ROCKYGator. From the Department Chair... Join the campaign to build a new microscopy lab for Geological. Inside this issue:

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1 UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGICAL SCIENCES ROCKYGator The Official Newsletter of the Department of Geological Sciences Join the campaign to build a new microscopy lab for Geological Sciences students in Williamson Hall. Add your name to our Outcrop of Honor donors list (see pages 10 and 12) and put your name or memoriam on a stone of your own! Inside this issue: graduate degrees... 2 Second annual Careers Day... 2 An adventure in sand and problem solving... 3 GLY undergrad interns in UFTeach program... 3 Perfit explains Alvin s use... 4 Annual department awards for , 5 GLY student team compete in Quiz Bowl... 5 New art displayed in Williamson Hall... 5, 12 Can You Dig It? We knew you could! Earth Science Week... 8 News from our faculty, staff, and students Bianchi s new grant studies the Colorado Foster s research takes him to Kenya... 9 Students learn sequence stratigraphy Middle schoolers join Field Methods trip Join our Outcrop of Honor donors Dr. Joseph Meert is our latest UFRF Prof From the Department Chair... It has been another year of growth in the Department. The number of undergraduate student majors is approaching 100 and is now at the highest level in more than 15 years. We graduated more Ph.D. students in the past two years than during the previous seven years combined and now have more post-doctoral researchers than ever before. Our B.S. and M.S. students continue to be hired by the thriving environmental and resource industries and our Ph.D. graduates are going on to academic positions at high quality colleges and universities and into important positions in the resource industry. Professor Tom Bianchi joined us as the first faculty member Dr. David A. Foster to hold the Jon L. and Beverly A. Thompson Endowed Chair of Geological Sciences. Tom s presence and his growing group of students and post-docs sparked a wave of new energy in the department. The new biogeochemistry lab developed for his and Andy Zimmerman s research group is complete and filled with modern instrumentation. It is a truly world class facility. We also launched an aggressive expansion of our distance learning course options to provide greater access to general and advanced classes in geology of interest to students from other majors, in-service teachers, and pre-professionals. The Department benefits from a strong job market in the industry and the generous support of alumni and friends. The continued tight fiscal situation in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences means, however, that we have very limited funds to run the Department. The bulk of what we accomplish each year is due to donations to the UF Foundation funds and fellowships directed to the Department. These gifts directly support the students and the reputation of the Department by helping us provide meaningful educational experiences. This includes field trips, outside speakers, travel assistance for students to attend national geological conferences to present their research, and fellowships for exceptional students and those with financial need. It is these experiences and support that make being a geology student at UF unique, while providing students the foundation they need to develop their careers. The interaction and support of the external Advisory Board continues to enhance the Department through fundraising activities. It also facilitates short courses like the ExxonMobil sequence stratigraphy course taught by Jim Anderson this past spring, supports a Careers Day for students, and expands our reputation in the industry. In this issue of the Rocky Gator you will read about some highlights of the year in terms of outreach and research. The breadth of faculty and student research in the department continues to amaze me. Recent highlights include studying glacial outwash and melt water in Greenland to constrain long-term climate changes, sampling the recent artificial flood of the Colorado River in the historic delta region to understand nutrient transport, studies of coral platforms in the Indian Ocean and Caribbean to constrain global sea level rise, studies of fresh and saline groundwater interfaces along Florida coastlines, and studies of the changing beach morphology on Cape Canaveral. Add to that studies of the structure of the North American lithosphere using seismic data, studies of the growth and breakup of supercontinents, studies of the East African Rift and Mid Ocean Ridge magmatism and tectonics, studies of the uplift of mountains surrounding the Yellowstone volcano, and studies of the age and structure of Florida basement rocks and you will see the worldwide scope of our researchers. This year we are asking for your support to kick off a campaign to replace another field vehicle for field camp and field trips. The last campaign based on the Outcrop of Honor successfully replaced one of the four passenger vans, but the other three are each over 12 years old with many, many miles on their clocks. We are also planning a major upgrade of our microscope-based teaching lab for mineralogy, petrology, sedimentology, and related subjects. One of our teaching labs will be expanded by removing existing walls. Work stations will be designed for several microscopes, all equipped with digital video links to a server and projector to allow showing and recording images for in-class and remote learning experiences. A recent gift will underwrite development of this lab. We are seeking additional support for our teaching labs so that our students receive the best training possible and have the educational experiences needed for careers. There are still open tiles on the Outcrop of Honor to be claimed to support one of these projects or a much needed graduate fellowship. We are grateful to all of you who have supported the Department in the past.

2 2 ROCKYGator Bat Cave graduate degrees went to... Fall 2013: Diego Ramirez, M.S. Spring 2014: Susanna Blair, Ph.D. Jin Li, M.S. Summer 2014: Sean Michael Moran, M.S. Cecilia Anne Scribner, M.S. Kathleen E. Wilson, M.S. The ROCKYGator is the official newsletter of the University of Florida Department of Geological Sciences; issues are provided free of charge to interested friends of the department, faculty, students, and alumni. If you wish to be included in our mailing list, please contact the department s Program Assistant, Pam Haines, at pghaines@ufl.edu, or write or phone the department at 241 Williamson Hall, PO Box , Gainesville, FL ; phone (352) Chair Dr. David A. Foster Associate Chair Dr. Jonathan B. Martin Graduate Coordinator Dr. Raymond Russo Undergraduate Coordinator Dr. Joseph Meert Office Manager Nita Fahm Program Assistant Pamela Haines Secretary Carrie Williams Contributing Writer Jean Feingold The second annual Geological Sciences Careers Day provided students with a range of career opportunities Building on the success of last year s inaugural event, the second annual UF Geological Sciences Careers Day for graduate and undergraduate students was held on February 27, Organized by Ph.D. candidate Kelly Deuerling and Postdoctoral Research Associate Rachel Walters, this event was designed to expose students to a range of career opportunities available to Earth scientists, develop their job-seeking skills, and foster the relationship between the Department and its Advisory Board. This year our expert industry panelists included three recent graduate alumni: Carolyn Luysterburg (Shell), Rich MacKenzie (ExxonMobil), and Candler Turner (A.C.T.). Returning seasoned industry experts Jim Anderson (ExxonMobil), Jerry Black (Geohazards), and Kendall Fountain (Plum Creek) were complemented by new panelist Teresa Fisher (Geosyntec). Thirty-five graduate and undergrad students squeezed into our big conference room to meet the panelists, learn about their industry work experience, and absorb job-seeking advice. Department Chair David Foster welcomed the group and conveyed faculty support for students pursuing jobs outside academia. Following brief panelist introductions, students engaged recent alumni in a productive questionand-answer session about their career choices, recent job search experiences, and transitioning from student life into entry-level industry roles. Each student s draft resume was critiqued in small group sessions. Panelists provided feedback on the content, organization, aesthetics, and effectiveness of individual resumes. These personalized critiques from both an oil and gas sector professional and an environmental sector professional will help students make their resumes more appealing to industry. Concurrent afternoon sessions offered mock interviews and future planning. Each 15- to 20-minute interview with an expert panelist consisted of an informal conversation on an industry/careers related topic or a more formal practice interview. The future planning session introduced the myidp web-based application for scientific career planning developed by the journal Science. This free online tool provides self-assessment exercises to examine the skills, interests, and values necessary for a variety of successful and happy scientific careers. The final workshop brought industry experts Jim Anderson and Teresa Fisher together with Department faculty Ellen Martin and Jason Curtis to discuss their personal career choices and examine the industry vs. academia career dilemma. The panelists shared personal stories, their passion for their work, and conveyed the importance of having enthusiasm for career choices. All sessions were well received by the students, giving them tools to explore the next step in their career paths. This event was sponsored through donations from Department of Geological Sciences alumni and the Advisory Board, and was made possible by the panelists who donated their time and effort for our students. The event provided valuable career education and networking opportunities for the students. The next Geosciences Careers Day is scheduled for September 25, If you or a colleague are interested in being a Careers Day panelist, would like to contribute, or have suggestions for content development or other events to improve geosciences career education at UF, please contact David Foster (dafoster@ufl.edu). TO DONATE to the Department of Geological Sciences, the online giving site is uff.ufl.edu/onlinegiving/funddetail.asp?fundcode= To mail a donation, note Dept. of Geological Sciences, Fund Code on your check memo line and mail to: College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Office of Development, PO Box , Gainesville, FL We appreciate your assistance in promoting the Department and the University of Florida. GO GATORS!

3 An adventure in sand and problem solving: building an Augmented Reality Sandbox By Rachel Walters, Post-doctoral Research Associate In July 2012, while attending a reception at a small conference on geodynamics at the University of California--Davis, I took a tour of local lab facilities. This was my attempt to feel more part of a scientific community and maybe make some friends. Instead I got an unexpected treat that reignited my childhood sense of wonder and play while bringing it into the 21st century. Inside a plain lab with a few desks and computers a curious table full of sand was adorned with miniature shovels and rakes and clearly set up for playing. I grew up by the seaside, spending most of my childhood building sandcastles at the beach, so the child in me was already itching to pick up a plastic implement and start creating. Lights went down and an overhanging projector brought the sandbox to life with an ever-changing colorful display imitating the undulations on the sand s surface. This was no ordinary topographic map. With every minute alteration of the sand s surface the image was re-rendered to reflect the new topography. This was true technological interactivity, an augmented reality. UC Davis research scientist Oliver Kreylos, who invented the setup and software, casually held his palm over the sandbox in a way I can only imagine looks to some like the hand of God and, as if by magic, it started to rain. Virtual water poured onto the landscape as if Oliver s hand were a rain cloud. As the computer struggled to compute the series of complex shallow-water flow differential equations, the viewers were awed by virtual rivers flowing over the sandscape as they would in real life. The eager grownups crowded in, jostling for space at the sand table to move the sand, draw smiley faces, and write their names. Do we ever truly grow up? They challenged the computer to get it wrong, but it never disappointed. Everyone held out their hands for their chance to be rain clouds. The potential for use as an outreach exhibit screamed out to anyone with even a vague inclination to get kids excited about earth science. OK, I could tell you it was all about the outreach, but truth be told--i wanted a sandbox to play with. Fast forward seven months to two nights before Can You Dig It It s midnight and I am in my office trying to get a computer to behave. Those seven months had seen many hours of problem solving and persuading people to provide time and money to get our very own sandbox project built and working. An initial request to Dr. Mike Perfit to buy a Kinect Camera for an Xbox 360 ended with a total spend of $2,000 to provide everything needed to make it work. Just the small matter of engineering a suitable structure remained. That s where the brilliant Ray Thomas and Dow Van Arnam worked with me to envisage a structure to suspend the projector and Kinect at the right height above the sandbox and maximize play space. At this point I mistakenly thought, If we just get this built, it will work. I had figured out how to calibrate the camera and read up on the next steps. How could there be any problems? But during the week before the event, numerous re-calibrations resulted in numerous failures. With Oliver s late night help to figure out what the problem was and the expert Googling and Linux skills of M.S. student Kiernan Foltz-Donahue, we managed to get it working just 20 minutes before Can You Dig It 2013 opened. Several months later I realized that initial success was just a fluke when I figured out how to get the application to calibrate properly. Although things are more stable now in getting the sandbox relocated and calibrated for new outreach events, anyone who has helped me set the sandbox up will confirm my anxiety levels are still high. I have come to expect unforeseen problems and enjoy the relief when it works. What have been the best moments from this adventure in sand and problem solving? It s seeing the delight and awe in the faces of kids who are not quite old enough to realize the image is being projected. They think the sand is reacting to them. They are completely mesmerized, lost in an extremely tangible virtual world. They are exploring, discovering, playing, and learning about the Earth at the same time--and that is truly magical. Special thanks go to the Department of Geological Sciences and Dr. Paul Ciesielski for funding the sandbox. Hats off to Dow and Ray for their unrivalled workshop expertise. Thanks to Kiernan for lending his computer wizardry at the last minute. And, finally, thank you to Oliver Kreylos for writing detailed instructions and being an attentive er in my hour of need. GLY undergrad interns in UFTeach summer program Wearing a boa constrictor, fistbumping a sloth or star-gazing (indoors!) are the kind of handson experiences that 15 students with the UF College of Education s UFTeach program are receiving this summer as part of a National Science Foundation-funded summer internship program. It s designed to help prospective science and math teachers discover the power of informal STEM learning through paid summer internships. Pictured above is Brett Walker, a geological sciences major in the UFTeach program, donning her boa friend to teach visiting children about the nonvenomous, heavy-bodied snake species. Story and photo courtesy of Stephen Kindland, UF College of Education News & Communications Office.

4 4 ROCKYGator Perfit explains Alvin s use in deepsea research Dr. Michael Perfit was quoted in a June 2014 Physics Today article entitled Researchers get back to the deep about his undersea volcano research using Alvin. This mini-submarine used for sea floor research was recently returned to service after a three-year, $41 million upgrade. Now 18 percent larger, the improved Alvin still has only a two-meter inside diameter where a pilot and two scientists co-exist during 8- to 10-hour dives. Two new windows have been added and cameras, lighting, and cargo capacity have been improved. Before this upgrade, the sub had made 4664 dives to study biology, geology and geophysics, and chemistry. Perfit, who made 36 dives in the earlier version of Alvin, recalled several he made in 1991 to a mid-ocean ridge section southwest of Mexico. What he discovered during these dives was that features previously mapped with a deep-sea camera towed from the sea surface could not be found. He told Physics Today that fresh black glassy basalt had covered everything along with white bacterial floc that looked like snow coming out of cracks and holes in the sea floor. Dating of lava samples using short-lived radiogenic isotopes later confirmed that a volcanic eruption had occurred while they were diving. It was thought such eruptions only occurred every few hundred or thousand years, rather than the surprising decadal time scale this research indicated. Dr. Michael Perfit and Alvin 2014 department awards -- their origins and winners At the end of each academic year, the Department of Geological Sciences presents awards to deserving students, and many bear the names of people who have been part of the Department. But who are these people and where does the awards funding come from? Your curiosity is about to be satisfied. The Danker Award for the outstanding graduating undergraduate is named for the late Edward Danker who graduated in This award is given to a graduating senior who has excelled in scholarship, enthusiasm, motivation, leadership, and involvement in the department during his or her total undergraduate career. Ed was a lost soul until he found geology. His parents, Henry and Emily Danker were very grateful for the help Ed got from faculty and students in the Department and endowed an award in his name. The 2014 Danker Award was presented to Lindsay Cobb. The Eades Award for Environmental Geology Studies goes to the student (graduate or undergraduate) who has shown the most commitment to excellence studying or investigating environmental geology, broadly defined as all surficial processes. It remembers the late James Eades, an industrial mineralogist and faculty member here for more than 20 years starting in After his passing, Jim s family donated $5,000 to support this award, which was combined with other gifts and 50 percent state matching funds. The 2014 Eades Award went to Mitra Khadka. The Ernst Awards are given to two outstanding teaching assistants in memory of the late Richard Ernst, who was both a M.S. student and a department employee. Dick was a devoted teacher all his life, teaching at Oak Hall School before coming to UF. The 2014 Ernst awards were presented to Alina Bricker and Kiernan Folz-Donahue. The Horn Award goes to one graduate student who has excelled during his or her total graduate career at UF in eagerness, inspiration, involvement in and contribution to the geology department, academic ability, and research activity. It commemorates the memory of Linda Horn, who was a dedicated graduate student whose research focused on a layered mafic intrusion in the Tobacco Root Mountains of Montana. She died about two years after she left UF due to illness. Her M.S. was awarded posthumously. The 2014 Horn Award went to Amy Brown. The Nicol Paleontology Award goes to the student (graduate or undergraduate) who has shown the most commitment to excellence studying or investigating paleontological topics. It honors David Nicol, who was a faculty member here for many years specializing in invertebrate paleontology. His daughter Ruth made a $5,000 contribution to support the award and this was matched at 50 percent by the state. The 2014 Nicol Paleontology Award was presented to Sahale Casebolt. The John Ridge Award for outstanding achievement in academics and research as a graduate student is given in honor of John Ridge. He was chair of the Pennsylvania State University geology department and moved to Gainesville when he retired. He served as interim chair of the UF Department of Geological Sciences in the early 1980s, guiding us through a trying time. The 2014 John Ridge Award went to Sutatcha Hongsresawat. The Jonathan Banks Scholarship of $500 is named for its sponsor, who earned his geology B.A. in 2007 and M.S.T. in 2009 from the Department, and went on to earn a Ph.D. in natural sciences from the Freie Universitaet Berlin. Since 2013, Jonathan Banks has been a post-doctoral researcher and now a research associate at the University of Alberta, investigating geothermal energy production from Canada s Precambrian basement rocks. The 2014 Jonathan Banks scholarship went to Nicole Vandaele. Other awards are supported by national associations and corporations. The National Association of Geoscience Teachers makes several $500 awards each year to undergraduate students who apply to facilitate their study of field geoscience. Nicole Vandaele also received the 2014 NAGT Award. see Awards on page 5

5 GLY student teams compete in Quiz Bowl The newly formed AAPG and SEG student chapters hosted the first Geological Sciences Quiz Bowl on April 2, Ten two-person teams competed for the championship by answering a broad range of questions submitted by the department faculty. The winner of the graduate division was team Tardigrades (Stephanie James and Matt Farrell), and the undergraduate title went to team Mohole (Daniel Collazo and Shane Fussell). Special thanks go to the Department for its support of the event, and to Department Chair Dr. David Foster for his opening remarks. Plans are in the works to make this event an annual tradition and expand the Quiz Bowl venue next year as several late team entries were turned away due to space constraints. Awards Continued from page 4 Sigma Gamma Epsilon is the national honor society for the earth sciences. The W.A. Tarr Award for an undergraduate major displaying scholarship, personality, leadership, and contribution to the school is awarded annually to one student at each school with an active SGE chapter. W.A. Tarr was the Grand Editor of the SGE publication The Compass from the first issue in 1920 until his death in Recipients receive a certificate and $50 from SGE and a supplemental award from the Department. The 2014 Tarr Award went to Lanie Nicole Meridth. The Estwing Award is provided by Estwing, a company that makes rock hammers and other outdoor tools. It is given to the best field camp student. The award and rock hammer was presented to Lanie Nicole Meridth. Two more awards were initiated recently by former Chair Michael Perfit and are funded through generous donations to the Department. The Chair s Best Student Thesis Award is presented each year to the student who completes the best undergraduate honors thesis. Chrissy Allen received the 2014 Chair s Best Student Thesis Award. The Outstanding Departmental Citizen Award is for members of the Department of Geological Sciences (including undergraduate students, graduate students, post-docs, staff, and faculty) for their contributions toward the betterment of education and outreach in the Department. Dow Van Arnam, the Department s Senior Engineering Technician, was presented the Outstanding Departmental Citizen Award. The 2014 Student Awards were presented by the Awards Committee of Drs. Andy Zimmerman and Pete Adams during the end of the year party on April 24 at the home of Andy and Mi-youn Zimmerman. After enjoying food and drink, the award winners were recognized and presented with a certificate. The awards and party were made possible by donations from generous alumni. Congratulations to all of the award winners and best wishes for their continuing success in geological sciences. The high quality of the teaching and research executed by the Department s students, faculty, and staff would justify more awards. If you would like to sponsor or endow an award, please contact Chair David Foster at dafoster@ufl.edu. New art displayed in Williamson Hall Dr. Michael Perfit, Professor and former Chair of the Department of Geological Sciences, has always had an interest in art (and geology). He wanted to use art to enhance the look of the interior of Williamson Hall while conveying the beauty of the natural environment in keeping with the topics the faculty teach and research. This resulted in a competition between UF undergraduate painting students sponsored by the Department. Students in Associate Professor of Painting and Drawing Julia Morrisroe s site-specific painting class were asked to select a Geological Sciences faculty member based on that professor s research interests. Each student gathered information from their selected faculty member to use for inspiration in creating a series of paintings along with a site-specific proposal to compete for a commission. From the submissions, the jury of faculty, including Geological Sciences Professor and Chair David Foster, Assistant Professor Andrea Dutton, and Director of the School of Art and Art History Richard Heipp, along with Morrisroe and Perfit, selected as the winner the work proposed by BFA painting student Josiah Lloyd to adorn the entranceway of Williamson Hall. Lloyd s three-story painting depicts rock strata and the local natural environment. It is entitled Prairie Horizontals (see a photo of the artwork on page 12) and is now installed in the building s entrance atrium. The art was officially unveiled at a reception on February 7, Two smaller paintings by student Jenna Horner, the second place winner, were also purchased by the Department and can be seen in the second floor hallway. PUT YOUR NAME ON THE WALL by donating to the University of Florida Geological Sciences Outcrop of Honor. Go to or call today!

6 6 ROCKYGator Can You Dig It? 2014 The Department of Geological Sciences annual outreach event at the Florida Museum of Natural History drew more than 3000 students and parents from area schools. The hands-on learning stations allowed children and adults to gain an understanding of various geological concepts.

7 Can You Dig It? 2014

8 8 ROCKYGator Earth Science Week News from our faculty, staff and students... Dr. Andrea Dutton On August 12, 2013, Assistant Professor Andrea Dutton was quoted in the New York Times commenting about another scientist s paper on predicting the timing of sea level rise. Dr. Michael O Leary of Curtin University in Australia examined the period between 127,000 and 119,000 years ago just preceding the most recent Ice Age. By looking at fossil beaches and coastal coral reefs, he found that sea level then had stabilized 10 to 12 feet above the current level before jumping about 17 feet, ending up 30 feet above the modern level. He believes this rapid sea level increase took less than a thousand years. Dutton told the Times that while she couldn t assess O Leary s conclusion until the data is published, if his work is valid, it has profound implications. She said such a large, rapid jump in sea level could only be caused by the collapse of a polar ice sheet. An article in the Summer 2013 issue of Amherst Magazine featured Dr. Dutton s research dating dead coral formations in Seychelles to determine specific historical sea levels at various elevations. The area Dutton studied was formerly under water. The article reports that her work, along with data from other scientists, suggests that continued melting of ice sheets as polar temperatures increase could lead to average global sea level rise of 20 to 30 feet. She said the potential problem is greater for the Eastern U.S. coastline because the land is sinking, creating the possibility of greater sea level rise than the global average. On September 22, 2013, Dr. Dutton s research on past sea level rise and what might happen in the future was discussed on the Scholar s Circle radio program. Hosted by Maria Armoudian and broadcast in California, Texas, and the Midwest, Dutton talked about her research examining the Last Interglacial, a time period before the last Ice Age with temperature conditions similar to today, except that the polar regions were a few degrees warmer. This was a warm period with polar ice sheets much like those currently in existence. She said compared to that time, temperatures are now changing much faster on a global scale. By studying fossil corals, Dutton determined sea level then was 18 to 30 feet higher than it is now, implying that polar ice sheets are very sensitive to very small increases in temperature. Her current research looks at when, how long, and under what conditions the West Antarctic ice sheet collapsed. She said her research suggests temperature increases of only a few degrees at the poles, expected to occur within decades, could commit us to reaching these very high sea levels at some point in the future. Dr. John Jaeger Associate Professor John Jaeger was the co-chief scientist of a Summer 2013 research expedition in the Gulf of Alaska on the scientific ocean drilling vessel JOIDES Resolution as part of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. The expedition was considered highly successful, as more than 3 kilometers of core and high-resolution logging data were retrieved from five different locations along the continental margin and deep sea that had been largely unexplored in the 20th century. An international team of 34 scientists, representing thirteen countries and multiple scientific disciplines, was assembled to study how long-term global climate change particularly, the onset and growth of ice sheets and large erosive glaciers in the past 2.5 million years can affect the growth of mountain ranges. The expedition scientists are examining this relationship by studying sediments eroded by glaciers and deposited in the ocean through analysis of the collected samples and integration with other geophysical data. The St. Elias Range in southern Alaska, the focus area of the study, is the highest coastal mountain range on the planet and a frequent destination of tourists on cruise ships. Other goals of the research include gaining a better understanding of the dynamics of the Northern Cordilleran Ice Sheet relative to other global ice sheets, obtaining a unique record of global geomagnetic field reversals, and examining ocean circulation dynamics and their effect on the carbon cycle during transitions into and out of ice ages. Dr. George Kamenov Associate in Geology George Kamenov co-authored a paper on the origin of gold in the November 2013 issue of Economic Geology. The research explored one of the oldest enigmas in geology, how gold nuggets found in river sediments are formed. Because gold is very resistant chemically, it is believed that nuggets are formed exclusively in ore veins and, as veins are eroded, the gold survives and ends up in the river sediments. However, several studies see News on page 9

9 News Continued from page 8 have found bacteria-like features on gold nuggets, suggesting the possibility that at least the outer surface of the nugget is biogenic gold, i.e., gold accumulated by bacteria. Kamenov s team compared lead isotopes in gold from an ore vein and gold from placer deposits around the vein. They discovered the placer gold is completely different from the vein gold, demonstrating that nuggets really form in the placer (river) environment. Bacteria-like films were found on some grains, confirming the gold is accumulated by the bacteria. In contrast to the other biogenic gold works, the isotope data show that the whole nugget is formed in the placer, not just the surface. The bacteria is not making gold. It is accumulating microscopic gold from the sediments into nuggets that eventually form economical placer gold deposits. Dr. Thomas Bianchi Professor Thomas S. Bianchi, the Department s Jon and Beverly Thompson Endowed Chair of Geological Sciences, is the first of three editors of the book Biogeochemical Dynamics at Major River-Coastal Interfaces: Linkages with Global Change recently published by Cambridge University Press. He also contributed some of the content. Designed for advanced students and researchers, the book provides a state-of-the-art summary of biogeochemical dynamics at major rivercoastal interfaces. River systems play an important role (via the carbon cycle) in the natural self-regulation of Earth s surface conditions by serving as a major sink for anthropogenic carbon dioxide. Approximately 90 percent of global carbon burial occurs in ocean margins, with the majority of this thought to be buried in large delta-front estuaries. This book provides information on how humans have altered carbon cycling, sediment dynamics, CO2 budgets, wetland dynamics, and nutrients and trace element cycling at the land-margin interface. Bianchi s new grant studies the Colorado River delta Can flooding the Colorado River Delta restore it to life? The delta, which connects the Colorado River with the Gulf of California near the Arizona-Mexico border, dried up after dams were constructed in the 1930s so the water could be diverted for agricultural and other uses. Now researchers led by Professor Thomas S. Bianchi, holder of the Jon and Beverly Thompson Endowed Chair of Geological Sciences, have been funded by the National Science Foundation to work within a U.S.-Mexico water treaty provision to examine the effects of an experimental pulse flood on carbon cycling in the region. Other coprincipal investigators on the study are Professors Peter Raymond (Yale University), David Butman (University of Washington), and Karl Flessa (University of Arizona), and graduate students Rory Kates (University of Florida) and Hector Alejandro Zamora (University of Arizona). Water totaling about 130 million gallons was released from the Moreles Dam starting March 25 and continued through mid-april Smaller continuing releases following this pulse flow will irrigate the resulting native vegetation. The team will examine how rapid mobilization of carbon and greenhouse gasses in newly flooded sediments and soils affect river-carbon composition and fluxes (land/ocean and land/atmosphere) after being isolated from an active floodplain. Water will be sampled several times at seven locations within the experimental flood zone. One thing particularly pleasing about the research is its extensive use of graduate students in both fieldwork and lab analysis of collected samples, noted Bianchi. This research will expand on the current knowledge of carbon cycling in floodplains, with an emphasis on shortterm pulse flows. It will allow a new perspective on how the time interval of dry periods between flooding pulses affects carbon cycling and fluxes in the Colorado River delta. This has important implications for understanding how stored carbon in dry soils is partitioned into the flood waters over short pulses and how this previously stored pool carbon becomes more activated into the global carbon cycle. This experiment has applications to other world regions where there are plans for controlled flooding in areas where extensive damming and diversions have also resulted in drier floodplains and eroding deltas. Foster s research takes him to Kenya Professor and Chair Dr. David Foster spent two weeks in the remote Turkana District of northern Kenya in August Foster and collaborators from Australia s Melbourne University are studying the formation of the Turkana Basin as a key to understanding how continents rift apart and oceans form. This vast desert basin is a relatively low elevation area between the two classic segments of the East African Rift in Kenya and Ethiopia where eastern Africa is slowly pulling away from western Africa. The basin includes Lake Turkana, the largest desert lake in the world, which stands in sharp contrast to the harsh landscape around it. The geology and climate of this region played a role in the dawn of mankind, and some of the earliest hominid fossils are found here. Anthropologist Richard Leaky, who has spent most of his life working in the area, has seen dramatic pressure on the local environment from climate change and overgrazing and warns that the region is a canary for human impacts on the global environmental system. The next step will be using thermochronology to analyze the past temperature history of the rocks the group collected. Foster anticipates the study s results will form the basis for a larger research effort into the evolution of the Turkana Basin.

10 10 ROCKYGator Students learn sequence stratigraphy In February, Geological Sciences students expanded their knowledge of sequence stratigraphy and seismic interpretation for petroleum geoscience applications with help from an expert in the field. On February 26, 2014 Jim Anderson of ExxonMobil conducted a Short course in sequence stratigraphy, the ExxonMobil Approach. Thirty-one competitive applications were received for the 17 available spaces that were filled by 12 graduate and five undergraduate students. The seven-hour course included three lectures and five exercises. Jim used an effective layered teaching approach. He started with a basic stratigraphic correlation exercise (sedimentary layer tracing) and finished with a complex seismic interpretation exercise requiring students to apply the basic skills they learned to a more realistic and significantly more complex petroleum environment. The course s success was obvious in the curious and happy expressions visible on each student s face throughout the day. They were engaged as much by Jim s animated stories of his professional experiences as by the course content. Recent alumnus Rich MacKenzie brought tales of his own fledgling career in ExxonMobil Operations while ably assisting Jim. The Department is hopeful this short course will become a regular feature of the academic year for our students. Special thanks to Jim Anderson, Rich MacKenzie, and ExxonMobil for donating time and resources to make this short course a reality. Do you have a subject idea for a short course you could provide for our students? If so, please contact David Foster at dafoster@ufl.edu. Join the campaign... the Outcrop of Honor campaign will support development of a modern student microscope lab and a new van for Summer Field Camp and course field trips. There are still tiles left, so contact dafoster@ufl.edu and add your name to our donors list!

11 Middle schoolers join GLY Field Methods field trip For the first time ever, this past October 2013 a group of inner city middle school students participated in a field trip with Professor Joe Meert s undergraduate Field Methods course. The joint trip was the brainchild of 2012 Geological Sciences B.S. graduate Nikki Biller. As part of the Teach for America program, she was teaching eighth-grade earth science at Northridge Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina, a Title I school whose students come from financially disadvantaged families. The concept behind Teach for America is to work in inner city schools where there s a large achievement gap with the hope that bringing in new ideas will help these students achieve scores comparable with students in neighboring schools that have much higher proficiency scores, Biller explained. With that in mind, when she heard Meert was taking his class to Tennessee, she asked if she could bring a few of her best students and he said yes. Dr. Meert made this all possible because of the relationship the Department has with its students and how flexible they can be, Biller said. The five students selected for the trip all belong to the middle school s Science Club co-coached by Biller and Clay Celander, a UF 2011 biology grad who is not a teacher. The club won first place for their electric car in a competition last year and entered four more competitions this year. The UF grads served as chaperones and drivers for the six hour trip, meeting Meert and his students at Raccoon Mountain in Chattanooga. Biller described her students as being above their peers academically and having incredible people skills. They needed to see real rigor and experience college to see what it s about to keep them motivated for high school, to keep them looking toward that goal, she explained. I don t think a single one of their parents has a college degree and probably not even high school diplomas. What s unique about these kids, against all these odds, they re reading books independently, they re joining all these clubs, they re working to get out of these situations they ve grown up in. While in the mountains, the middle schoolers did everything the UF students did, including camping out, determining map scale and triangulations using a Brunton compass, finding plant fossils, and listening to Meert s lectures. All the students took notes and asked questions and the young people were not shy about participating. For most of the inner city kids, this was their first experience seeing mountains and camping. They were thrilled to experience in person things shown in their textbooks. They learn things in science class but never get to see it in reality, Biller pointed out. The biggest thing they were excited about was learning Africa was once connected to North Carolina where they live. Biller said the trip exceeded all of her expectations. The college students were so welcoming and enjoyed being with my kids, she said. They did a good job of being role models and telling them that while college is a little bit difficult, it s all worth it. addresses and phone numbers were exchanged so everyone can stay in touch. After the trip, two students said they may want to study geology and two others are thinking about engineering careers. All want to do science and now have a better idea about what is involved. Biller said they are telling their fellow students about what they learned and are planning field trips to other nearby locations and they want to invite the UF students to join them. I was absolutely thrilled with this idea and even happier with the energy and enthusiasm of Nikki s students, Meert said. In a strange twist, I think Nikki s students reinvigorated my students love for the science. I know sometimes the pressure of grades and assignments can make a person forget they really do love the subject. In sharing their knowledge of geology with the Charlotte group, my students remembered why they chose this discipline. That mutual enthusiasm and respect made this one of the best field trips I ve had the pleasure to lead.

12 12 ROCKYGator We invite you to join our Outcrop of Honor donors Jim Anderson Jim and Deb Anderson Gerald Black Barb and Ron Ceryak Dr. Paul Ciesielski Henry and Emily Danker John and Carolyn Dykes Matthew and Teresa Fischer James and Glenna Floyd George K. Foster Kendall D. Fountain Geohazards, Inc. David Glicksberg and Family Gregory J. Halvatzis Huss Drilling, Inc. William C. Hutchings Jackson Stoneworks Ciro and Carolyn Luysterburg Elliott A. Mallard Arthur R. Marshall Foundation Gregory Mead Joe Meert and Family Bill Opperman Felipe Pimentel Michael J. Quinn Santa Fe College Kevin Seaway Tracy Shields Donna J. Sinks Daniel P. Spangler Lani Terry Jon and Bevery Thompson Dr. Joseph Meert is our latest UFRF Professor Professor Joseph Meert has been selected by the University of Florida Research Foundation (UFRF) as a UFRF Professor for He is one of only 33 faculty members across the entire university to be so honored. This recognition goes to tenured faculty members with a distinguished current record of research and a strong research agenda likely to lead to continuing distinction in their fields. The selection process included recommendations by their college deans based on nominations from their department chairs, a personal statement, and an evaluation of their recent research accomplishments as evidenced by publications in scholarly journals, external funding, honors and awards, development of intellectual property, and other measures appropriate to their field of expertise. For nearly two decades, the UFRF Professorships have recognized the university s top faculty researchers, said David Norton, UF s vice president for research. Key to the UFRF Professorship selection process is that it is based not only on what these individuals have done in the past, but what they are expected to achieve in the future. These are faculty who we anticipate will continue to generate cutting-edge research well into the future. Joe is one of 13 Geological Sciences faculty and Florida Museum of Natural History affiliate faculty who have been honored with this professorship to date. During 13 of the 17 years these professorships have been awarded, at least one UFRF Professor has come from Geological Sciences, reflecting the excellence of the faculty in the Department and the Museum, noted Chair David Foster. While this is the first time Joe has received the award, Jim Channell, Steven Manchester, Jon Martin, and David Hodell (now at Cambridge) have each won twice. Other prior awardees have been Jonathan Bloch, David Dilcher, Foster, Bruce MacFadden, Paul Mueller, Michael Perfit, and Elizabeth Screaton. Within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Associate Professor John Jaeger was selected as a Colonel Allan R. and Margaret G. Crow Professor, one of eight new CLAS Term Professors for Since 1995, CLAS Term Professorships have been awarded to outstanding faculty who excel in both scholarship and teaching. These professorships allow the college to recognize faculty who are making a significant difference in the classroom as well as through their scholarship. Previous Department faculty selected as CLAS Term Professors are David Foster, Ellen Martin, Jonathan Martin (selected twice), Joseph Meert, Paul Mueller, Michael Perfit, and Elizabeth Screaton. New art entitled Prairie Horizontals installed at the south atrium entry of Williamson Hall.