On April 8, Eclipse Day in Indiana, most people’s eyes will be focused on the sky. IGWS researchers plan to be looking underground, too.

Scientists in the IGWS Center for Water are wondering how the eclipse might show up in the data they regularly pull from groundwater and climate stations across the state.

The IGWS maintains a network of 43 groundwater monitoring wells in Indiana, 40 of them in the path of totality for this eclipse. The wells regularly monitor several parameters, among them the groundwater level and barometric pressure. In addition, 15 mesonet stations (13 in the path of the eclipse) are equipped to measure solar radiation.

On April 8 between noon and 4 p.m., the IGWS will set up a climate station in the arboretum on the IU-Bloomington campus to collect some live, above-ground data. Other data will be automatically collected in specially programmed intervals at the IGWS’s monitoring wells and stations around the state.

"Citizen scientists" will be asked to participate in data collection by downloading a free lux light meter app on their phones, measuring the light outside before, during, and after the eclipse, and feeding that data back to the IGWS via a web survey. (An eclipse page on the IGWS website will contain instructions to follow closer to date.)

Solar radiation, of course, will change during the total eclipse, when the moon passes directly between the sun and the Earth, placing the Earth in its shadow.

Less certain is what could happen with groundwater level measurements, but they are known to be affected by tides. And tides, as you might know, are driven by cycles of the sun and moon. (They have been recorded for millions of years in the rock record.)

Ginger Davis, a research scientist in the IGWS Center for Water, is leading a project to gather data on how tides might measure aquifers’ ability to retain their pore space, and therefore their ability to store water.

"While not all well aquifer combinations are sensitive to every natural signal, the expectation is that most wells will respond to one or more of the following inputs: barometric pressure, evapotranspiration, ocean tides, Earth tides, seismicity, and precipitation," she explained.

"We will have a unique opportunity near the time of the eclipse to collect data on one of the biggest ambient stressors: the spring tide," she said. Spring tides are the "largest of the large tides" and occur during a new moon or full moon. "The total eclipse of April 8 will be a new moon, and the sun will be aligned directly over several of our monitoring wells," she said.

Seven days after a spring tide is a neap tide—a moderate tide—and the sun and moon will be at right angles to each other, Davis explained. "We will be increasing the frequency of measurements to a high resolution of 1-second intervals during this period and will look to capture a few more cycles in upcoming months to collect a good tide effect data set."

The hope is that this data will lead to a better understanding of the compressible nature of aquifers, Davis said, and that could have implications in land subsidence (a settling or sinking of land, sometimes from water over-withdrawal) and groundwater abstraction (removing water from its source).

IU has planned a litany of activities for Eclipse Day, including an event at Memorial Stadium. Learn more about those activities at the Eclipse IU website.

Above right: IWBN monitoring wells (water drops) and mesonet stations (triangles) are seen in the context of the eclipse path of totality through Indiana. Some wells and stations are co-located. | Casey Jones, IGWS

The IGWS is accepting applications until Friday, March 15, for students interested in working as Potter Interns for 6 to 8 weeks this summer.

More information can be found here.

These paid internships, headquartered at the IGWS on the IU-Bloomington campus, expose students to earth science-related careers and skills, such as collecting core in the field, creating maps, analyzing samples in a lab, organizing data into usable formats, and digitizing historical records. IGWS staff members act as mentors. Since the program started in the summer of 2022, two former Potter Interns have now become full-time staff members.

Last spring, more than 40 students—from high school through graduate school—applied. The IGWS will hire up to four interns for this summer to work on the following projects:

• Digitizing the Indiana Stone Belt region: Research and georeference the locations of historic quarry districts, quarries, and mills in the Indiana Stone Belt using ArcGIS. The project will utilize historic maps and publications from IGWS collections and external publications.

• Quaternary geology of west-central Indiana: Describe and analyze outcrops, sediment cores, particle size measurements, geochronology methods (radiocarbon and luminescence dating), and GIS data to understand the timing of glacial advance in west-central Indiana. The project will utilize field and laboratory techniques.

• Groundwater and water balance data collection: Acquire and process data from field visits and sensor arrays related to Indiana Water Balance Network and National Ground Water Monitoring Network sites. The project will analyze hydrologic and hydrogeologic measurements and use ArcGIS to disseminate data to various users.

• Geolocating a historic photograph collection: Research and geolocate the locations of limestone buildings and quarries pictured in the Indiana Limestone Company photograph collection. This project will reference historic newspapers, trade catalogs, industry reports, aerial imagery, and LiDAR to identify the latitude and longitude of locations from the early- to mid-1900s.

Apply through this link: https://igws.indiana.edu/about/internship.

Above right: Summer 2022 Potter Interns Kilauren Driscoll and Alex Martinez help IGWS Research Geologist Isaac Allred (right) pull a surface casing and seal a drill hole. | Valerie Beckham-Feller, IGWS

The Indiana Geological and Water Survey is a research institute, but it’s also a public service institute. Education and service to the state are central parts of our mission, accomplished through the collection of geologic specimens and data and the dissemination of scientific information. Here’s a snapshot of how we carried out that mission over the past year:

One map, one database, two research articles, and a special publication have been added to the Indiana Journal of Earth Sciences (IJES) since early December 2023:

Geologic Map of the Bedford 30- x 60-minute Quadrangle, Indiana

This map shows Mississippian and lower Pennsylvanian bedrock units and Pleistocene and Holocene deposits distributed over eight counties and five physiographic divisions. An accompanying map pamphlet includes full unit descriptions and links to documents in IGWS Digital Collections related to 100+ bedrock data points. In addition, a composite spatial data set that conforms to the standardized database schema known as GeMS (Geologic Map Schema) is available for download. This project was funded by a USGS STATEMAP award. Access the map and data here.

Gallium and Germanium in Pennsylvanian Coals, Shales, and Paleosols in Indiana

Gallium and Germanium are two elements of high industrial interest, included in the U.S. and E.U. lists of critical raw minerals. In this paper, IGWS Research Scientist Maria Mastalerz and IU graduate student Nathan Roden compare Ga and Ge concentrations between coals and associated paleosols and shales in Indiana, as well as Ga and Ge concentrations in waste from coal preparation plants. Read the paper here.

Silurian Diploporitans as Substrata: Paleoecological Observations and Patterns of Encrustation by Eucalyptocrinites (Crinoidea) in Southeastern Indiana

In his second paper for IJES Vol. 5, Professor James Thomka (SUNY-Plattsburg) and co-authors Donald Bissett and Thomas Bantel study diploporitan thecae, or "cystoids," found in the middle Silurian Massie Formation in Ripley County, Indiana. The authors describe and illustrate several morphological and paleoecological aspects of crinoid encrustation of diploporitans, including a rare occurrence of an encrusted Paulicystis fossil. (Image at right.) Read the paper here.

2024 IGWS calendar: Critical Minerals

The annual Indiana Geological and Water Survey calendar focuses on an area of Survey research, interest, or history. This year’s topic is critical minerals, earth materials that are essential to economic prosperity and national security. They include metals like lithium, nickel, and cobalt, rare earth elements, and other valuable minerals. Critical minerals are found in small concentrations, often with other mineral deposits, making them difficult and expensive to extract. China controls the market for processing and refining, which leaves most of the world reliant upon imports. Download the calendar here.

Janis Fox had two job offers: from General Electric and from Indiana University. For her, it was a tossup. For her dad, the choice was simple: "You take that job with Indiana University," he said, "because they’re always going to be there." He was right—GE closed in Bloomington in 2016—and Fox has been an IU employee now for 35 years.

Fox, the IGWS human resources coordinator and bookstore manager, was hired in 1988 to work in sales in the three-person publications department. During the oil and gas boom of the late ’80s, she was quite busy reproducing geologic maps for walk-in visitors. Later, she also took over payroll duties, handled financial documents, and coordinated HR paperwork with new hires. She’s helped nearly every current Survey employee through the hiring process.

When she first started, "I thought this was the most boring place," she said. "How can people care this much about rocks? But as the years went by, I learned to read topographic maps, and the geologists would explain things to me to where I could understand it. Now, I couldn’t imagine working in another department."

Each year, on the date she was hired—8/8—she walks the same route she took on her first trip through the building: through the Geology Building doors, down the hall to the right, and through the double doors into the Survey, knowing that despite all the changes she’s seen—from carbon paper to email, and from pub sales to payroll—she’s still evolving and adapting, happily helping wherever she’s needed. "I love learning new things," she said.

Have you always wanted to know if a plant was invasive, what kind of rock you’re looking at and how it got here, or how to find and identify Indiana’s wild mushrooms?

If so, you might want to become an Indiana Master Naturalist. For 10 weeks this spring, you can take those classes at the Indiana Geological and Water Survey.

Indiana Master Naturalist was developed by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and Purdue Extension Service to provide citizens with hands-on opportunities to learn about the state’s natural features and resources, then volunteer to use those skills for the good of their communities. For more than 10 years, IGWS staff have led presentations on Indiana’s geology for Master Naturalist courses around the state. In 2022, the IGWS became a host site for the program, and both years, those classes at the Learning Lab have filled quickly.

Topics on the schedule (subject to change) for the spring 2023 program include natural resources, rocks and fossils, glacial history, soils, water quality, trees, native plants, birds, animal skeletons, and mushrooms. Classes will take place on select Tuesday evenings from 6 to 9 p.m. at the IGWS/Geology Building.

Master Naturalist is open to any adult (age 18+) and costs $80 for 11 sessions (10 evenings and one Saturday field trip). Space is limited to 26 participants. Scan the QR code on the flyer at right for more information or click here to sign up.

This is one of two Master Naturalist programs happening in Monroe County in 2024, with the other taking place through the county parks department in the fall.

Two lesson plans focusing on the Ice Age have been added to the Outreach/Educational Resources section of the IGWS website:

• In "A Reader’s Theater: Ice Age Adventure" (elementary to middle school), students act out the parts of a mammoth, saber-toothed cat, dire wolf, ground sloth, and flat-headed peccary who are exploring the forest at the edge of the tundra. Students learn about the Ice Age landscape and the physical characteristics that helped animals survive.

• "Move, Evolve, Go Extinct" (elementary to high school) is an active activity that has students choosing an animal role, then attempting to survive as glaciers "melt" rapidly. Students will learn which animals’ adaptations enabled them to avoid extinction from climate change or from human predation.

• WORK WITH US: The IGWS is hiring two research geologists to work on the energy team. Read the job descriptions and apply at these links: Geological Research Specialist—Career and Geological Research Specialist—Advanced.


• The IGWS will participate in "Receding Horizons: A celebration of astronomy" at the IU Lilly Library on Thursday, March 7. At the opening reception between 4 and 7 p.m., IGWS staff will display a meteorite from the Learning Lab’s Education Collection and talk about the connections between rocks and space. Learn more about the event at this link.

• On Saturday, March 23, the IGWS will offer "Dinosaur" egg hunts, games, and crafts between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Hunts will take place during the last 15 minutes of every hour outside, while other activities will be ongoing indoors at the Learning Lab. (See flyer at right.)

• IGWS Director Dr. Todd Thompson and half a dozen staff members hosted a webinar for the IGWS Advisory Council on Jan. 31. Attendees learned about the Survey budget, staffing, needs, and 2023 accomplishments, and heard reports about current activities in the centers for water and energy.

• The Board for the Licensure for Professional Geologists met in Indianapolis on Jan. 25. Thirteen applicants were approved for licensure.

• Research Scientist Penny Padgett left employment with the IGWS on Jan. 4. She had served on the energy research team.

• Elena Cruz, an IU geology undergraduate who worked as a Potter Intern at the IGWS last summer, has been appointed to the Climate Action Plan Implementation Committee at IU Northwest.