ISGS - June 2005 Activity Highlights

ISGS Hosts Meeting of State Geologists

From June 11-15, at Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, the ISGS hosted the 97th annual meeting of the Association of American State Geologists (AASG). Meeting participants included 34 active state geologists, 9 honorary and retired state geologists, deputy state geologists from 13 states, and representatives of 6 federal agencies and 8 non-governmental agencies or foundations. The officials gather annually to discuss problems of mutual concern, coordinate research and service programs with officials of sponsoring federal agencies, and conduct Association business. A total of about 100 people, including spouses and other guests, attended the meeting. On Sunday, June 12, Illinois Department of Natural Resources Director Joel Brunsvold welcomed the assembled officials to Illinois on behalf of Governor Blagojevich and the Department. Several ISGS staff members participated in the meeting, which included a tour of U.S. Silica Company's mine and plant at Ottawa, Illinois, followed by a buffet dinner in the lodge at Starved Rock State Park and a field trip of the Lake Michigan shoreline from Illinois Beach State Park to downtown Chicago. The meeting was another of the events being held in honor of the Geological Survey's centennial. The origin of the AASG is closely intertwined with the early history of the ISGS. (Contacts: J. Goodwin and W. Shilts)

ISGS Kicks Off Centennial With Capitol Exhibits

Governor Rod Blagojevich proclaimed May 12–18, 2005, as Illinois State Geological Survey Week in honor of the Survey's centennial. The ISGS presented several displays in the State Capitol building on Tuesday, May 17, to highlight the Survey's century of achievements and current research activities. Eight ISGS staff members greeted legislators, members of their staffs, and visitors to the capitol and explained our displays and programs to them. Representative Naomi Jakobsson introduced Chief Bill Shilts to her House colleagues. The exhibits included a new ISGS display with handouts outlining Survey contributions to the science of geology since 1905, the history of statewide geologic mapping in Illinois, geologic mapping for groundwater development in northeastern Illinois, carbon sequestration, discovery of oil reservoirs in the Silurian rocks under Stephen A. Forbes State Park, and demonstrations of the ILOIL and ILWATER ArcIMS portions of the ISGS Web site. (Contacts: J. Goodwin and W. Shilts)

ISGS Provides Technical Support for Large Groundwater Supplies

An ISGS geologist provided significant technical support to 14 clients during the past month. Three of these contacts were particularly noteworthy. Guidance was provided to the Department of Public Health in the plugging of two high-capacity water supply wells that were more than 1,000 feet deep. Hydrogeologic information also was provided to a Chicago area engineering firm and its drilling contractor to help them reduce the amount of sand flowing into a recently completed well in Kane County. Advice on groundwater sources that should be protected from possible impacts was provided to a West Virginia mining engineering firm that will be opening a new coal mine in Franklin County. (Contact: R. Rice)

ISGS Chemists Aid IEPA

Two ISGS chemists provided technical support to Daily and Associates and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to answer questions about variations in chemical concentrations observed in samples from monitoring wells near an old landfill. The chemists were asked if the variations indicated the presence of landfill leachate in the samples. The geochemists examined the occurrence of seven additional analytes and then studied the results with a chemical mixing model. They found that the chemical variations in question were likely a result of impacts from the application of de-icing salt to nearby roads in the winter. Using the model, the geochemists showed the representatives of Daily and Associates and the IEPA what chemical concentrations would be expected if landfill leachate were reaching the wells. (Contacts: K. Hackley and S. Panno)

Seven New Maps and Reports Released

Two newly released maps provide useful information on the extent and thickness of the drift deposits in the Vincennes Quadrangle. "Drift" includes the unlithified Quaternary glacial and post-glacial sediments that cover the bedrock. The thickness of the drift varies considerably across the quadrangle, mostly because of the irregular topography of the top surface of the underlying bedrock. These maps provide information that is useful in searching for sand and gravel layers within the Quaternary deposits that can be important aquifers in some places. These aquifers commonly occur either in paleovalleys eroded in the bedrock surface or in modern valleys where the drift is especially thick. Near-surface sand and gravel deposits may also serve as aggregate resources. Well drillers, geophysical surveyors, and others can use these maps to predict the depth to bedrock in the quadrangle:

• Weibel, C.P., 2005, Bedrock Topography of Vincennes Quadrangle, Knox County, Indiana and Lawrence County, Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey, Illinois Preliminary Geologic Map, IPGM Vincennes-BT, 1:24,000.
• Weibel, C.P., 2005, Drift Thickness of Vincennes Quadrangle, Knox County, Indiana and Lawrence County, Illinois: Illinois State Geological Survey, Illinois Preliminary Geologic Map, IPGM Vincennes-DT, 1:24,000.

Other reports released this month

Agnihorti, S., P. Mota, M. Rostam-Abadi, and M. Rood, 2005, Structural characterization of single-walled carbon nanotube bundles by experiment and molecular simulation: Langmuir, v. 21. no. 3, p.896–904.

Chââtel-Péélage, F., R. Sangras, P. Pranda, H. Farzan, S.J. Vecci, Y. Lu, S. Chen, M. Rostam-Abadi, A.C. Bose, 2005, Applications of Oxygen for NOx control and CO₂ capture in coal-fired power plants: Second International Conference on Clean Coal Technologies for our Future, Sardinia, Italy, May 10–12.

Chrzastowski, M.J., 2005, Chicagoland—Geology and the Making of a Metropolis (guidebook): Illinois State Geological Survey, Open File Series, OFS 2005-9, 64 p.

Keith, K.S. and T.J. Kemmis, 2005, The White Cliffs of Ottawa—The St. Peter Sandstone and North America's Largest Silica Production Facility (guidebook): Illinois State Geological Survey, Open File Series, OFS 2005-8, 36 p.

Lu, Y., S. Chen, M. Rostam-Abadi, R. Ruch, D. Coleman, and L.J. Benson, 2005. Generation of ethylene tracer by noncatalytic pyrolysis of natural gas at elevated pressure: Energy & Fuels, v. 19, 123-129.

Highlights Archive

Updated 07/18/2012 SLD