When a 7- to 8-foot-tall chunk of limestone broke off a cliff near a trail at Clifty Falls State Park in February, the IGWS responded to the scene. Geologist Victoria Leffel was able to tell the Indiana Department of Natural Resources what type of rock it was (the Laurel Member of the Salamonie Dolomite), why it fell (because of the weathering of the shale underneath), and that further rockfalls were likely unless engineers stabilized or scaled back the remaining mass.

Clifty Falls' Brough's Tunnel, which was temporarily closed anyway at that time of the year because of bat hibernation season, has remained closed indefinitely.

Leffel has spent more than a year so far looking for geologic hazards on public lands. She's been field-checking spots in the Hoosier National Forest, working toward creating an inventory of landslides on publicly owned properties. She's applied for a grant to fund the creation of a landslide inventory in southeastern Indiana. Later this year, she'll also publish an inventory of landslides along Indiana highways in the IGWS's Indiana Journal of Earth Sciences.

"I tell people, when they ask what I do and I say that I study landslides, they say, 'We have landslides in this state?' It's more than just an erosion issue; it's actually a mass movement of soils and rock. They're not as dramatic as what we see out West--they're slower moving--but they still cause a lot of maintenance issues," she said.

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How do you tell limestone from other types of stone? How do caves form and why are there so many in this area? Why are so many things built with limestone, and how important is that industry to this region?

If you want to know more about Indiana's official state stone than you already think you do, local experts will fill you in at the third annual Limestone Fest from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, June 15.

Hosted by the Indiana Geological and Water Survey (IGWS), this free, family-friendly event brings together geologists and representatives from other cultural, science-, and outdoor-related entities to celebrate Limestone Month in Indiana. Last year, about 400 local residents and visitors attended.

New to the festival this year will be outdoor showings of two films that feature limestone: the classic Bloomington movie, "Breaking Away" (approximately 1:30 to 3 p.m.); and a Science Channel documentary called "Unearthed: Secrets of the Empire State Building" (noon to 1 p.m.).

Between 11 a.m. and noon in the event tent, IGWS Education and Outreach Coordinator Polly Sturgeon will give a talk on the geoheritage of Indiana limestone.

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Two new research articles have been added to Vol. 6 of the Indiana Journal of Earth Sciences (IJES):

Vitrinite Reflectance Suppression Revisited--Example from the Devonian-Lower Mississippian New Albany Shale

This study aimed to investigate the phenomenon of vitrinite reflectance (VRo) suppression in the Devonian-Lower Mississippian New Albany Shale in the Illinois Basin, USA. Thirty-two samples from Indiana and Illinois were analyzed using organic petrography and organic geochemistry techniques. The authors suggest that vitrinite reflectance suppression occurs in many samples and the level of suppression depends on the alginite content. Therefore, maceral composition, and alginite content in particular, is very important to determine the correction to the measured VRo values in order to accurately assess thermal maturity and hydrocarbon generation potential of the New Albany Shale. Authors were IGWS research scientists Dr. Maria Mastalerz, Valerie Beckham-Feller, Ashley S. B. Douds, Nancy R. Hasenmueller, and Dr. Bei Liu, along with industry professionals Charles A. Sternbach and Brian Wilhite.

Read the study here.

Atlas of Microscopic Images of Biochar--Using Reflected Light Microscopy in Biochar Characterization

Biochar is a carbon-rich material generated during pyrolysis of biomass that is recognized for its significance in environmental applications and sustainable agriculture. While a few recent studies suggest a correlation between certain microscopic characteristics and selected physical and chemical properties of biochar, publicly available data are limited and difficult to compare. This "Atlas of Microscopic Images of Biochar" presents a collection of more than 300 images contributed by researchers from Poland, the United States, Canada, Australia, Brazil, and Denmark. Photomicrographs capture optical characteristics of a diverse array of biochar, showing its unique morphological and structural features. IGWS employees Dr. Maria Mastalerz and William M. Knauth were among the 13 co-authors; IGWS Research Affiliate Dr. Agnieszka Drobniak was the lead author.

Read the study and view the atlas here.

COMING SOON TO IJES:

• "Geologic Map of the Indiana portions of the 30- by 60-minute Jasper and Tell City Quadrangles" (map, pamphlet, and database)

IU classes are out for summer, but the IGWS Learning Lab continues to be open daily Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Special events on the calendar include:

• Pokemon Play Days: Friday, July 12, and Saturday, July 13: Learn about the fossil animals that inspired the game.

• Shark Week: Tuesday, July 23, to Saturday, July 27: Learn about prehistoric ocean predators.

Also, the popular Limestone Campus Walking Tours have restarted for the season. All tours are free and leave from the Sample Gates on the IU Bloomington campus. No reservations are needed. Available dates and times so far are:

• Thursday, June 13, 3 to 5 p.m.

• Tuesday, July 16, 10 a.m. to noon

• Saturday, July 20, 10 a.m. to noon

• Research Scientist Tracy Branam (35 years), Human Resources Coordinator and Bookstore Manager Janis Fox (35 years), and Computer Support Specialist Kathleen "Kathy" Griffin (25 years) were recognized at the IU 2023 Staff Retirement and Long Service Reception in May 2024. All three continue to work for the IGWS.

• IGWS Volunteer Affiliate Dr. Agnieszka Drobniak and Research Scientist Dr. Maria Mastalerz were co-authors on a paper, "Quality Assessment of Biomass Pellets Available on the Market--Example from Poland," published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research in May. Read the paper here.

• IGWS consultant Dr. Ben Dattilo was the lead author of a paper published in March/April issue of the journal Palaeontology. It uses digital modeling to address a 100-year-old question about how Rafinesquina, one of the most abundant seashells, lived. Read the paper here.

• The IGWS will host the 2024 Association of American State Geologists (AASG)/U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Data Preservation Workshop, Aug. 6-8 at the McCalla School on the campus of IU-Bloomington. Sessions will revolve around preservation and discoverability of geological and geophysical materials and data. To learn more, visit the event page on the IGWS website: https://igws.indiana.edu/nggdpp.

• IGWS Director Dr. Todd Thompson will speak Tuesday, June 11 at the Ellettsville Public Library at 5 p.m. The title of his talk is "Indiana Limestone: The rock we live on and the stone we build with."

• IGWS Research Scientist Dr. Bei Liu will speak to the Indiana Geologists group at their June meeting Wednesday, June 12, in Indianapolis. His talk will be on "Organic Matter in Black Shales: Accumulation, thermal maturation, and contribution to the pore system."

• The Board for the Licensure of Professional Geologists held a public hearing on May 29 to receive comments on the proposed continuing education rules for professional geologists. Proposed rule changes can be read here. The public comment period ends June 21.

• Visitors to the IGWS Spring Plant Event in early May generated $500 for the IGWS Graduate Research Scholarship Fund. This semiannual event will take place again around Labor Day.

• The IGWS hosted a group from the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey in May to share information about each Survey's activities and practices.

• IGWS Research Scientists Valerie Beckham-Feller and Ashley Douds attended a two-day, grant-funded core workshop in May hosted by the Michigan Geological Survey at their core facility Western Michigan University's Kalamazoo campus (pictured above). Organizers laid out over 3,000 ft of core from the Michigan Basin, from the Precambrian to Devonian Periods. The focus was on the confining systems (caprocks) for carbon sequestration, but the group also looked at associated potential reservoirs.

• IGWS Research Scientist Victoria Leffel and Assistant Director for Information Services Matt Johnson attended the Digital Mapping Techniques Workshop in Bloomington-Normal, Illinois, in May. Johnson spoke about "Tearing Down Data Silos" and "Understanding the Geological Data Needs of Your State."

• Johnson also attended the Indiana Association of Regional Councils board meeting in May to make connections with regional development organizations throughout the state.

• The current exhibit in the IGWS (see photo below) lobby focuses on critical minerals: earth materials that are essential to economic prosperity and national security, and may even be in your pocket right now. The series of exhibit cases can be visited when the lobby is open, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays to Fridays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.