. Hahn This is an open access article under the (continued) terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is notThe used for commercial purposes. ©2020.

Authors.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial HANEBERG ET AL. License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited and is not used for commercial purposes.

38 | The Upper Crust

HANEBERG ET AL.

A Geologically Based Indoor‐Radon Potential Map of Kentucky C. Haneberg ,Based Amanda Wiggins , Douglas C. Curl , Stephen F. Greb , AWilliam Geologically Indoor‐Radon Potential William M. Andrews Jr. , Kathy Rademacher , Mary Kay Rayens , and Ellen J. Hahn Map of Kentucky 1

2

1

1

2

1

2

2,3

1

Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA, 2BREATHE, College of Nursing, University of

1 1 3 William Haneberg Wiggins2 Research , Douglas C. Curl1 Sciences, , Stephen F. Greb , Center for Appalachian in Environmental University of Kentucky, Kentucky,C. Lexington, KY, USA,, Amanda William Jr.1 , Kathy Rademacher2 , Mary Kay Rayens2 , and Ellen J. Hahn2,3 Lexington,M. KY,Andrews USA 1

Kentucky Geological Survey, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA, 2BREATHE, College of Nursing, University of Abstract We combined (median duration 4 days) home radon test results with Center short‐term for Appalachian Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Kentucky, Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA, 371,930 1:24,000‐scale bedrock geologic map coverage of Kentucky to produce a statewide geologically based Lexington, KY, USA

indoor‐radon potential map. The test results were positively skewed with a mean of 266 Bq/m3, median of 122 Bq/m3, and 75th percentile of 289 Bq/m3. We identified 106 formations with ≥10 test results.

Abstract We combined 71,930 short‐term (median formations duration 4showed days) indoor‐radon home radon concentrations test results with Analysis of results from 20 predominantly monolithologic 1:24,000‐scale bedrock geologic map coverage of Kentucky to produce a statewide geologically based to be positively skewed on a formation‐by‐formation basis, with a proportional relationship between 3 3 of indoor‐radon map.deviations.

The test results were(median positively mean of(median 266 Bq/m median sample meanspotential and standard Limestone 170skewed Bq/m3)with and adolostone 130, Bq/m ) 3 122 Bq/m and higher 75th percentile of 289 Bq/m3. We identified 106 formations with(median ≥10 test67results. tended to ,have indoor‐radon concentrations than siltstones and sandstones Bq/m3) 3 Analysis of results fromdeposits 20 predominantly monolithologic formations or unlithified surficial (median 63 Bq/m ). Individual shales hadshowed medianindoor‐radon values rangingconcentrations from 67 to 3 3 to189 be Bq/m positively a formation‐by‐formation basis, with a proportional relationship between ; the skewed median on value for all shale values was 85 Bq/m . Percentages of values falling above the sample means and standard deviations.

Limestone 170Bq/m Bq/m33were ) andsandstone dolostoneand (median 13024%, Bq/m3) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) action(median level of 148 siltstone: 3 tended to have higher indoor‐radon concentrations than siltstones and sandstones (median 67 Bq/m ) unlithified clastic: 21%, dolostone: 46%, limestone: 55%, and shale: 34%. Mississippian limestones, and Devonian black shales3).had the highest indoor‐radon potential orOrdovician unlithifiedlimestones, surficial deposits (median 63 Bq/m Individual shales had median values values ranging from 67 to 3 in Kentucky. testfor mean valuesvalues for thewas selected formations were also weakly,falling but statistically 189 Bq/m3; theIndoor‐radon median value all shale 85 Bq/m . Percentages of values above the significantly, correlated with mean aeroradiometric uranium concentrations.

Tosandstone produce a and mapsiltstone: useful to 24%, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) action level of 148 Bq/m3 were nonspecialists, we 21%, classified each of46%, the 106 formations into radon‐geologic classes onlimestones, the basis unlithified clastic: dolostone: limestone: 55%, andfive shale: 34%. Mississippian of their 75th percentile radon concentrations.

The statewide is freely available through interactive Ordovician limestones, and Devonian black shales had the map highest indoor‐radon potentialanvalues mapIndoor‐radon service. ininternet Kentucky. test mean values for the selected formations were also weakly, but statistically

significantly, correlated Summary with mean aeroradiometric uranium concentrations.

To produce map of useful Plain Language Exposure to high levels of radon is the second leadingacause lung to nonspecialists, we classified each of theincreases 106 formations into five radon‐geologic classeswho on the basis cancer in the United States and greatly the likelihood of lung cancer in people are also ofexposed their 75th percentile radon concentrations.

The statewide is freely available through an interactive to tobacco smoke.

Produced by the radioactive decay ofmap naturally occurring uranium in rocks, radon internet map into service. gas migrates homes where it and its radioactive decay products can be inhaled by humans. We know that different kinds of bedrock produce different amounts of radon. To illustrate the danger posed by Plain Language Summary Exposure to high levels of radon is the second leading cause of lung indoor radon in Kentucky, we combined results from 71,930 radon home test kits with geologic maps cancer in the United States and greatly increases the likelihood of lung cancer in people who are also showing different kinds of bedrock and produced a geologically based and highly interactive indoor‐radon exposed to tobacco smoke. Produced by the radioactive decay of naturally occurring uranium in rocks, radon potential map of Kentucky. Our map is available as a web‐based interactive service hosted by the Kentucky gas migratesSurvey into homes whereonly it and its radioactive decay inhaled by humans.

We to Geological and requires a desktop or mobile web products browser tocan use.beThe map also includes links know that different kinds of bedrock produce different amounts of radon.

To illustrate the danger supplemental information that users can access to better understand the indoor‐radon danger in theirposed by indoor radon in Kentucky, combined results fromand, 71,930 radon home test kits geologic maps counties, encourage them towe have their homes tested, if appropriate, mitigate thewith problem. showing different kinds of bedrock and produced a geologically based and highly interactive indoor‐radon potential map of Kentucky. Our map is available as a web‐based interactive service hosted by the Kentucky Geological Survey and requires only a desktop or mobile web browser to use. The map also includes links to 1. Introduction supplemental information that users can access to better understand the indoor‐radon danger in their More than 225,000 new cases of lung cancer and almost 143,000 deaths from lung cancer were estimated to counties, encourage them to have their homes tested, and, if appropriate, mitigate the problem. have occurred in 2019 in the United States (American Cancer Society, 2019). Radon gas—a geogenic carcinogen produced by the radioactive decay of naturally occurring uranium in rocks and sediments—is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States (Al‐Zoughool & Krewski, 2009). Exposure to both 1.radon Introduction and tobacco smoke increases the probability of lung cancer: The lifetime risk of radon‐induced lung 3 cancer when exposed 148 Bq/m indoorand radon is 62143,000 per 1,000 ever smokers compared to 7 per 1,000 to More than 225,000 newtocases of lungofcancer almost deaths from lung cancer were estimated never smokers (Mendez et al., 2011; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2009).

Among never smokers, have occurred in 2019 in the United States (American Cancer Society, 2019). Radon gas—a geogenic carciexposure to radon mayradioactive be more harmful those exposed to secondhand smokeand (Lagarde et al., 2001). nogen produced by the decay offor naturally occurring uranium in rocks sediments—is the secRecent studies haveofalso relationships radon exposure both breast risk to andboth ond leading cause lungsuggested cancer in the Unitedbetween States (Al‐Zoughool & and Krewski, 2009).cancer Exposure radon and tobacco smoke increases the probability of lung cancer: The lifetime risk of radon‐induced lung cancer when exposed to 148 Bq/m3 of indoor radon is 62 per 1,000 ever smokers compared to 71per 1,000 of 13 never smokers (Mendez et al., 2011; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2009). Among never smokers, exposure to radon may be more harmful for those exposed to secondhand smoke (Lagarde et al., 2001).

Recent studies have also suggested relationships between radon exposure and both breast cancer risk and 1 of 13

JAMES A. HARRELL (PHD ’83) Professor Emeritus of Geology, Department of Environmental Sciences, The University of Toledo Hi Warren, It is good to hear from you. I hope you are well. Yes, of course, you can mention the New Yorker article. It’s funny though, I get more attention from an off-hand remark I make to a journalist with the New Yorker than I do for any of the papers I publish in professional journals. I guess I should be happy with the notoriety any way I can get it. By the way, my big news is that I just finished the book I’ve been writing these past several years, “Archaeology and Geology of Ancient Egyptian Stones”, and this will be published as a two-volume box set by the University of Toledo Press sometime in the latter half of 2022. I’m not done yet with Egypt -I head back there for more fieldwork in late October.

Did Spacemen, or People with Ramps, Build the Pyramids?

Elon Musk said aliens did it (“obv.”), but an amateur Egyptologist in Mississippi tested out a homemade lever gizmo to lift a two-ton block.

By Ben McGrath August 23, 2021

S

cholars generally suppose that the ancient Egyptians built pyramids, those mysterious mon

toil, with the help of earthen ramps buttressed by mud bricks. Pyramid stones are heavy, aft

tons apiece, on average. A nice draggable slope could explain how, if not exactly why, people stack

toward the sky, without cranes or internal combustion. Count Elon Musk among the skeptics (“A

pyramids obv.,” he tweeted last year), along with Roger Larsen, a former newspaper editor in Co

With best regards, Jim Harrell

Though not a conspiracy theorist, Larsen likes to say that, given a choice between an explanation

For the entire article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/30/did-spacemen-or-people-with-ramps-build-the-pyramids

JEFFREY SPENCER (BS ’80)

Mississippi Postcard August 30, 2021 Issue

“I’d have to go with aliens,” noting that an eight-per-cent incline leading to the top of the Great

would need to be more than a mile long, its volume possibly exceeding that of the pyramid itself all the debris go after demolition?

Like many amateur Egyptologists, Larsen, who was a woodworker before founding Mississippi’s

the Columbus Packet, has his own construction theories, nurtured over hundreds, if not thousand

and tinkering, and he has gone so far as to fashion a homemade device that he thinks could have enabling lifting rather than dragging. It resembles a mashup of a giant wooden rowing machine

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/30/did-spacemen-or-people-with-ramps-build-the-pyramids

University of Cincinnati | 39

Alumni 1990’s New Species of Fossil Named After Geology Professor Robert Gaines | Pomona College in Claremont, California - Pomona College

9/9/21, 9:17 AM

BOB GAINES https://www.pomona.edu/news/2021/09/08-new-species-fossil-named-after-geology-professor-robertgaines?fbclid=IwAR0O_wBhsw2m5gfLX6Fwfp9yywWBgMv2jLKnZUMewkD0lnUQ5vJSpZMACoY Robert R. Gaines

https://www.pomona.edu/directory/people/robert-r-gaines

! / News and Events / News / New Species of Fossil Named After Geology Professor Robert Gaines

New Species of Fossil Named After Geology Professor Robert Gaines SHARE "

Story Date: Wednesday, September 8, 2021

A

Photo by: Royal Ontario Museum

fter years of uncovering fossils and discovering species from millions of years ago, Pomona College Dean and Geology Professor Robert

Gaines now has one named after him.

It’s a doozy.

Ancestral to arthropods such as crustaceans and insects, the long-extinct animal’s name is Titanokorys gainesi, meaning “Gaines’s titanic helmet.” https://www.pomona.edu/news/2021/09/08-new-species-fossil-named-…d=IwAR1v1vGjexOM9s8rSotIqVnwPiDEvIVjzlIg3cQGjqN4HgGr4lFTLHk-thE

40 | The Upper Crust

Page 1 of 4

MARK KREKELER (BS ’95, MS ’98) Editor’s note: Mark Krekeler’s geotechnology research is highlighted in Scientific American, https://bit. ly/3OwMu4B. The project was funded by the National Institute of Justice and has involved several Miami students and staff. Attached is a photo of Mark and his lab assistants.

ADVANCES Remote Rescue Reflected light can reveal forensic details far below a drone Volunteers sometimes spend months trudging through remote terrain to search for lost hikers or crime victims.

But a new tool could soon pinpoint forensic evidence from the sky instead. By identifying how traces of blood and other human signs reflect light when found on various natural surfaces, the scientists say searchers will be able to quickly scour large areas for clues about missing persons—dead or alive—using images acquired by drones.

Special drone-mounted sensors can record wavelength intensity for the entire electromagnetic spectrum (rather than just the red, green and blue of a typical camera) in each pixel of an image. Geologists routinely use this technology to pinpoint mineral deposits. Mark Krekeler, a mineralogist at Miami University in Ohio, and his col- leagues realized that the same approach, supported by the right spectral data library, could potentially detect forensic evidence.

To build their tool, the researchers measured how human-related features, including blood, sweaty clothing and skin tones, reflect different wavelengths of light. Previous studies have examined such reflective “signatures” to identify blood, “but the signature depends on the surface itself and may change over time,” Krekeler says. He and his team analyzed thousands of samples, such as bloodstains on different rock types, recording how they changed as the blood dried.

The researchers customized software that mixes the known reflective signatures of various surfaces to reproduce a target of interest. For example, rock and clothing sig- natures can be combined to seek a hiker lost in the mountains, or a blood signature can be mixed with those of clothing and sand to search for a wounded person in a desert.

The software estimates whether the target exists in any pixel in an image. It can distinguish between an animal and a human in dense forest, search a cityscape for evidence of a specific person in a blue cotton dress, or determine whether soil is stained Rescue drone by blood or diesel fuel, Krekeler says. His team was slated to present its work at the Geological Society of America’s meeting of the North-Central Section in April.

Wendy Calvin, a planetary scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno, who was not involved with the study, calls it “an interesting and novel use of spectral data— and the technique looks promising.” But she says it could be challenging to use from afar because of how much of a substance would likely be needed to show up in a pixel.

Within months, officials will be able to download and test the tool for themselves. Developing best-practice protocols for search teams could make such technology routine for investigations and forensics, Krekeler says. As drones and sensors become more widespread, he adds, they can transform investigations that are currently costly, laborintensive or even impossible. —Rachel Berkowitz University of Cincinnati | 41

Alumni 2000’s POSTED ON FACEBOOK BY ALEX BARTHOLOMEW 7/23/2021 Great couple of days in the field with some great folks! Here’s a pic of four Carlton Brett students out doing some fieldwork in the Lower Devonian of eastern N.Y. (L-R): Chuck Ver Straten, Pat McLaughlin, Jocelyn Sessa, and myself. Thanks to Paul Griggs for the great tour and help! Chuck and I are holding blocks of the Lower Devonian (Pragian?) Connelly Conglomerate with large phosphatic concretions and quartz pebbles, stratigraphically sitting on the Wallbridge Unconformity. Cementon, N.Y.

JANET BERTOG (PHD ’02) As some of you might know, our former student Janet Bertog (PhD ’02) has established a very successful lapidary and jewelry business in Utah. Her website is https://heathercanyon.com.

RONALD COUNTS (PHD ’13) https://news.olemiss.edu/geologists-investigategeological-history-of-nations-capital/

Graduate students Kristian Macias (left) and Jodi Messick and Ron Counts, MMRI associate director, dig in the Smithsonian National Zoo to collect a gravel sample for age dating. Photo

by Thomas Graning/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services

42 | The Upper Crust

SARAH DEROUIN (PHD ’08) (12/7/21) Things are fine here-- I recently started a new job at the University of Michigan. I’m the Public Relations Specialist for the School of Information. UMSI faculty and researchers use information and technology to solve problems. I write about the cool research projects and interdisciplinary work on topics ranging from education, to environment, to security. It’s been a fun change and really interesting to tell the stories of people trying to make the world a better place. https://eos.org/articles/detailed-geologic-mapping-helps-identify-health-hazards Detailed Geologic Mapping Helps Identify Health Hazards - Eos

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NEWS FROM AGU JOURNALS "

7/27/21, 3:03 PM

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Detailed Geologic Mapping Helps Identify Health Hazards A team of geologists and nursing researchers created an interactive radon hazard map for Kentucky residents—and it was possible only because of the high-resolution bedrock mapping in the state.

Geologically based indoor radon potential map of Kentucky. Map category breaks were converted from local customary units of picocuries per liter (1 picocurie per liter = 37 becquerels per cubic meter (Bq/m3)) and rounded upward to the nearest 10 becquerels per cubic meter to simplify the map legend. Credit: Haneberg et al., 2020, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GH000263, CC BY 4.0

By Sarah Derouin ! 7 hours ago It sounds like the beginning of a joke: What do you get when you put a team of geologists and nurses in the same room? But the answer is no laughing matter for Kentuckians.

Although smoking itself is a well-known health risk—and Kentucky dances around the top spot for cigarette smokers in the United States

https://eos.org/articles/detailed-geologic-mapping-helps-identify-health-hazards

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University of Cincinnati | 43

Alumni 2010’s CATHERINE DUNN (MS ’16) Laboratory Manager, Stanford University I manage the Cosmogenic Isotope Laboratory and co-manage the laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) lab in the Stanford Isotope Geochemistry Measurement & Analysis Facility.

I previously ran the Earth Materials Laboratory (mineral separation, rock preparation, and cosmogenic nuclide laboratories), which involved health & safety and hands-on equipment training for all lab users.

I have inventoried and modernized the equipment and procedures in the Earth Materials Lab and managed the chemical inventories. I have also been involved with school-level space planning and design of new laboratories.

DANIELLE BULLOCK

Health, Safety, Security, Environment (HSSE) Coordinator

at World Fuel Services

JULIA WISE O’SHEA (MS ’12, PHD ’16) Julia and her husband Brian P. O’Shea are delighted to announce the arrival of their son Brannan Wise O’Shea born January 13th, 2021.

“He’s 6 months old yesterday (7/13/2021), vocal, opinionated, curious, and joyful. He is also very dubious of solid foods.”

LAUREN WASSERSTROM (BA ’12, MS ’14) I recently started a new position as the National Practice Leader for Lead and Copper Rule Compliance at Jacobs Engineering. In this role, I am responsible for assisting utilities implement the new Lead and Copper Rule requirements that controls lead and copper levels in drinking water and developing the overall compliance strategy for the firm. The regulation was recently updated and there are substantial changes in the rule that will make it challenging for many water systems across the country to meet the new requirements. It is a very exciting and eventful time to be involved in lead!

Prior to joining Jacobs, I spent the past 3.5 years working for the Greater Cincinnati Water Works overseeing the lead corrosion control program and monitoring drinking water quality in the distribution system. There are so many different avenues to apply geology and the water industry is such a wonderful field where you can help protect public health. I hope everyone in the department is doing well. I look forward to staying in touch and hearing what others are up to in the newsletter!

44 | The Upper Crust

From LinkedIn (12/3/21)

SONIA K. SANCHEZ-LOHFF (MS ’16) 1stProduct (UX/UI) Designer | Geologist turned Designer With thanksgiving having just passed us by and the new year on the horizon, I thought it would be a good time to share that I have officially graduated from the Springboard program with my UX/UI Design Career Track Certification!

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to take this past year to learn a whole new skill set, an opportunity which I am aware not everyone is afforded. If you had asked me a year and a half ago where I would be, I would never have guessed it would be in a new city with a new career. The global pandemic has forced many of us to adapt, and I am grateful for this call to action and where it has led me.

I have many people to thank for instilling the confidence in me to take this leap: Nicole DeGabriel, Adrian Sanchez, Miguel Sanchez, Jenni Loveless, and Samantha Miller to name a few. Thank you for your constant encouragement and support throughout this journey.

I have met some wonderful friends and colleagues along An Incomplete History of My Journey | by Sonia Sanchez | Sep, 2021 | Medium the way: Neha Roy, Ranae Fithian, Kyssha M., Andrea Rule, and Buddy C.. Thank you for keeping me sane with our occasional chats throughout the course and for all your help !"#$%&!%#'()* with impromptu usability tests! !"#$%%$&'(

Thank you, Werner Griesel for keeping me grounded and informed with our weekly mentor calls. You really helped me get unstuck when I was at an impasse and always provided helpful real-world insights in the form of a humorous analogy (a highly underrated educational tool, in my opinion).

Ashlynne Cochran, thanks for helping me stay on track with my goal and for all your guidance! You were always so helpful. To Springboard students out there- lean on your student advisors for support!

I’m looking forward to my next steps as we near the mark of yet another full rotation around the sun! 2021 was such a transformative year, let’s see what 2022 will bring!

UI/UX Design Career Track • Sonia Sanchez Lohff • Springboard

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The story of my transition from geology to UX/UI design

!"#$"%&'()*"+%#+"$,"-+&.,"$(*%+"()-'(./ &+%/.-"+&"+#0/"+%/"1/#'"()+&"+%/"2)0)&3)4 5%/"'#+%"+&"*/&1&*, Part of my childhood was spent in Norway escaping for hours into the forest behind my house to play make believe in the fort I had built, filling it with sculptures I had made out of acorns. Since I was little, I have always had a vivid imagination and a natural inclination to create all things beautiful.

University of Cincinnati | 45

Fast forward ten years, where I am entering college at

Alumni 2020’s RACHEL BOSCH 10/12/2021 Announcing this year’s GSA Karst Division Awards: Early Career Scientist Award-Dr. Rachel Bosch

WESLEY PARKER (10/14/21) Hey Facebookland, long post ahead but it’s announcement time!

As many of you know, I’ve been living in Montreal and working as a Postdoctoral Fellow since July 2020. In that time, I’ve fallen in love with Quebecois culture, the stunning beauty of Canada, and with Mathieu Allard. I have also, simultaneously, fallen out of love with academia. So about 6 months ago I started applying for a range of professional opportunities around the world, and a few weeks ago I was awarded one.

So, it is with great excitement—but no small amount of sadness—that I announce I will be leaving Montreal at the end of the year to pursue a permanent job with the KPMG Climate Change Risk and Decarbonization Strategy team in London, UK. I don’t have an exact start date yet (due to visa processing delays) but my new bosses and I project it will be sometime in January. So, I plan to spend the winter holidays with my family in Pennsylvania and Ohio and will be departing for England shortly after the New Year.

I am also incredibly fortunate to announce that Mathieu has applied for, and has received, a visa to live and work in the UK as well, and that we will be relocating across the pond together. I must admit I take great comfort in the fact that I will not be making this intercontinental move alone, and I am eager to see where our adventures take us in the coming months.

I am also so grateful for all the friends and memories I have made in Montreal, and for the love and support of my family and friends back in the US. This is a big new adventure, and I’m honestly a bit petrified sometimes, but I’ve got an amazing network of people behind me and I’m excited to follow this new road wherever it may lead.

God Save the Queen

46 | The Upper Crust

Department of Geology Donors 2021 -2022 Thank You All for Your for Contributions to the UC Geology Department’s Continued Excellence!

Donors to Geology Endowed Funds 2021-2022 Eugene J. Amaral Ronald F. Broadhead Leland W. Burton Katherine D. Cosgrove Robert J. Elias Janet M. Elliott Frank R. Ettensohn Robert A. Ferree Mark and Connie Fisher Linda P. Fulton Janet G. Gasper Evelyn M. Goebel Wayne R. Goodman William L. Harmon Marzena Jaminski Lawrence P. Karasevich S Duff Kerr Elizabeth A. Krebes Jennifer J. Krueger George Losonsky Brian L. Nicklen

Lewis A. Owen Abigail E. Padgett Mary L. Pojeta Eric M. Redder Stephen P. Reidel Cornelia K. Riley Edgar W. Roeser Tod W. Roush Jocelyn A. Sessa Frederick C. Shaw Frederick E. Simms James T. Teller Mary T. Uhl Roy B. Van Arsdale Victor V. Van Beuren William A. Van Wie Vanguard Charitable Steven M. Warshauer Stephen G. Wells John M. Wunder

University of Cincinnati | 47

Department of Geology University of Cincinnati PO Box 210013 Cincinnati, OH 45221-0013

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