GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA

Fall 2011 NEWSLETTER

 

INTERNET EDITION

EDITORS:. . Jason Vogelgesang
Volume 48
Number 2
September 2011		 Geological Survey Bureau
109 Trowbridge Hall
Iowa City Iowa 52242-1319
 

GSI world wide web homepage: http://www.iowageology.org

 

2011 GSI SPRING FIELD TRIP “THE GEOLOGICAL WONDERS OF BREMER COUNTY”

April 30, 2011

     

    

     Several people arrived on the morning of April 30th for last spring’s GSI trip in Bremer County.  The first stop of the day was at South Riverside Park in Waverly.  This quaint park allowed participants the opportunity to learn about bedrock geology, river dynamics, water quality and local history.  Brian Witzke and Robert McKay of the Iowa Geological and Water Survey (IGWS) gave a brief overview of the geology and history of the area.  At this site a Cedar River meander incised a bedrock high and created a great exposure of the Little Cedar Formation.  The area was quarried about a century ago, and was one of Waverly’s important resources historically.  Many people briefly wandered around the remnants of the old quarry, pondering what it might have been like a hundred years ago.  Chad Fields of the IGWS gave a fascinating talk on the interaction of Cedar River surface water with groundwater, and how near surface carbonate bedrock acts as a medium between the two. 

     The second stop of the day took place near Tripoli, as the Paul Niemann Construction Company graciously opened their Tripoli-Platte Quarry for us to explore the lower part of the Silurian Hopkinton Formation.  This site allowed the unique opportunity to see structurally deformed beds up close.  Less prominent dips were believed to show original depositional slopes, while more prominent dips and overturned beds were believed to be the outcome of slumping and compaction.  Field trips leaders included Brian Witzke, Bob McKay and Thomas Marshall of the IGWS.  This site provided a great opportunity to not only learn about the interesting local geology but also was a great mineral and fossil collecting area!

     A special thanks goes out to the folks at the Paul Niemann Construction Company’s Tripoli-Platte Quarry for allowing us the opportunity to visit their unique site.  Also deserving thanks is John Dawson of Kirkwood Community College and Chad Fields, Jamie Frauenholtz, Thomas Marshall, Robert McKay, Stephanie Tassier-Surine and Deborah Quade of the IGWS, and all others who participated in the trip or contributed to the guidebook.

The PDF of Guidebook 88, THE GEOLOGICAL WONDERS OF BREMER COUNTY, is available on the GSI web site at www.iowageology.org/pdf/GB88.pdf.


 

 

Page 2

 

Page 3

2011 GSI Fall Field Trip

The Geology of Moscow Quarry

Muscatine County, Iowa

Saturday, October 22, 2011

 

***Our apologies for the extreme short notice on this trip***

      The 2011 Geological Society of Iowa Fall Field Trip will take place at the Moscow Quarry on Saturday October 22nd.  The quarry is owned and operated by Wendling Quarries, Inc. and is found south of Interstate 80 near the Cedar River (see Map 1).  The field trip will begin at the Moscow Quarry entrance where we will meet at 9:00 am (see Map 1 caption for location).  The Moscow Quarry will give us the opportunity to look at some great Devonian exposures.

 

Map 1.  Location of Moscow quarry.
From the junction of Hwys. 38 & 6, drive west four miles.  Just west of the Cedar River bridge, turn north on Noble
Ave.  Drive approximately 1/2 mile.  Quarry is located on the west side of the road.
Map and directions courtesty of http://wendling quarries.com

 

Field Trip Meeting Location

     Field trip participants should gather at Wendling Quarries, Inc.’s Moscow Quarry (1148 Noble Avenue, Moscow, IA) at 9:00 am on Saturday October 22, 2011.  As usual, DO NOT DRIVE ON THE QUARRY SCALE and LEAVE A LANE FOR TRUCKS TO PASS WITHOUT CROSSING THE SCALES.  GSI or company personnel will direct you where to park.  Participants are asked to bring hard hats if they have them (GSI will have some for those who need them), eye protection (safety glasses, regular glasses, or sun glasses) and closed-toe shoes (preferably leather boots).  Please do not wear sandals.  Also, bring a sack lunch!

     As always, this field trip is free and open to anyone who is interested in learning more about the geology in Muscatine County.  Guidebooks will be available, free to GSI members and available for the cost of printing (less than $10) to non-members.  We hope that you are able to attend.

 

 

Page 4

IOWA SCIENCE TEACHERS SECTION FALL CONFERENCE

     The Iowa Teaching Section of the Iowa Academy of Science will host the 2011 Iowa Science Teachers Fall Conference October 17-18. The conference will take place at the Scheman Building on the Iowa State University campus in Ames, Iowa. The theme for this year is “Soar to the Core”.  Keynote speakers will be Dr. Christina Buesching and Dr. Chris Newman from Oxford University and hosts of Earthwatch’s Mammals of Nova Scotia expedition.  See http://www.iacad.org/ists for more information.

IOWA GROUNDWATER ASSOCIATION FALL MEETING

     The Iowa Groundwater Association’s (IGWA) Fall Meeting will take place on October 26th at the Iowa State University Extension Building, Johnson County 4H Fairgrounds in Iowa City, Iowa.  Trevre Andrews of AECOM in New York and Adam Ward of the University of Iowa are a couple of the guest speakers at this event.  More information can be found at: http://igwa.org

MAJOR WEBSITE CHANGES FOR IGWS

     The IGWS website is scheduled to be redesigned this year.  More details will be provided on http://www.igsb.uiowa.edu in the coming weeks.

 

Page 5
 

With the Fall GSI Newsletter comes the opportunity to elect the 2011 Geological Society of Iowa officers.  A President Elect, Secretary-Treasurer, and one member of the Board of Directors will be elected to join active GSI officials:

Continuing GSI Officers

 

President:

Rhawn Denniston

 

Board of  Directors:

 

President Elect.:

_______________

 

 

Stephanie Tassier-Surine (2009-2011)

 

Secretary-Treasurer:

_______________

 

 

Brian Witzke (2010-2012)

 

Past President:

Thomas Marshall

 

 

____________ (2010-2012)

 

President Elect ……Deborah Quade

Deb Quade is the supervisor of the Geology and Groundwater Section, Iowa Geological and Water Survey.  In addition to those duties, she is the STATEMAP mapping coordinator for the Iowa. She is active in environmental geology issues and currently involved in surficial mapping projects on the Des Moines Lobe and the Iowan Erosion Surface.  She received her bachelor's and master’s degrees in geology from the University of Iowa.  Deb’s research involves mapping Des Moines Lobe deposits, as well as projects concerning the hydrogeology and geomorphology of Holocene and Pleistocene sediments relative to water resource, environmental and landscape evolution studies.

Secretary-Treasurer.......... Jason Vogelgesang

Jason received his BS in Geoscience from the University of Iowa in July of 2009. He began working for the Iowa Geological and Water Survey as a student in April 2008. He currently enters and maintains well information in computer databases, and obtains and prepares geological rock chip and core samples in the Survey’s Rock Library. He regularly monitors static well levels across the State, and assists staff geologists with projects and fieldwork. Jason’s primary area of geologic interest is hydrogeology, but he enjoys all aspects of Iowa geology

Board of Directors.......... Bill Bunker

Bill has investigated the stratigraphic and structural framework of the Phanerozoic rocks of Iowa over the past 40 years. His primary areas of study involved the Devonian and Silurian rocks of eastern Iowa and their relationships to the groundwater resources in this region. Results of these studies helped to identify a prominent structural feature in east-central Iowa (i.e. Plum River Fault Zone), and a better understanding of the lithostratigraphic and depositional framework of the Cedar Valley & Wapsipinicon groups, late Middle Devonian. He has also been involved in stratigraphic investigations of Kinderhookian and Osagean rocks of the Iowa Mississippian, and hydrogeologic investigations of the Dakota Sandstone Aquifer (Cretaceous) of northwestern Iowa.

GSI Voting Members will receive Ballots with this Newsletter.  Ballots must be returned  by November 4, 2011.

 

Page 6

 

 

. . return to GSI Home Page