Geology
Determining the Source of Idaho’s Mystery Boudins
Geology and environmental studies major Emily Carlson (’20) has been working with faculty member Rory McFadden (Geology) to sleuth the origins of a needle in a geologic haystack. McFadden, who conducts research in the Pioneer Mountains of Idaho, returned from a field season with a curious sample – it contains layers just a few millimeters […]
Getting to the Roots of Groundwater
Each year, rainfall events become more and more unpredictable due to climate change. This presents many challenges and raises many questions for society. One specific question is “How much water from rain events permeates the ground, eventually becoming groundwater?” Brittney Johnson (Geology ’20) spent last summer answering this question. She used precipitation data and groundwater […]
A Minecraft View of the Minnesota River
Public schools in the United States usually only make students aware of geology and don’t teach students the real-world impacts of understanding geology. Developing an understanding of geology is made more difficult by the large amounts of time involved in geologic processes. To address these gaps in understanding, Sawyer Johnson (Geology ’20) is creating a […]
Alumni Successes: Tara Selly ’13 finds the oldest fossil gut
In January, Tara Selly (Geology ’13) made the New York Times’ “Science & Technology” front page for helping to discover the oldest known animal gut! She is now an assistant research professor Geology at the University of Missouri, and helped make the discovery in her role as the assistant director of the University’s X-ray Microanalysis […]
Alumni Successes: Three recent grads meet up for environmental assessment in northern Minnesota
This fall, three Gusties were working to assess soil conditions and environmental quality on a property in the Duluth area of northern Minnesota. How did that come to pass? John Berger (Geology ’15, center of photo) has been working for AECOM doing site assessment and construction preparation. Last summer when he heard that AECOM was […]
Student Experiences: Interdisciplinary workings in the Superior National Forest, by Emily Carlson ’20
Born and raised in the suburbs on Minneapolis, I was eager for the opportunity to explore my own backyard in the Superior National Forest this summer. One of two national forests in Minnesota, SUF makes up 3 million acres of the Northern border including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. I was hired along with […]
Welcome back! GeoFIKA
Geology is in full swing this fall, and holding classes in 5 buildings! To get us together all in one place, we’re holding GeoFIKA on Wednesdays at 10:00 in Anderson 105. Come visit with us – have some snacks, tea, coffee and see a cool geo-video each week. Bring a friend, too!
The Nobel Hall Move Begins: Geology Gets Packed
If you’ve been on campus lately, you’ve seen the mighty new wing of Nobel Hall rising up! That expansion will open in June, then all of the current Nobel will be emptied and renovated. Biology and Chemistry will cozy up in the new wing for 2019-20, while the rest of us scatter to temporary locations […]
Alison Agather (’15): Doing geochemistry at the top of the world
(Alison was a Chemistry and Environmental Studies major with a Geology minor.) In the summer of 2015 I sailed in the Western Arctic Ocean to study mercury chemistry and cycling in the ocean. Spending 64 days at sea on a Coast Guard icebreaker is both exhilarating and exhausting, as the unique Arctic scenery and charismatic wildlife […]
Geology odyssey through New Zealand
Ben DeSutter (Environmental Studies – Physical Science track, ’19) recently returned from a semester in New Zealand! Here’s what he had say near the end of his trip: “My time in New Zealand has been an incredible experience so far. Classes have been really insightful towards New Zealand environments and geology as a whole. However, […]