2009-2010 lsu geology alumni newsletter

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The 2009-10 LSU Department of Geology & Geophysics Alumni Newsletter Geology & Geophysics Newsletter Photo Credit: Simon Nielson

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Alumni Newsletter on all events between Fall 2009 - Spring 2010 academic year

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The 2009-10 LSU Department of Geology & Geophysics Alumni Newsletter

Geology & Geophysics Newsletter

Photo Credit: Simon Nielson

Geology & GeophysicsNewsletter

CONTENTS STUDENT NEWS 02 DEVELOPMENT 06 FIELD CAMP 08

THE ATRIUM 09 FACULTY UPDATES 12

EDITOR & DESIGNERCarol WicksJosh Garland

CONTRIBUTORSEmilia GilbertJohn W. GrubbGeology & Geophysics faculty, staff, and students

The LSU Geology & Geophysics Newsletter is published annually for alumni and friends of the department. This publication reflects information and events occuring between July 1, 2009, and June 30, 2010.

Message from the ChairDear Alumni and Friends,

Happy New Year! As I write this, we are in the brief calm before the storm when students return to campus and another busy semester will begin. In the last year, LSU Geology & Geophysics has had many exciting developments that I’d like to share with you. Our programs are growing. The number of undergraduate majors has risen to nearly 100, and Field Camp was full in the 2010 summer semester. To accommodate the increase in undergraduate majors, the faculty from Geology & Geophysics and Petroleum Engineering collaboratively designed a new geology course that specifically meets the educational needs of the petroleum engineering undergraduate students. The course was offered for the first time this fall, and 78 students were enrolled. More than 50 students are enrolled in our graduate program; this includes 17 new master’s and four new PhD students. The work of our students and faculty is being noticed. Three graduate students were awarded grants from the AAPG program. The LSU team placed third in the regional Imperial Barrel Competition. Brooks Ellwood is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and Ray Ferrell and Brooks Ellwood received international awards. These are only a few of the awards and honors that have been received by students and faculty this past year. However, even this abbreviated list should convince you that the faculty and the students from Geology & Geophysics are well-respected. I thank the generous donors who have supported the department. These funds, which are always appreciated, are particularly useful and meaningful during these challenging economic times. Gifts to the department’s unrestricted fund have been used to purchase microscopes and to support students. Some gifts have been given for particular uses, such as replacing a broken utility pole at the field camp. Regardless of method or amount, all gifts are appreciated and are being used according to the donor’s wishes. Along with our growth, we’ve had some changes. A big surprise for the department this year was Ray Ferrell’s retirement. After more than 40 years at LSU, Ray decided to become our newest emeritus faculty member. As you might expect, retirement does not mean resting for Ray: he is off to Spain to write a text-book! Finally, Stacey Halphen accepted a position with LSU Career Services in late August. For several years, Stacey very expertly handled our recruiting, events, and communications and had the lead role in pro-ducing our newsletter. She has been missed, but we are pleased to welcome Josh Garland to our staff. Josh was most recently a recruiter in the LSU Admissions Office. He brings knowledge and experience of recruit-ing, financial management, and website design to the department. We look forward to working with Josh. When you have an opportunity to do so, please welcome him to Geology & Geophysics! The Alumni Newsletter is one of the ways we use to help you know what has been happening in the Department of Geology & Geophysics. I anticipate having more good news about the department and our students and faculty to share with you as the semester progresses. As always, if you have any questions about Geology & Geophysics, please feel free to contact me.

Sincerely,

Carol Wicks

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Greetings from Tiger Land! My name is Adam D’Aquin, the 2009-10 LSU AAPG Student Chapter President. This year our main goal was to continue the momentum started by the 2008-09 chapter, which was a pretty hard act to follow. However, I’m pleased to report that from tailgates to technical talks, this was another banner year for the chapter. The past fiscal year was pretty rough and LSU has taken a hard hit financially. Unfortunately, the ef-fects were felt in student clubs and organizations as well. Subsequently, one of our main concerns was balancing the budget. Fortunately, we still had generous dona-tions from companies. With the extra effort from our membership, we were able to support our programs and initiatives and make this year a success.

The members of the chapter were able to rally together to host a tailgate before the LSU/Florida football game without any outside support. The weather wasn’t the best in the morning, but with the lure of ESPN College Gameday on campus, attendance was outstanding from both students and alumni. Thanks to all who helped, and to those who attended.

The other annual social event was the spring Crawfish Boil, where the threat of tornadoes and severe lightning almost caused a change in our plans. In the end, the weather held off, and more than 200 pounds of crawfish were devoured by students, faculty, and alumni. We would like to thank Devon Energy and alumna Angie Pell for the donation to make this event possible.

It wasn’t all fun and games this year. Fall recruitment was a success, with many students being interviewed and of-fered internships from more than 14 companies. I would like to thank Stacey Halphen for all of her hard work that makes this possible. In conjunction with recruiting, AAPG was able held several technical talks in the fall and spring. I would like to thank ExxonMobil, Devon Energy, Marathon, and Chevron for being gracious enough to put on these technical talks and workshops. Also for the first time, we were able to hold an AAPG Short Course. Dr. Fred Schroeder came to campus and gave an excellent course on Seismic Stratigraphy. This was met with rave reviews, and hopefully it can be an annual course.

This year, we were fortunate to have great opportunities to get involved in the community. We paired up with the Geology Club to host a benefit “Rock Concert” to raise funds for their group. Both chapters were able to rent out North Gate Tavern, just off campus, and various local bands were able to showcase their talents on stage in front of their peers. Attendance for this event was great. Our members also volunteered their time to the Annual AAPG Convention, which was held right down the road in New Orleans.

The National Convention is always a mainstay for AAPG, and to have it hosted in our own backyard this year was quite a treat. Many students went down days in advance to assist with the event set-up, and stayed throughout the week to work the department booth and lend a hand where needed. Not only did students donate time, but LSU was well-represented in the presentation department. Members of the chapter were able to showcase some of their research in the form of poster presentations. In all, the convention went well, and former Tigers should be proud of the department for its involvement.

An LSU team composed of Andrew Sampson, David Smolkin, Hongjiao Yu, Matt Clark, and I competed in the Imperial Barrel Award sponsored by AAPG. Our project, which won third place in the regional competition held in Houston, was focused in the Danish North Sea. Impres-sively, this is LSU’s second time entering the competition, and the first time it has ever placed. I would like to extend our gratitude to our advisor Dr. Jeffrey Nunn, and to Erik Scott and Dr. Alan Brown for the time they spent helping and mentoring us with this project.

Lastly, we closed out the year with the annual field trip that led the AAPG Tigers to invade beautiful Hot Springs, Arkansas. This is one the most complex geological sights in the region, but AAPG Vice President Sean Kerrin was up to the task of leading the trip. We spent four days looking at outcrops on both land and water. A pontoon boat was rented for a lake trip, and participants were able to hike the gorgeous trails in the area. We would like to thank Chevron for the donation that made this trip possible.

The LSU AAPG chapter continues to grow and gain respect nationally as one the premier AAPG organizations. This would not have been possible without the support of faculty, students, and alumni chapter members and their generosity. We hope you’ll continue to support the chapter in the future. I would like to thank my executive commit-tee, without whom none of this would have been possible:

AAPG Student Chapter Update

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Sean Kerrin (vice-president), Andy Harrison (secre-tary), David Smolkin (Treasurer), and Andrew Samp-son (social chair). I wish Andrew Sampson the 2010-11 chapter president, and Timmon Drumm (vice-president), James Crain (Secretary), and Bolu Owola-na (treasurer), the best in the coming year. I know they have great things planned already. Geaux Tigers!

Thanks y’all,

Adam D’Aquin

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The Geology Club and Hess Corporation, along with the Department of Geology & Geophysics, hosted the third Rock Star Lagniappe poster contest on Friday, October 15, 2009. This event was developed by Dr. Annette Engel and Dr. Phil Bart to give students an opportunity to share and showcase their research with their professors and peers. Student posters were judged on content, organization, and overall visuals. All of the posters entered in the contest were superb. First place honors were given to Clint Edring-ton. Amy Spanziana received second place, and third place went to Sandra Garzon.

Geology Highlights Its Rock Stars Lagniappe Poster Contest

Geology Club UpdateThe Geology Club at LSU is driven by its membership to engage with the community and strive for excellence in every endeavor.

The Geology Club visits with elementary through high school students in the Baton Rouge area to share our love and interest in the study of Earth science.

The organization’s commitment to service goes beyond outreach within schools. The club also participates in educational events at LSU and around Baton Rouge. Every year, the Geology Club participates in the annual Ocean Commotion event at LSU by organizing and run-ning a geology-related booth that emphasizes hands-on science participation. GeoClub members have also helped with a Boy Scout Merit Badge hike. Our volun-teers participate in other regional events, including the Rockin’ the Swamp event at Baton Rouge Bluebonnet Swamp, Girl Scouts Merit Badge Day in St. Francisville, Louisiana, and 4-H Achievement Day.

The Geology Club also encourages social activities and interaction among majors and non-majors in the de-partment. One way this is accomplished is by holding tutoring sessions for students in the introductory level geology courses, and on occasion, for students in the upper-level geology courses. The club recently started a “Geosciences Careers Program,” series, through which local geologists are invited to speak at the club’s meet-ings. This allowsmembers to gain a better understanding of the career opportunities available to geologists. Most importantly, the club tries to foster a sense of cama-raderie and fun by getting together and enjoying each other’s company.

The club also enhances members’ geologic education through field trips. The club takes at least one day or weekend trip per semester and a week-long trip over the winter break. Geology is a very visual subject, and field trips provide invaluable hands-on experience. In addition to the opportunity to view examples of geology we learn about in class up close, the trips are helpful for members to get to know other geology majors.

Through its commitment to service, education, and its members, the LSU Geology Club continues to strive for and achieve excellence!

Thanks,

Kathleen Brannen

On January 10, 2009, 16 members of the LSU Geology Club left Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and surrounding areas in Ten-nessee. For five days, the group, which was made up of mostly geology majors, enjoyed hiking, visiting with the park’s scientists, participating in volunteer trail work, and caving. Not only did the group enjoy viewing geol-ogy from snowy trails, they were also able to take a tour of the park’s new science facility, where biologists are currently working on documenting every species in the park. While hiking, members helped clear areas of trails that were blocked by fallen trees and branches. The lat-ter part of the trip took the group outside of the park to eastern Tennessee. There, they visited Gray Fossil Site and Museum, an area where paleontologists are actively re-covering Miocene-age plants and animals. The group then traveled to the private Morrel/Worley Cave, where they were led on a challenging but amazingly beautiful and re-warding tour. A few members even waded in the cave’s waterway! Overall, the trip was a fun time had by all.

Thanks,

Kathleen Brannen

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Congratulations to the following graduate and undergraduate students who received departmental scholarships between

June 30, 2009, and July 1, 2010:

GAEMP NSFDennis Donaldson, Jason Hicks, Nchey Mbamalu

Newfield ExplorationRemy Leger

New Orleans Geological SocietyPhilip Bergeron, Dana Thomas, Amanda Zimmerman

Harriet Belchic Field CampSofia Miranda

Halliburton Field Camp Charles Dakoriye, Sarah Decoteau, Jesse Landreneau, Dana Thomas, Christopher Trantam, Eric Willoughby,

Patrick F. TaylorJesse Landreneau

Charles L. JonesChristopher Trantham

DevonMitchell Bennett, James Crane, Lenora Evans, Eric

Hart, Boluwatife Owolana, Remy Leger, Celina Wills

Marathon GeoDE Megan Arias, Amelia Chia, Dennis Donaldson,

Ryan Doubrava, Elizabeth Ingram, Sarah Keenan, Samuel Nowell

Henry V. Howe MemorialMichael Dixon and Benjamin Wallace

Dr. A. E. “Sandy” SandbergSarah Toups

Laurice SistrunkMichael Ruiz

Major J. Stewart Slack Jr. MemorialCarroll Michael

John O’Keefe Barry UndergraduateDana Thomas

Adam Sturlese MemorialPhilip Bergeron and Brent Vu

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Leo W. HoughJessica Barnes and Byran Killingsworth

John T. Mestayer MemorialVann Smith

Hess OilClint Edrington, Sandra Garzon, Amy Spaziani

George N. May UndergraduateShane Cone and Lindsay Prothro

Geology MinorityAndrea Echeverri

Southeastern Geophysical SocietyCelina Wills*

Geological Society of AmericaSarah Keenan*, Lindsey Yann, Hongjiao Yu

American Associaton of Petroleum GeologistsJames Crane, Russell Crouch, John D’Aquin,

Sandra Garzon*, Andrew Sampson, Hongjiao Yu

* awarded

Students attempted to putt with a rock hammer at our Fall Fest booth

AAPG Student Chapter workshops sponsored by Marathon Oil Corporation and Newfield Exploration Company offer students hands-on experience!

Congratulations to the following students who applied for grants:

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Spotlight on a Donor - Armour Winslow

1957 alumnus, Armour C. Winslow, has been an ardent supporter of the department and the Field Camp for many years. While working as a biologist for Humble Oil, Mr. Winslow met Professor Henry Howe who convinced him to get a master’s degree in geology from LSU. Winslow did just that and had a long and suc-cessful career with Humble Oil and ExxonMobil for 30 years. He also met his beloved wife and fellow geolo-gist, Margarita “Rita” Menzel, while there.

Through his personal giving over the last four years and with ExxonMobil’s 3 to 1 matching gift opportunity, Mr. Winslow has provided more than $120,000 in sup-port to the field camp including: emergency funding to repair the kitchen and complete the dining hall recon-struction in 2008, program and educational costs, field expeditions and supplies, and operational costs. Winslow considers his education at LSU an essential component of his success and feels strongly about sup-porting the department. When asked about his motiva-tion to donate to Geology & Geophysics, Mr. Winslow said “I feel obligated to give something back to LSU. I feel that the university is responsible for my success and my studies were supported with a graduate assis-tantship and an out-of-state tuition waiver.”

Upcoming 2011 Alumni Events

Alumni & Friends Reception

Monday, October 10, 2011, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.Minneapolis, MN

AAPG LSU Alumni Reception

Tuesday, April 12, 2011, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m.Houston, TX

Fieldcamp Flashback: 1945

Armour C. Winslow (center) is presented with the campaign arches, commis-sioned especially for donors who gave $100,000 or more during the Forever LSU Campaign. Pictured are: College of Science Director of Development, Ann Marie Marmande; Forever LSU Science Campaign Chair, Dr. Mary Lou Applewhite; Winslow; G&G Department Chair, Dr. Carol Wicks; and LSU Foundation Vice President for Development, Jeff McLain.

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Thank you for your financial support

$10,000 and aboveAlta and John Franks FoundationBoard of Regents for Higher EducationMarathon Oil CorporationChevronHalliburton FoundationShellHess FoundationJames PainterHTK ConsultantsArmour C. Winslow $1,000-$9,999BP Corporation North America Inc.ExxonMobilBrown Sandberg Family L.P.Jim RaymondJoanne ClarkEdmund Wermund, Jr.Ron NealNewfield ExplorationImagine ResourcesHess CorporationAmerican Association of Petroleum GeologistsEdward Picou, Jr.Joe ReidMary Andras Gifts of Note

Ben and Pauline Stanley made an estate gift to support the Geology Field Camp program. Their gift, made possible by the sale of their home in Texas, established an endowed Field Camp scholarship and provided funds to address im-mediate needs at the camp.

The Halliburton Foundation continued their support of the Geology Field Camp program through gifts to provide student scholarships and faculty support.

The Alta and John Franks Foundation donation doubled the Franks Chair. The earnings from the endowment will support teaching and research.

James Painter completed his pledge gift that was used to make repair to power lines at Field Camp.

More than $20,000 was donated to the A.E. “Sandy” Sandberg Endowed Scholarship this year.

If there is an error, please let us know. Names listed below reflect donations given to the LSU Department of Geology & Geophysics through the LSU Foundation from July 1, 2009-June 30, 2010. Every effort is made to be accurate in reporting donors.

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up to $500

Apex Geophysical Services Inc.Glen MerrillDelos TuckerJames Sullivan, Jr.William BlakeAngela GarciaHarry RobertsPhilip SandbergMaud WalshNorman RosenJack WoodsWayne SimpsonJames McKeeEdwin Fleischmann, Jr.Katherine O’BrienJames AndersonHarrison CuroleFred Meendsen, Jr.John LakerLawrence StanleyJohn WapplerMartin RichardStacy SmithAlan CheethamDouglas LancasterElizabeth HouseLuther Wade, IIIRichard IndenThomas RobinsonC. E. PhillipsMarvin KeenzeRodney BarlowRoy WaltherCarmen VarleyDanna BrownSarah EverettSylvia SandbergCharles Horne

up to $500

Keenan LeeArthur JoergerCharles HorneGene StoutL. Leighton HillAnton DumarsGene RobinsonHindman Doxey Jr.James LamptonJonathan HotstreamLouis McCormickSid BonnerJulie StaggDiane WiemerAntje KolodziejJohn WapplerJoe and Elaine Bradley Living TrustKaren WickerWalter Kessinger Jr.Anthony Duplechin, Jr.Charles Smith Jr.Eli RossHarold Vivien Jr.Joseph CannizzaroRichard ProvensalAmanda VeazeyLeeann MatthewsKristen WeinbergerJohn Rives IIBradford GuidryHendrik CarletonRobert BatesWilliam Drennen IIIJosephine TrebingKatie HowellSamuel Miano

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By Dan Kelly, Field Camp Director

The summer of 2010 was the 82nd consecutive year that the LSU Geology Field Camp has been run at its loca-tion in the Front Range near Colorado Springs, Colorado. While it is one of the longest running field camps in the country, this was my first of what I expect to be many years as the field camp director and instructor for the senior course, GEOL3666. LSU is uniquely fortunate to have a field camp located in such an ideal study area. This year 39 students, two faculty, five teaching assistants, and three kitchen staff, camp caretaker Danny Porter and his family, my wife and two small daughters, and a few visitors enjoyed our summer in the mountains.

For me it was particularly exciting to watch the great transformation of the seniors from geology students to geologists as the summer passed. I found LSU’s under-graduate geology students to be extremely well prepared for field camp, and I am sure that they are all going to leave LSU equally well-prepared for industry jobs or graduate studies.

The senior group consisted of 19 LSU students, three Tulane students, one UL Lafayette student, and one Cen-tenary student. The 24 students in attendance in 2010 tie the 2009 class for the most senior students at camp in many years. Twelve of the 19 LSU seniors were taking field camp during their last undergraduate semester and graduated in August upon their return to Baton Rouge. For these students, field camp was a fitting culmination of their undergraduate studies.

For seniors, the first week of camp was spent studying the stratigraphy of the LSU property with Dr. Erik Scott, who generously volunteered his time and expertise to help instruct the exercise. During the second and third weeks of camp, students mapped the bedrock geology of the camp property and Twin Mountain near Canon City, Colorado. The Twin Mountain project included investiga-tion of complicated structural features within stratigraph-ic units that were familiar to students after mapping the camp property. Twin Mountain became even more exciting due to a wildfire very near the mapping area. Students camped at Golden Gate Canyon State park out-side of Golden, Colorado, in order to study a metasedi-mentary sequence of schists and quartzites for the fourth week of camp. Dr. Brooks Ellwood joined us during the fifth week to guide the students in a detailed stratigraphic study, which included the Cenomanian-Turonian GSSP near Pueblo, Colorado. The final week was spent camp-

ing near Buena Vista, Colorado, in order to study and map volcanic rocks.

For the third year in a row, Dr. Laurie Anderson was the instructor for the 15 students in the freshman group. These five geology students and 10 petroleum engineering majors attended camp in the summer between their senior year of high school and their freshman year at LSU. The freshmen students completed two full-semester courses, and two lab courses in six weeks by combining intensive classroom studies and a great deal of field learning, which included trips to Rocky Mountain National Park and the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico. These students started their studies at LSU with a geologic perspective that can only be reached through this hands-on version of the intro-ductory courses.

As our alumni know, field camp is a very special experi-ence for our students and is something they will look back on for the rest of their lives. It is particularly important for students from Louisiana to spend time in the mountains, where they can gain an appreciation for the geology that is not exposed in our state. The work was challenging and intense, but our students took it on enthusiastically and truly excelled academically while having a great time.

The Tradition Continues: Field Camp 2010

Clarence P. Cazalot Jr./Marathon Oil Corporation Atrium Renovation

Renovation begins with closing the Atrium, assembling scaffolding, and replacing the skylight panels

Renovation continues with installation of the fan, sign and images

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Clarence P. Cazalot Jr./Marathon Oil Corporation Atrium

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Geology students and Clarence Cazalot in the new atrium

Graduate student and Marathon scholarship recipient Dennis Donaldson welcomed everyone to the event and

thanked Clarence Cazalot and Marathon for their generous donations

Clarence Cazalot welcoming alumni, faculty, students, and staff to the ribbon-cutting ceremony

Chancellor Mike Martin welcoming speech to attendees of ribon-cutting ceremony

Clarence P. Cazalot Jr./Marathon Oil Corporation Atrium

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Marathon CEO Clarence Cazalot Paul Weeditz, and LSU Foundation President & CEO Maj. Gen. Bill Bowdon visit

with university students and staff

Marathon guests, LSU G&G alumni, faculty, students, and staff attended the ribbon-cutting events

Dean Kevin Carman, Rep. Nicky Lamonica, Clarence Cazalot, Chancellor Mike Martin, & CO Maj. Gen. Bill Bowden

Annette Summers Engel (associate professor) was promoted and tenured!

Barb Dutrow (Adolphe Gueymard Professor) was elected Fellow of the Geologi-cal Society of America and gave an invited lecture at GSA.

Brooks Ellwood (Robey Clark Professor) has been awarded a medal by the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology for his contributions to science in Vietnam. The medal was given to him at a special ceremony in Hanoi.

Jeff Hanor (Alumni Professor) was pleased to have 39 years of students repre-sented at the 2009 Geological Society of America meeting/(Left -Right Stephanie Welch, Jeff Hanor, Pat Shanks, and KT Moran).

Juan Lorenzo (associate professor) was recognized by the Tiger Athletic Founda-tion for his commitment to excellence in teaching.

Ray Ferrell retired and is off to Spain and Norway to write.

Publications:

Agnew, J.A., and Nunn, J.A., LaURGE: Louisiana Undergraduate Recruitment and Geoscience Education, GCAGS Transactions, 2009.

Benedetti, M.M., Haws, J.A., Funk, C.L., Daniels, J.M., Hesp, P.A., Bicho, N.F., Minckley, T.A., Ellwood, B.B., and Forman, S.L., 2009. Late Pleistocene raised beaches of coastal Estremadura, central Portugal, Quaternary Science Reviews, 28, 3428-3447, doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.09.029

Birdwell, J. and Engel, A.S., (2009) Variability in terrestrial and microbial contribu-tions to dissolved organic matter fluorescence in the Edwards Aquifer, Central Texas. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies. 71: 144-156.

Clark, S., Day, J., Ellwood, B.B., Rowe, H., Tomkin, J., 2009. Astronomical tuning of integrated Upper Famennian-Early Carbonifoerous faunal, carbon isotope and high resolution magnetic susceptibility records: Western Illinois Basin, Subcom-mission on Devonian Stratigraphy, Newsletter No. 24., Bectker R.T., Editor, 27-35. 90.

Covington, M.D., Wicks, C.M., and M.O. Saar, 2009. A dimensionless num-ber describing the effects of recharge and geometry on discharge from simple karstic aquifers, Water Resources Research, vol. 45, W11410, doi:10.1029/2009WR008004, 2009.

Fava, C.H. and Henry, D.J. (2009) Professional Communications Projects: Training science students to communicate. Science Education Resource Center (SERC) website. http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/communications_curricula/index.html.

Hanor, J.S., and Mercer, J.A., (2009) Spatial variations in the salinity of pore waters in northern deep water Gulf of Mexico sediments: implications for pathways and mechanisms of solute transport. Geofluids. doi:10.1111/j.1468-8123.2009.00271.x.

Henry, D. J. (2009) Rubrics in a Communications-Intensive Geology-Majors Course: Their Roles in Departmental Assessment. http://serc.carleton.edu/de-partments/program_assessment/program.html, February 22-24, 2009.

Henry, D. J., and Brodtkorb, M. K. de (2009) Mineral chemistry and chemical zoning in tourmalines from tourmalinites of Pampa del Tamboreo, San Luis, Argentina. Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 28, 234-244.

Landrum, J.T., Bennett, P.C., Engel, A.S., Alsina, M., Pastén,P., Milliken, K. (2009) Partitioning geochemistry ofarsenic and antimony, El Tatio Geyser Field, Chile. Applied Geochemistry. 24: 664-676. doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2008.12.024.

Nunn, J.A., Brown, A.L. and Sears, S.O. Industry and Academic Consortium for Computer Based Subsurface Geology and Well Log Analysis, GCAGS Transactions, 2009.

Over, D.J., de la Rue, S., Isaacson, P., and Ellwood, B., 2009. Upper Devonian con-odonts from black shales of the high latitude Tomachi Formation, Madre de Dios Basin, northern Bolivia. Palaeontographica Americana, 62, 89-99.

Porter, M.L., Engel, A.S., Kane, T.C., Kinkle, B.K. (2009) Productivity-diversity rela-tionships from chemolithoautotrophically based sulfidic karst systems. Interna-tional Journal of Speleology. 38(1): 27-40.

Presentations at Meetings:

Geological Society of America

Armstrong, C.K., Dutrow, B.L., Henry, D.J. and Thompson, R.A. Provenance of volcanic clasts as a guide to tectonic evolution: An example from the Santa Fe Group, San Luis Basin, Colorado.

Armstrong, C., Dutrow, B., Henry, D., and Thompson, R. Crystal chemistry of volcanic clasts as a guide to provenance and tectonic evolution: An example from the Santa Fe Group, CO.

Arndt, N., Robin, C., Byerly, G., Puchtel, I., Blichert-Toft, J., and Wilson, A., 200 million years of komatiite evolution in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, South Africa.

Covington, M.D., Wicks, C.M., and Saar, M.O., What’s in a Spring Hydrograph?

Dyar, M.D., Henry, D.J. and Guidotti, C.V. Systematics of major element partition-ing among graphitic metapelites from western Maine.

Henry, D., Novak, M., Hawthorne, F., Ertl, A, Uher, P, Dutrow, B., and Pezzotta, F. The Tourmaline Group Minerals: A consistent nomenclature.

Henry, D.J., Novak, M., Hawthorne, F., Ertl, A., Dutrow, B.L., Uher, P. and Pezzotta, F. The tourmaline group minerals: A consistent nomenclature.

Metz, K. M., Dutrow, B.L., Henry, D. J. and Mueller, P.M. Metamorphic rocks in the Sawtooth Mountains, Idaho, USA: A window into the Precambrian basement of southwest Laurentia.

Mueller, P.A., Wooden, J.L., Mogk, D.W. and Henry, D.J. An example of rapid, in-situ continental growth in the Archean, Wyoming Province, USA.

Nunn, J.A., Google Earth Exercises in Introductory Geoscience Laboratories.

Nunn, J.A., Field Methods in Exploration & Environmental Geophysics.

Osborn, S. G., McIntosh, J. C., Martini, A. M., and Hanor, J. S., Evidence for basinal brine migration and water rock interactions from 129I/I, 87Sr/86Sr and trace metal geochemistry: northern Appalachian Basin.

Welch, S.E. and Hanor, J. S., Source and fate of elevated levels of chloride in the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer, Iberville Parish, Louisiana.

News from the Faculty

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American Geophysics Union

Dutrow, B. Seeing is believing: Believing is seeing. Impact of visualization in the geosciences.

Covington, M. D., Luhmann, A. J., Alexander, E. C., Alexander, S. C., Saar, M. O., and Wicks, C. M., Thermal Signals as a means of characterizing karst aquifers.

Henry, D.J. and Dutrow, B.L. A tourmaline is forever – sort of.

Lorenzo, J.M., J. Hicks; E. E. Vera, Shallow (0-10 m) seismic investigation of a distressed earthen levee, New Orleans, USA.

Nunn, J.A., Thermal Insulation by Carbonaceous Sediments: Implications for Geothermal Energy.

Nunn, J.A, and Agnew, J., LaURGE: Louisiana Undergraduate Recruitment and Geoscience Education.

The 15th International Congress of Speleology:

Paoletii, M.G., Beggio, M., Pamio, A., Gomiero, T., Brilli, M., Dreon, A.L., Toniello, V., and Engel, A.S. Comparison of three moon milk cave habitats associated with troglobitic beetles.

Porter, M.L, and Engel, A.S. Energy flow and productivity-diversity relationships in chemolithoautotrophically-based ecosystems.

Meisinger, D.B., Engel, A.S., Porter, M.L., Schmid, M., and Lee, N.M. The hunt for hidden biodiversity and novel functional groups: a case study of unique Chloro-flexi affiliated species and other novel species from Lower Kane Cave, WY. USA.

Mulec, J., Engel, A.S., Oarga, A., Rossmassler, K., Campbell, B.J., and Sebela, S. Microbial diversity from the sulphidic karst spring, Žveplenica-Dolenja Trebuša, Slovenia.

Other Meetings:

Arndt, R. N., C. Chauvel, G. Byerly, K.Kareem, A. Hofmann, A. Wilson, 2009, 300 m.y. of komatiite evolution in the Barberton Greenstone Belt, Goldschmidt Conference.

Kirkland, B. Thibaudeau, McNeal, Sherman-Morris, Baghi-Riding, Meek, Dick-erson, Jennings, Dutrow, Schmitz, Lawrence. 2009. Human Resources for the Energy Workforce of the Future: Finding the Best Employees Requires Addressing Diversity Now. AAPG.

Welch, S.E. and Hanor, J.S., (2009) Source and fate of elevated levels of chloride in the Mississippi River Alluvial Aquifer, Iberville Parish, Louisiana. BRGS Annual Groundwater Symposium, Baton Rouge.

Wicks, C.M., 2009, Ground Water flow through the Ozark Plateau Aquifer, Nation-al Ground Water Association, 5th Conference on Hydrogeology, Ecology, Monitor-ing, and Management of Ground Water in Karst Terrains, Feb 23-24, 2009, Safety Harbor, Florida.

Board of Regents:

Engel, Annette: Acquisition of Spectroscopy Instrumentation to Characterize Dis-solved Organic Matter.

Engel, Annette: Characterization and isolation of microbially-produced dissolved organic matter in caves.

13 Geology & Geophysics Newsletter

Ongoing Faculty Research

Engel Annette with Larkin, John C: Acquisition of a Variable Pressure Scanning Electron Microscope with Cryostage and EDX for Cell, Developmental and Micro-biology Research and Education.

Ferrell, Ray with Zhang, Guoping: A nano universal testing system for integrated enhancement of multidisciplinary research and education on nanomechanics, geosciences, and biomaterials.

Ferrell, Ray with Zhang, Guoping: Acquisition of a suite of field testing equip-ment for integrated enhancement of research and education on coastal sediment studies.

Nunn, Jeff with Turner, R Eugene: Recruitment of Superior Graduate Students in Earth, Ocean and Environmental Sciences.

Federal Support

Bao, Huiming: National Science Foundation: The origin of 17O-depelted barite in Neoproterozoic cap carbonates in South China

Byerly, Gary: Dept of Education: Central Louisiana Academic Residency for Teach-ers (CART)

Byerly, Gary with Madden, James J: National Science Foundation: Louisiana Math and Science Teacher Institute

Ellwood, Brooks: National Science Foundation: Chemostratigraphic Analysis of Panthalassic and Tethyan Permian-Triassic Boundary Sections: Assessment of Global Paleoceanographic Dynamics

Engel, Annette: National Science Foundation: The speciation and behavior of sulfur gases in biogeochemical processes

Henry, Darrell: National Science Foundation: Collaborative Research: REU Site Project - Evolution of the Precambrian rocks of Yellowstone National Park

Nunn, Jeffrey: National Science Foundation: LaURGE - Louisiana Undergraduate Recruiting and Geoscience Education

Nunn, Jeff with Alshibli, Khalid A: National Science Foundation: Workshop on Ap-plications of Neutron and X-Ray Tomography for Geomaterials

State/Regional/Foundation

Anderson, Laurie: University of LA at Lafayette: Aquatic faunal survey of the Alto Purs National Park, Peru

Bao, Huiming: American Chemical Society: Experimental Sulfate-Triple Oxygen Isotope Geochemistry

Bart, Sophie: Dauphin Island Sea Lab: Reconstruction of recent microalgal com-munity composition in Mobile Bay. Subcontract - Dauphin Island Sea Lab

Bart, Sophie: University of Wisconsin: Using merged primary museum resources online as an educational environment

Bart, Philip: University of Nebraska: Grounding events on the outer shelf cor-related with ANDRILL Southern McMurdo Sound site

Lorenzo, Juan $30,000.00 Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority--East Bank: Seismic Characterization of Distressed Flood Protection Barriers

Nunn, Jeffrey: University of Missouri: Evaluation of the Origin and Hydrocarbon Transport Capabilities of Solitary Waves in Fault Conduits with Visco-Elastic Rheologies

Department of Geology & GeophysicsLouisiana State University

E-235 Howe-Russell Geoscience Complex Baton Rouge, LA 70803