Pick up a 3-inch-wide half-cylinder of the Ste. Genevieve Limestone, and you can smell the oil trapped within the rock. Spray it, and water beads up on the surface. Geologic maps show subsurface natural resources, but handling them makes them much more real.

About 70 students, scientists, state agency representatives, and industry professionals participated in the Eastern Section American Association of Petroleum Geologists Core Workshop at the Monroe County Convention Center in Bloomington Oct. 27-28. The IGWS helped organize it with the aim of convening geoscientists across seven states and three geologic basins to informally share their collective knowledge of the stratigraphic section in their regions, from the Pennsylvanian Period to the Precambrian Period.

State Geologist Dr. Todd Thompson looks over a core of the Ste. Genevieve Limestone with attendees of the Eastern Section AAPG at a core workshop at the Monroe County Convention Center Oct. 28, 2024. | Sara Clifford, IGWS

Sixteen cores gathered from between 0 and 6,400 ft below the surface were laid out across two floors of the convention center. Eight cores--representing the New Albany Shale, Ste. Gen, and Mansfield Formation--were pulled from the IGWS's Core Research and Teaching Repository in Bloomington; the others were driven in from Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

Scientists from contributing agencies gave preview talks of their cores Monday morning; that afternoon, they spritzed water on the samples to highlight sedimentary features and explained their intricacies to anyone wishing to engage. An IGWS core spanned the middle of the upstairs conference room, with State Geologist Dr. Todd Thompson, IGWS Volunteer Affiliate Dr. Brian Keith, and grad student Alec Siurek showing off its versatility.

Read more...

Editor's note: The E-Geo News has been walking readers through the various steps required to turn physical data such as core samples into a functional geological map. This is the seventh installment in this series; the first was core collection, then core describing, lab analysis, outcrop scouting, historic data mining, and behind-the-scenes data management.

IGWS GIS and Cartographic Analyst Casey Jones talks through the process of making of a two-dimensional geologic map. | Sara Clifford, IGWS

IGWS Cartographer Casey Jones has often argued that his job doesn't need to exist. With modern GIS and mapping software such as ArcGIS Pro, tabular data can easily be visualized on a screen in map form.

For many producers and consumers of geological data, though, a two-dimensional, printable map is still an expected product. For Jones, whose background is in fine arts and GIS, producing that map is often challenging, in both the fun and the frustrating senses of the word.

Read more...

Four new projects have been published to Vol. 6 of the Indiana Journal of Earth Sciences since mid-August:

Quaternary Geology of the Bloomington 30- x 60-minute Quadrangle, Indiana

This map displays the unconsolidated sediments deposited near the southern limit of multiple glaciations at the northern end of the Crawford Upland, Mitchell Plateau, and Norman Upland physiographic provinces in south-central Indiana, involving parts of Bartholomew, Brown, Clay, Greene, Jackson, Johnson, Morgan, Monroe, Owen, and Putnam Counties. Detailed descriptions of mapped units, along with an explanation of methodology and links to digital records, are included in an accompanying pamphlet. A composite spatial data set is also available for download. This project was funded in part through the STATEMAP program supported by the U.S. Geological Survey. Read the publication at this link.

Updated Stratigraphic Framework for Late Pleistocene Glacial Deposits of the Saginaw Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, Indiana

The authors assessed 16 lithostratigraphic units that have been formally and informally proposed over the years, along with a host of informal morphostratigraphic units introduced in recent generations of geologic maps. They establish formal lithostratigraphic units for diamicton-dominated sediments and associated glaciofluvial units deposited by the Saginaw Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in northern Indiana during the Wisconsin Episode, and recommend one major new unit to be elevated to the rank of formation: the Elkhart Formation. This project was funded in part through the STATEMAP program supported by the U.S. Geological Survey. Read the publication at this link.

The St. Meinrad Coal Member (Pennsylvanian)--Reference Sections from Spencer County, Indiana

This paper describes the geochemical, petrographic, and palynologic properties of the Pennsylvanian-age St. Meinrad Coal Member--an important stratigraphic boundary--and discusses its correlation with the Bell coal in Kentucky. This project was funded in part through the STATEMAP program supported by the U.S. Geological Survey. Read the publication at this link.

Atlas of Microscopic Images of Raw Biomass Used in Fuel Production

With the anticipated growth in biomass use for energy, it is essential to establish analytical techniques to assess the quality of fuel feedstock materials and the implications of their utilization on public health and our ecosystem. This online photographic atlas offers a collection of 553 photomicrographs which capture the characteristics of a diverse array of biomass feedstock. It is intended to serve as a resource for researchers, industry professionals, educators, and enthusiasts interested in investigating the microscopic complexities of biomass forms, as nations strive toward reducing their reliance on fossil fuels. Lead author Dr. Agniezka Drobniak reports that in early November, the atlas will be used as educational material for the 2nd Interlaboratory Study on Biomass Fuels, to be attended by at least 56 scientists from 25 countries. Read the publication at this link.

COMING SOON to IJES:

• "Proposed Changes to Pennsylvanian Stratigraphy" by Mastalerz and others

• "Surficial Geology of the Indiana Portion of the Chicago Quadrangle and the Northern Half of the Kankakee 30- x 60-minute Quadrangle" (map, pamphlet, database) by Loope and Antinao

• "Introduction to Carbon Sequestration in Indiana" by Beckham-Feller and others

Bluespring Caverns, home to America's longest navigable underground river, celebrates its 50th anniversary this month. The Lawrence County cave has been co-owned by Sam Frushour, an IGWS retiree and current volunteer affiliate, since 1973. Read more about the cave's history in this news story and learn about cave tours on the Bluespring Caverns website.

Fourth-graders from Helmsburg Elementary in Brown County climb aboard underground boats at Bluespring Caverns in Lawrence County on Oct. 18, 2024. Bluespring Caverns is celebrating its 50th anniversary in November 2024. | Sara Clifford, IGWS

• State Geologist Dr. Todd Thompson designated Nov. 4, 2024, as Sam Frushour Day with an official proclamation, noting that Frushour has "for many decades upheld the standards and scientific rigor of the study of geology in both the laboratory and in the field ... freely conveying all that he has learned and discovered to generations of Indiana Geological and Water Survey staff and hourly and employees, has done so in a professional, kind, and affable manner, and has made major contributions to the study of springs and caves in Indiana over his lifetime," and also has "consistently soaked his feet in nearly every spring he has visited and doused his backside occasionally." Frushour, a longtime IGWS volunteer affiliate, announced that this was his last season sampling springs in the field. "This is a wonderful place to work. It really is," he said in response to the surprise award. "We aren't rich, but we're sure as hell happy."

• Ellie Sage started working Sept. 23 as IGWS project manager. A Bloomington native, she holds a bachelor's degree in anthropology from IU Bloomington and a master's degree from the University Sheffield in osteoarchaeology, focusing on the study of human remains. She had been working in travel and event planning at the IU Center for Exploration of Energy and Matter until taking this new job to grow her skill set. Sage is responsible for the logistical and financial administration of more than 20 grant-funded and at least 16 internally funded IGWS projects. "My door's open, and I'm happy to help and willing to learn," she said. "I want to facilitate the researchers' passions and make sure that they're getting the research done that they want to do."

• Julie Harper, Allison Griffin, and Diane Osborn have joined the staff as part-time hourly data entry specialists: Harper in June and Griffin and Osborn in October. All three are digitizing well records which contain information needed for grant-funded projects about underground sources of drinking water and other uses of the subsurface.

• Lorena Jevnikar has started working part-time in the Learning Lab. She is a first-year master's degree student in the IU Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, focusing her thesis on coral reef evolution.

• IU student Julia Ritter is working with IGWS Outreach and Education Coordinator Polly Sturgeon on a curatorship master's capstone project to create the 2025 IGWS lobby exhibit on historic cartography. The exhibit will be installed in March 2025.

• Administrative Coordinator Chris Gagnon's last day with the Survey was Oct. 25. He has taken a different job in the IU system, having worked in the IGWS business office for two years.

• Tisa Bowden, a nearly 10-year veteran of the Survey, left her post as assistant director for business on Oct. 31 to take a different job in the IU system.

• WORK WITH US: The IGWS is seeking to hire an administrative coordinator and a financial administrative leader. The job description for administrative coordinator can be found here, and the financial job is advertised here.

• Research Scientist Ashley Douds was a coauthor on a presentation chosen for the 2022 American Association of Petroleum Geologists' Ralph L. Miller Best Energy Minerals Division Paper Award; the award was given at last month's AAPG Eastern Section core workshop in Bloomington.

• Douds was the speaker at the Indiana Geologists' September meeting in Indianapolis. Her topic was "Carbon Sequestration in Indiana: Background, activity, and geological assessment."

• Research Scientist Victoria Leffel attended the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists Annual Meeting in Philadelphia in September where she presented on Indiana landslides.

• IGWS Editor Sara Clifford attended the Association of Earth Science Editors Annual Meeting in Olympia, Washington, in October and spoke about "Using Microsoft Teams as a Task-tracking Tool." The IGWS is making plans to host the 2025 AESE meeting in Bloomington.

• Education and Outreach Coordinator Polly Sturgeon presented on Indiana geoheritage inventory methods at the Geological Society of America annual meeting in Anaheim, Calif., in September; Nick Angelos (IGWS) and Peggy Fisherkeller (Indiana State Museum) were coauthors. The geoheritage work is being supported by the USGS STATEMAP program. View the slide deck at this link.

• Research Scientist Ginger Davis gave six presentations in three weeks in early fall. Several talks were about groundwater and Indiana aquifers: to the Upper Wabash River Basin Commission and to the Cass and White County soil and water conservation districts, including state and local legislators. She spoke at a water summit about source water protection efforts, and recorded a webinar for the Indiana Lake Management Society about groundwater-lake interactions, available here. She also traveled to Goose Pond and Lakes in Sullivan to speak with the Montessori School of Westfield about becoming a water resource professional or geologist.

• The 2024 IGWS Fall Plant Event, organized by Research Scientist Nancy Hasenmueller, raised $400 for the IGWS Graduate Research Scholarship Fund. The next plant event will take place in the spring.

• GeoCreate "crafternoons" wrapped up on Nov. 2. For six weeks, visitors to the Learning Lab could create and take home a craft that related to a specific IGWS specimen. Crafts included weaving speleothems on a loom, making paper mosaics of mastodons, and folding crystal habit shapes out of paper.

• The Learning Lab will be closed during the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day; visit https://events.iu.edu/igws/ for hours.