Beaker Briefs
TRACY GREGG
Research highlights from the desk, lab and field
UB geologist Tracy Gregg was hiking in Iceland’s Skaelingar Valley when she stumbled upon minarets of rock, dark and mysterious, rising from the grassy terrain. Having seen such structures on the ocean floor, she knew immediately what they were: pillars of lava, cooled Lava pillars in Iceland’s Skaelingar Valley. into stone. But while they made sense deep underwater, where high pressure prevents the explosion that would normally occur when lava meets water, she was mystified by their presence on land.
WHAT THEY'RE WORKING ON
WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT, IN 50 WORDS OR LESS
WHO'S LEADING IT
MindControlled Robots
It’s not the plot of a sci-fi movie. UB engineers are exploring the practical applications of braincomputer interfaces (BCI), which let people operate robots using only thoughts. The device they’re testing—a low-cost, non-invasive headset—might one day enable factory workers to drill, weld and assemble products hands-free.
Engineering researcher Thenkurussi “Kesh” Kesavadas
Children’s Literacy
The country in which a child is born matters more than traits like cognitive ability in determining whether he or she will have basic reading skills, according to a study analyzing test scores from 186,725 fourth-graders in 38 nations. It’s a case of nurture trumping nature, the project director says.
Learning and instruction researcher Ming Ming Chiu
The Future of Coral
In parts of the Caribbean, divers have noticed that tree-like corals called gorgonians seem to be thriving even as other species struggle. A new, $1-million study looks to quantify this phenomenon and determine why it’s happening, providing clues as to how reefs may change as our planet warms.
UB geology researcher Howard Lasker, together with Cal State Northridge colleague Peter Edmunds
In a new study, Gregg proposes her theory of how the Skaelingar towers formed:
JIM KOPP
When water and lava meet on land, there’s usually an explosion as water vaporizes into steam. But on the ocean floor, where high pressure prevents combustion, no such boom occurs. Instead, hollow rock pillars form as columns of heated water rise between lobes of lava (see below and right). Gregg Bird’s-eye view thinks lava pillars in Iceland’s Skaelingar Valley formed the same way. The area Heated water may have been covered by a pond when columns a nearby volcano erupted in the 1700s. She proposes that the lava was moving so slowly, it was able to react with the water in a “gentler way.”
Side view
2
As the water meets the molten rock, which is even hotter, the lava cools to form a crust.
3 Glassy Drips
Shiny droplets of rock gnarled the pillars Gregg saw in Iceland, suggesting that the lava cooled in the presence of water, slow enough to form drips, but fast enough to not form crystals.
HOWARD LASKER
JIM KOPP
1
A stream of scalding water, originating from the wet ground below, rises between lobes of lava.
The resulting structure—which stays standing after the eruption ends and lava levels fall—is hollow, like a straw. Alien Life
Since these pillars form when lava and water mix, we can look for them on Mars and other planets to determine where extraterrestrial water may have once existed.
At Buffalo SPRING 2014
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