ISGS - May 2005 Activity Highlights

Looking at an outcrop on the
Friends of the Pleistocene Field
Trip

ISGS Hosts Field Trip for Midwest Glacial Geologists

The ISGS hosted the 51st Annual Midwest Friends of the Pleistocene field trip May 13 to 15, 2005. As the hosts, the ISGS was responsible for all aspects of this successful trip. The trip was the lead-off event in the year-long celebration of the ISGS Centennial. Using Streator as its base, field trip participants made 11 stops in one and a half days in the Illinois Valley area between Chillicothe and Henry. They examined river and glacial sediments and buried soils that record the past 500,000 years of history of the Ancient Mississippi River, which once flowed through north-central Illinois, following roughly along the course of the modern Middle Illinois River. The trip was attended by 130 geologists, professors, and students from across the U.S. and Canada. The field trip guidebook, entitled Quaternary Deposits and History of the Ancient Mississippi River Valley in North-central Illinois, is published as ISGS OFS 2005-7. (Contacts: D. McKay and R. Berg)

CO₂ Sequestration Research Presented

Six ISGS staff members attended the Fourth Annual Conference on Carbon Capture and Sequestration in Alexandria, Virginia, as part of a U.S. Department of Energy (U.S. DOE) grant to the ISGS. The ISGS participated in nine presentations, showcasing research on the Illinois Basin. More than 400 scientists and policy makers from around the world attended, along with numerous U.S. DOE officials. These presentations will help determine the success of a $14-million proposal currently being reviewed by the U.S. DOE, which could bring to Illinois the federal research money necessary for FutureGen and the Governor's objectives for revitalizing the utilization of Illinois coal. (Contact: R. Finley)

Geological Display about the Chicago River

An ISGS geologist presented a display on the geologic history of the Chicago River at the 2005 Chicago River Day Festival at East River Park in Chicago. The ISGS display explained how glacial action formed much of the course of the Chicago River and how, in 1900, engineering allowed the river flow to be diverted from Lake Michigan. This widely sponsored annual event was hosted by Friends of the Chicago River and brought together K-12 students and volunteers from across the Chicago River watershed. An estimated 1,200 people attended the event. (Contact: M. Chrzastowski)

Coalbed Methane Test Well Drilled

ISGS finished drilling a 1,590-foot deep coalbed methane test well at the Newton Power Plant in Jasper County. Ameren Corporation co-sponsored the well. A total of 16 coal samples and 4 organic-rich black shale samples were collected for gas desorption measurements. This well is significant in that it represents the deepest point in the Fairfield Basin. Here the coals are under greater hydrostatic pressure and thus may contain greater amounts of methane than shallower coals. Coals drilled here also are unusually thick, totaling 31 net feet. The samples will undergo desorption for about three months to determine their total gas content. Gas samples have been taken for chemical and isotope composition analyses. (Contacts: D. Morse and I. Demir)

Kendall County Groundwater Study Begins

Three ISGS hydrogeologists and an Illinois State Water Survey hydrologist met with the Mayors and Managers Committee of Kendall County on May 4, 2005, to introduce the committee members to the lead investigators of the Kendall County Mapping Program. Contact information was collected from the committee members, and a status report was given on the impending contract for the Kendall mapping study. Although the official start date for the Kendall County project is anticipated to be June 1, 2005, some preliminary organizing activities have already taken place. Theproject team has discussed geophysical data collection, test borehole scheduling, data selection and review, and project scheduling and has started to develop a project database. (Contacts: D. Keefer and D. Larson)

Highlights Archive

Updated 07/18/2012 SLD