A long-running IGWS effort to bring filed-away project data out of cabinets and back into routine use has received a funding boost from the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP).

The IGWS learned at the end of February that it will receive $342,491.43 to conduct three projects in 2023 and 2024. Project A will include:

• inventorying approximately 80 years’ worth of legacy maps and field notebooks that currently reside inside 430 drawers in offsite storage;

• determining which of those items have been scanned and scanning those that have not;

• cataloging the scanned maps and notebooks in the IGWS Digital Collections system;

• digitizing data points on legacy maps, giving priority to areas that will be studied in upcoming STATEMAP projects;

• reorganizing and refiling the paper copies of these records in the new IGWS Records Center; and

• recording each paper record in a digitally searchable catalog, CollectiveAccess.

Project B—focusing on gamma logs—will follow similar steps. Gamma logs are readouts of natural radiation in a drill hole or well; they give geologists clues as to the types of rocks or soils that appear at certain depths.

Project C will involve measuring, assessing, photographing, and cataloging the more than 2,000 rock and mineral specimens in the IGWS Education collection. Photos will go into IGWS Digital Collections; data about each will be added to the CollectiveAccess digital catalog which keeps track of physical items in IGWS holdings.

These projects are steps in a decades-long effort to make geologic data from the 186 years of the Survey’s history more discoverable and therefore usable in current mapping projects. Currently, records that were not “born digital” are housed in the IGWS basement and in the old Marching Hundred building at State Road 46/Fee Lane. They landed at both places due to extensive renovations at the IGWS building in 2019-2021. Not having all of them onsite and cataloged—and adding several staff members who don’t have the institutional knowledge of past work—makes it challenging to find and use legacy research materials for new purposes.

“Like any museum, archive, or library collection, having a centralized and organized space with well documented location information for resources makes everyone's life easier,” said Jenna Lanman, archivist and collections manager.

In 2022, a $142,582 grant from the NGGDPP enabled the IGWS to buy high-density shelving and 5,000 boxes in which to store paper records. Some are being moved to the new Records Center room on the first floor of the IGWS building. The 2022 award also funded the inventorying and rehousing of 693 linear feet of petroleum industry records and 101 linear feet of gamma log records; and the uploading and describing of 26,000 core sample photographs and X-ray fluorescence records into IGWS Digital Collections.

“This is a great opportunity to both organize and curate Survey digital assets and to share more broadly the interesting and important work we do,” said William Knauth, digital archivist. “I am looking forward to the jolt this will give to building out and enriching our current digital collections platform.”

Last summer, four college students gained lab and fieldwork experience and sampled several facets of geological research through the Paul Edwin Potter Internship Program. Later this month, four more students will be chosen to complete 4- to 10-week paid summer internships led by IGWS mentors.

The Paul Edwin Potter Internship is intended for “worthy and deserving geology students and other persons involved in high school, college, or post-graduate master’s education (excluding Ph.D candidates) in the field of geology.” Applicants should be interested in Indiana geoscience and/or related fields such as environmental science, geography, information science, museum curation, and science education.

Applicants can choose from six projects involving energy storage, stratigraphy, groundwater quality and quantity, digitization of physical data, and public outreach about economic minerals or Indiana fossils.

The application period is open through March 17; acceptance notifications will be sent on March 31.

Read more about the program and apply at this link.

IGWS Research Geologist Don Tripp recently came across an unusual specimen at an outcrop in Harrison County about three miles from the Ohio River.

This is a conulariid, a water-dwelling organism whose phylum is debatable, found in silty, argillaceous (clay-rich) limestone near the top of the Salem Limestone. Tripp thought it was a strange-looking bryozoa at first before doing more research and taking it to Polly Sturgeon, the IGWS’s resident fossil identifier. “They’re pretty weird mystery fossils,” Sturgeon said. “They may be related to corals, but some people think they’re their own phylum.”

Unlike some corals, which have calcium carbonate exoskeletons, conulariids had a calcium phosphate exoskeleton. The fossils resemble a fish filet with their long, extended pyramid shape and distinct ridges. They would anchor to the ocean floor as filter feeders.

What was particularly notable about this one was its size. “You don’t often run into anything that significant in the field,” Tripp said. Other conulariids he’s seen have been smaller, more able to fit in the palm of his hand.

Tripp has the fossil set out where he can admire it for now, but he plans to donate it to the IGWS Learning Lab.

Never been to the Learning Lab? Curious about what’s in it for you? A new feature on the IGWS website helps you browse this interactive learning space from afar.

Visit https://igws.indiana.edu/learninglab to view the virtual walk-through created by the Indiana University IU3D team. It provides pop-up information buttons which show off IGWS lobby exhibits and lead viewers around the many cabinets and display spaces in the first-floor Learning Lab. If a pop-up interests you, you can click on it to be led to that spot and learn more about it. For instance, did you know that the Learning Lab cabinets contains some poisonous or radioactive minerals? (They are secured under glass so that they can’t be touched.) The lab also is home to Indiana’s largest known geode, weighing in at 350 pounds. (You should have seen us trying to devise ways to safely move it onto its perch!)

The IU3D team had created virtual tours of IGWS assets before, such as the former core library at 11th Street and Locust Grove Avenue. “I knew once I set this place (the Learning Lab) up, we’d want to get one done so people could see what to expect,” said Polly Sturgeon, IGWS education and outreach coordinator. “And also, if you’re not able to visit, we took pictures of one drawer from every cabinet to give an array of our collections so people could virtually explore.”

The Learning Lab is open for in-person exploration from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday. Since its official opening in June 2022, more than 2,200 people have visited.

• Collections Assistant Cameron Strause’s last day at the IGWS was Feb. 10; he moved out of state.

• Collections Intern Amanda Wollenweber’s last day at the IGWS was Feb. 6; she was hired at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis.

• Carley Divish and Connor Miller have started working in the Learning Lab part-time. Divish is an IU senior studying anthropology and underwater archaeology, classical civilizations, and submerged archaeological resource management. She learned about the IGWS at a recent outreach event, had her first class in the Geology Building this semester and visited the Learning Lab out of curiosity. She’s appreciated this opportunity to gain knowledge about rocks and fossils as she moves on to graduate study. Miller graduated early from IU in December with a degree in earth and atmospheric sciences. He's been working part-time in the Geology Building in various roles for about a year, doing office work for the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and aiding Facilities Administrator John Hettle. He's now spending two days per week in the Learning Lab sharing his knowledge of geology and paleontology with IGWS visitors, and occasionally helping with IGWS fieldwork.

• IGWS Director and State Geologist Dr. Todd Thompson became president of the Association of American State Geologists (AASG) Foundation at the beginning of the calendar year. He also serves as chair of the AASG Honorary Committee, representing former state geologists within the AASG scientific community.

WORK WITH US

• The IGWS is seeking a full-time energy research associate scientist with experience in the energy-rock-water continuum. Read the job posting and apply by clicking here.

• The IGWS is seeking a full-time collections assistant to organize, catalog, and archive geologic samples and paper records. Click here to read the job posting and apply.

• Licensed Professional Geologists board Secretary DeAnn Reinhart hosted a webinar on Feb. 23 for the Indiana Board for the Licensure of Professional Geologists Continuing Education committee. The webinar outlined the rules for the new continuing education requirement mandated in Public Law 108-2022. A recording, transcript, and Q&A notes are available at the LPG website, https://igws.indiana.edu/LPG/.

• Dr. William Elliott, former department chair of the Geology and Geophysics Department and now associate dean of the Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education at the University of Southern Indiana, visited the IGWS Feb. 25 with a half-dozen geology undergraduate students from his sedimentology and stratigraphy class. (See photo at right.) IGWS staff members Polly Sturgeon, Tracy Branam, Dr. Maria Mastalerz, and Dr. Todd Thompson led tours through the Learning Lab, research laboratories, and collection facility, and various IGWS research programs were discussed.

• Carley Divish, Polly Sturgeon, and Kristen Wilkins represented the IGWS at GeoFest at the Indiana State Museum Feb. 17-19. Around 3,500 people attended the event. The IGWS booth featured Learning Lab merchandise and hands-on activities about the crystal habits of minerals using magnetic tiles. See photos here.

• GeoCreate is again being offered on select Tuesdays at the IGWS Learning Lab. Drop in for an hour between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. to make artwork inspired by IGWS collections. Makers of all ages, abilities, and levels of experience are welcome. Learn more here.

• IGWS research affiliate Dr. Agnieszka Drobniak was an invited speaker at the European Pellet Conference on March 1 in Wels, Austria. The conference is a part of a weeklong World Sustainable Energy Days event and the largest annual pellet meeting worldwide. Drobniak made a presentation on innovative scientific projects conducted by the Centre for Biomass Energy Research and Education which consists of scientists from the University of Silesia in Poland and Indiana University.

• Research Geologist Dr. Isaac Allred spoke to about 60 people as an invited presenter at the Brigham Young University—Idaho Department of Geology seminar on Jan. 27. His topic was “The Grand Canyon, the Appalachians, and Earth’s Greatest Time Capsules: The journey of detrital zircons.”

• Research Geologist Victoria Leffel was the featured speaker at the February meeting of Indiana Geologists, discussing Indiana landslide hazards.

• Research Geologist Dr. Maria Mastalerz gave a talk at the Feb. 15 Annual Meeting of Indiana Mining and Reclamation titled “Coal and Coal Byproducts as Potential Sources of REE in Indiana.” A paper on this topic was published in the Indiana Journal of Earth Sciences.

• Mastalerz will give a virtual presentation to the Society of Organic Petrology (TSOP) on Thursday, March 16. Her talk, “My Adventure with Organic Petrology,” focuses on her body of research that spans 40-plus years and three continents. Anyone wishing to log on at 7 a.m. ET is welcome to do so with this Zoom link: https://iu.zoom.us/j/85471218196, meeting ID 854 7121 8196.

• Three groups of IGWS staff have submitted abstracts to present at the Indiana Academy of Science Annual Meeting in Indianapolis Saturday, March 18. The topic for Tracy Branam, Ben Romlein, and Casey Jones is the soon-to-be-launched Indiana Springs database. Polly Sturgeon, Jenna Lanman, Will Knauth, Kristen Wilkins, Sara Clifford, and Matt Johnson submitted an abstract titled “Promoting Access to Indiana’s Geological Collections.” Victoria Leffel will give a talk on Indiana landslides.

• Research Geologist Ginger Davis will present at the Indiana Alliance for Rural Water Conference in French Lick March 14-16. Her topic is “Indiana Source Water Protection: Conservation at the heart.”

Do you know an Indiana student interested in an oil and gas career path? If so, please tell them about the Indiana Oil and Gas Association (INOGA) scholarship program, underway now for the fall 2023 semester.

Eligible recipients must be high school seniors, home school graduates, or current post-secondary students planning to attend an accredited college this fall and pursue a career in the oil and gas industry. Recipients must be working on a bachelor’s degree, with preference given to earth sciences, petroleum engineering, chemical engineering, or geology majors.

The group typically awards five to seven scholarships per year at $500 to $5,000 each. Awards are for one year but can be renewed by reapplying.

The deadline to apply is Friday, April 1. Click here to learn more or download the application.

The Indiana Geological and Water Survey, a longstanding institute of Indiana University, conducts research; surveys the state; collects and preserves geologic specimens and data; and disseminates information to contribute to the mitigation of geologic hazards and the wise stewardship of the energy, mineral, and water resources of Indiana.

• To join the monthly E-Geo News mailing list, please click here.

• To ask a question of IGWS staff or suggest an E-Geo News topic, email scliffo@iu.edu.