Month: April 2020

  • 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…