Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Sigma Gamma Epsilon Undergraduate Research Poster Session, Erika Elswick

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

The Sigma Gamma Epsilon undergraduate research poster session will highlight recent and on-going student research. Abstracts for poster presentations will be available in the Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 2012 Annual Meeting, Charlotte, North Carolina, 4-7 November 2012.

Late Holocene Sedimentation And Paleoenvironmental History For The Tidal Marshes Of The Potomac And Rappahannock Rivers, Tributaries To Chesapeake Bay, Neil E. Tibert, J. Bradford Hubeny, Mark Abbott, Joseph M. Kiker, Lindsay J. Walker, Shawn Mckenzie

Virginia Journal of Science

Instrumental tide gauge records indicate that the modern rates of sea-level rise in the Chesapeake Bay more than double the global average of 1.2-1.5 mm yr-1. The primary objective for this study is to establish a relative depositional history for the tidal marshes of the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers that will help us improve our understanding of processes that influence sedimentation in the proximal tributaries of Chesapeake Bay. Marsh cores were collected from Blandfield Point VA, Tappahannock VA, and Potomac Creek VA. The sedimentary facies include: 1) a lower unit of organic-poor, grey clay with fine sand and silt layers …

A Centennial Record Of Paleosalinity Change In The Tidal Reaches Of The Potomac And Rappahannock Rivers, Tributaries To Chesapeake Bay, Neil E. Tibert, Lindsay J. Walker, William P. Patterson, J. Bradford Hubeny, Emma Jones, Olivia R. Cooper

Virginia Journal of Science

Gravity and push cores from the Potomac and Rappahannock Rivers (Virginia Tidewater) were collected from central and proximal estuarine zones with known seasonal salinity stratification. The lowermost microfossil associations in the cores comprise alternating ostracode populations of Cyprideis salebrosa and Cytheromorpha. This microfossil association gives way to an oligohaline association dominated by the freshwater ostracode Darwinula stevensoni. Stable oxygen isotope values (δ¹⁸O) of Rapphannock Cyprideis salebrosa are highly variable ranging between -6.6 to -3.2‰ VPDB. δ¹⁸O values for Potomac Cytheromorpha fuscata range from -8.2 to -3.2‰ VPDB. Positive excursions in δ¹⁸O values …

Is Geology A Real Science?, Larry E. Davis

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

Heavy Metal Chemistry Of Sediments In Caves Of The Springfield Plateau, Missouri-Arkansas-Oklahoma: A Link To Subterranean Biodiversity, Travis M. Doughty, Aaron W. Johnson

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

We used X-ray fluorescence (XRF) to compare the heavy metal chemistry of sediments in caves in rural and urban areas to the chemistry of sediments from a control cave in a relatively undisturbed watershed in the Springfield (MO) Plateau. Sediment from Smallin Cave near Ozark, MO, the control cave, has the smallest peak sizes for Zn and Mn and a moderately-sized Pb peak. Sediment from the rural cave exhibited larger peaks of Zn and Mn and a smaller Pb peak. Sediment from the urban cave had the largest Zn, Mn and Pb peaks. Interestingly, smaller peak sizes appear to correlate …

Geology And Music, Dan Merriam

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

Dinosaur Tracks And Trackways In The Escalante Member Of The Entrada Formation (Middle Jurassic), Twentymile Wash, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, Robert L. Eves, Gayle L. Pollock, Larry E. Davis

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

Sigma Gamma Epsilon-News And Information, James Walters

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

The Freak Wave Potential Of Tyhoon Swell, Nai-Kuang Liang

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

Freak waves are so-called rogue waves, which are considered nearly impossible according to traditional ocean wave theory and sometimes cause coastal and sea wrecks. There are already some hypotheses that explain freak wave occurrence. However, the moving wind system generates swells which can be enhanced by swell energy flux accumulation. A newlydefined parameter “Freak Wave Potential Index” Φ for the typhoon swell can manifest the possibility for a freak wave occurrence. This index can be correctly estimated, because actual typhoon datum is already known. The “Freak Wave Potential Index” concept may also be used for other moving wind systems.

Design And Application Of Inter-Satellite Link In Weather Observation Constellation, Jeng-Shing Chern, Zuu-Chang Hong, Tsai-Lun Chien, Tzu-You Chen, Ji-Chien Dai

Journal of Marine Science and Technology

This paper presents the design and application analysis of the inter-satellite link technique in weather observation satellite constellation. A Walker parameter 18/18/4 satellite constellation with circular orbit at 837 km altitude and 60 degree inclination has been considered. The purposes are to take the weather cloud images of the area from 60 to 180 degree in eastern longitude and 0 to 60 degree in northern latitude, and to transfer the images back to Taiwan ground station as soon as possible. The STK [1] simulation software has been used in analyzing the effects of Doppler phenomenon, azimuth angle, elevation angle and …

Introducing Geoscience Students To Numerical Modeling Of Volcanic Hazards: The Example Of Tephra2 On Vhub.Org, Leah M. Courtland, Charles Connor, Laura Connor, Costanza Bonadonna

Numeracy

The Tephra2 numerical model for tephra fallout from explosive volcanic eruptions is specifically designed to enable students to probe ideas in model literacy, including code validation and verification, the role of simplifying assumptions, and the concepts of uncertainty and forecasting. This numerical model is implemented on the VHub.org website, a venture in cyberinfrastructure that brings together volcanological models and educational materials. The VHub.org resource provides students with the ability to explore and execute sophisticated numerical models like Tephra2. We present a strategy for using this model to introduce university students to key concepts in the use and evaluation of Tephra2 …

Spreadsheets Across The Curriculum, 4: Evidence Of Student Learning And Attitudes About Spreadsheets In A Physical Geology Course, Heather L. Lehto, H. L. Vacher

Numeracy

Spreadsheets have been used in education for teaching math concepts for years. However, when faculty at the University of South Florida began using a new set of spreadsheet-based modules to help teach students math and geology concepts the students were not receptive. The complaint most often heard was that students spent more time learning how to use Excel than they did learning the concepts presented in the modules. We began to wonder if the learning curve for Excel was so great that it prevented our students from attaining the level of learning for the math and geology concepts that we …

Quantitative Reasoning And Sustainability, Corrine H. Taylor

Numeracy

Quantitative Reasoning and Sustainability have much in common. Both are complex, nuanced concepts with rather long definitions that have evolved over time. Both subjects are “everybody’s business” on college campuses, and must be approached in courses across the curriculum, not merely in one course on QR or in one course on Sustainability. The growing, wider presence of both QR and Sustainability on college campuses is due to their applicability in individuals’ personal, professional, and public lives. Moreover, QR and Sustainability support and enhance each other in and out of the classroom. Sustainability is an important, authentic, relevant context for lessons …

Dirigo In The Arctic: Donald B. Macmillan, Harrison J. Hunt, And The Crocker Land Expedition, 1913-1917, Charles H. Lagerbom

Maine History

The polar careers of three Maine men intersected in the far reaches of the northern Arctic Ocean at a specific geographic spot on the globe: 83° North Latitude, 100° West Longitude. Called Crocker Land, it had been sighted by polar explorer and Maine resident Robert E. Peary on June 24, 1906. In 1913, Mainer Donald B. MacMillan organized the Crocker Land expedition to explore this land that Peary had sighted. Another Mainer, Harrison J. Hunt, signed on as doctor for MacMillan’s venture in 1913. Crocker Land tied them all together, but only one of the three actually stood where it …

New Insights Into Troglotella Incrustans Wernli & Fookes, 1992, A Fascinating Upper Jurassic-Upper Cretaceous Foraminifer, Felix Schlagintweit

Studia UBB Geologia

New data about the highly variable test morphology of the benthic foraminifer Troglotella incrustans WERNLI & FOOKES (Oxfordian-Lower Cenomanian) are presented, permitting an emended species/genus diagnosis. This concerns mainly the existence of a large final chamber with fistulose extensions that may follow the uniserial or the irregular-branching test part. The way of life of T. incrustans (cryptoendolithic vs. euendolithic) is discussed against the background of different existing models in the literature. The study is based on material (thin-sections and provided photographs) mainly from the Upper Jurassic of Austria, Italy, Romania, Ukraine, and also the type-locality of France.

Origin, Evolutionary Classification, And Biostratigraphic Significance Of The Late Cretaceous Planktic Foraminiferal Directional Lineage Bollitruncana O.A. Korchagin, 2001, Marius Dan Georgescu

Studia UBB Geologia

Taxonomic revision of the genus Bollitruncana O.A. Korchagin, 2001 shows that it accommodates a directional lineage, which consists of two species: B. carpathica (Scheibnerová, 1963) and B. posthelvetica (Hanzliková, 1963). Bollitruncana directional lineage is restricted to Turonian. A new planktic foraminiferal biozone is recognized in the Turonian, namely the Bollitruncana carpathica Biozone.

Stone Walls: Stories From Minnesota's Geologic Past, Larry E. Davis

Headwaters

No abstract provided.

Mary Anning Of Lyme Regis: 19th Century Pioneer In British Palaeontology, Larry E. Davis

Headwaters

No abstract provided.

Herbert Hoover: Only An Eye For Gold?, Larry E. Davis

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States, was a successful mining engineer and author prior to becoming president. Part of his mining engineering career was spent in the goldfields of Western Australia, where he has become part of the local folklore. Hoover allegedly had an eye for the ladies and fell in love with a barmaid to whom he wrote a love poem.

U.S. Presidents And Their Geological Thinking, Dan Merriam

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

A number of United States presidents had some experience in geological thought and investigations and keen interests in the environment. The first U.S. president, George Washington, was a land surveyor. Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd U.S. president, was a keen supporter of science and maintained an interest in paleontology, and played a key role in the development of American paleontology. Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th U.S. president, was a strong supporter of the national park service and was an influential naturalist.

Herbert Hoover, the 31st U.S. president, was a Stanford University graduate with a degree in geology and mining – a true …

Letter To The Members Of Sge, Erika Elswick

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

Another Geoscience Department 'Bites The Dust', Larry E. Davis

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

An Assessment Of The Relationship Between Air Mass Frequency And Extreme Drought In The Midwest United States, Curtis Walker, Erin Potter, Nicholas Esposito, Melissa Godek

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

The Midwest of the United States is a region extensively utilized for agriculture and livestock production despite great susceptibility to widespread and persistent drought. While the location and duration of droughts are related to dynamic meteorological factors, pinpointing when and where a drought will commence, how long it will persist, and when the drought will end, remains a challenge. This investigation examines significant Midwest drought events from a synoptic meteorological perspective through an assessment of air mass frequency over the past decade. A synoptic approach is useful since air masses characteristically describe multiple weather and climate parameters at the same …

Sigma Gamma Epsilon - News And Information, Erika Elswick

The Compass: Earth Science Journal of Sigma Gamma Epsilon

No abstract provided.

Proceedings Of The European Society For Isotope Research - Esir Ix, Editor: Bogdan P. Onac, Editor: Ioan I. Bucur

Studia UBB Geologia

No abstract provided.

In Memoriam - Dr. De̒Nes Ja̒Nossy, László Kordos

Studia UBB Geologia

No abstract provided.

Announcements, Books &. Events

Studia UBB Geologia

No abstract provided.

Climate Change: The Karst Record (4th Ed.), Kali Pace-Graczyk

Studia UBB Geologia

No abstract provided.

Holivar2006 Open Science Meeting: Natural Climate Variability And Global Warming, Aurel Pers̡Oiu

Studia UBB Geologia

No abstract provided.

Nano, Bio And Planetary Sciences: The 19th Meeting Of The International Mineralogical Association, Corina Ionescu, Volker Hoeck

Studia UBB Geologia

No abstract provided.