ISGS - May 2006 Activity Highlights

ISGS Participates in Grundy County Public Forum

Grundy County is one of the fastest growing counties in Illinois, promising large demands on available water supplies and challenges for storm water management. Responding to this pressure, the Morris Community Foundation sponsored a panel discussion and question-answer forum on the challenges in future water management issues on May 11, 2006. Donald Keefer, Director of the Geologic Mapping and Hydrogeology Center, participated on the panel and provided a presentation addressing the role of the ISGS in mapping and characterizing aquifers, the importance of aquifer mapping as a planning tool for communities, and an overview of the major aquifer systems of Grundy County. Two additional staff members from the Hydrogeology Section also attended the meeting, and the three ISGS scientists met with Foundation members before the meeting to discuss the Survey's role in groundwater resource evaluation, planning, and management. Other members of the panel included representatives from Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Illinois State Water Survey, Metropolitan Planning Council, U.S. Geological Survey, and Illinois Water Science Center. (Contact: D. Keefer)

CO₂ Sequestration into Coal: Sensitivity Study Completed

A sensitivity study for the CO₂ sequestration project was completed by using a COMET reservoir simulator to determine well spacing for a pilot test of well injection. The source and magnitude of all input parameters were documented. Freeware developed by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications was utilized to create three-dimensional models to visualize reservoir results. New software is being developed that will enable the user to select a parameter (e.g., matrix CO₂ concentration) and export the magnitude of this parameter at all time steps for the entire model or only for a particular cell (e.g., cell containing a well), enabling analysis of previously unavailable data. (Contact: S. Frailey or A. Anderson)

Busy Month for Educational Outreach

A busload of 50 people attended the first of the spring Centennial Geological Science Field Trips to Starved Rock and Matthiessen State Parks April 29, 2006. The focus of this field trip was the geologic history surrounding the formation of the upper Illinois River and the creation of the unique box canyons in the area. In addition, participants learned about the area’s valuable economic resources, including St Peter Sandstone and Pennsylvanian age shales. The last stop of the day was at the Starved Rock Clay Products Pit, where the field trip participants were able to collect crystals of pyrite and a variety of igneous and metamorphic rocks. The trip was repeated on May 20 with 44 participants. The fall 2006 Geologic Science Field Trips will be conducted in the Cave-in-Rock area in southern Illinois, and the spring trips will be in the Moraine Hills State Park Area in northeastern Illinois.

Five presentations were given to approximately 150 students from Sullivan, Lovington, and Okaw at the Moultrie County Conservation Field Day in Sullivan, Illinois, on May 11, 2006, to provide examples of Illinois rocks and minerals and information about their location, whether they are currently mined, and how they are used in everyday life.

The ISGS also participated in the Rock River Valley Gem and Mineral Society Annual Show in Rockford on April 22 and 23, 2006. Activities included identification of rocks, minerals, gems, Native American artifacts, and fossils brought in by the public. The ISGS display included a mineral exhibit and the sale of a variety of ISGS educational and general interest publications and maps. (Contact: W. Frankie)

An ISGS geologist spoke to about 25 people who attended a meeting about the New Madrid earthquake and seismic activity in southern Illinois at the Saline County Historical Society. A newspaper story about the lecture also appeared in the Harrisburg Daily Register. (Contact: B. Denny)

Fly Ash Brick Project Environmental Feasibility Study Completed

The environmental feasibility assessment of the final products was completed for this project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy project. The study determined the extent to which hazardous metals would be released or leached under an extreme, simulated acid rain condition. Results showed that the concentrations of heavy metals in the liquid extracts from both the fly ash brick samples and the commercial brick samples were well below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's regulatory thresholds for solid waste materials and that these fly ash bricks, similar to the regular commercial bricks, are environmentally safe for construction products. The data related to this subject will be presented to the Fuel Division, American Chemical Society 2006 fall conference.

A new project supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, "Manufacturing Building Products with Fly Ash and Advanced Coal Combustion By-products," was recently funded. The project will characterize various new formulations for making quality fired bricks and innovative autoclaved aerated concrete bricks. The new formulations include raw materials with advanced coal combustion and solid by-products in addition to fly ash and bottom ash. (Contacts: M. Chou and J. Chou)

Groundwater Papers Presented in Several Professional Venues

The National Ground Water Association (NGWA) held its second annual Ground Water Summit in San Antonio, Texas, from April 24 to 27, 2006. The conference is a new forum promoting focused discussion of key topics in groundwater science. Donald Keefer sponsored and moderated a session on hydrogeologic mapping and characterization in which William Dey discussed the methods being used to produce a three-dimensional map of the major glacial deposits of Kane County. He also discussed the integration of this map into a groundwater flow model being developed by colleagues at the Illinois State Water Survey. Beverly Herzog, Chair of the NGWA's Scientists and Engineers Division, presented introductory remarks "NGWA: Making a Difference for Scientists and Engineers." She also presented "Proposal for a National Ground Water Monitoring Program" in a session on groundwater policy. Herzog and Dey also served as judges for student posters. Featured speakers at the Ground Water Summit included a keynote speech by U.S. Geological Survey Acting Director, Pat Leahey. In his speech, Leahey championed the need for detailed geologic mapping to help address the nation's water quality and water quantity problems.

Beverly Herzog participated in the Annual Groundwater Meeting of the state and federal Environmental Protection Agency staff from Regions 8 and 10 on April 20 to 21, 2006. There she presented "NGWA's Role in Groundwater Policy and its Proposed National Ground-water Monitoring Program." The group is trying to raise the profile of groundwater within these regions. Herzog also presented "Proposed National Groundwater Monitoring Program" at the National Water Quality Monitoring Conference in San Jose, California, on May 1 to 4, 2006. Her talk was a precursor to a working group meeting to start to assemble a groundwater subgroup under the Advisory Committee on Water Information, which has representatives from federal, state, and local governments and the private sector and advises the federal government on water policy. (Contacts: B. Herzog and D. Keefer)

Earthquake Information Input for Building Code Maps

ISGS engineering geologist, Robert Bauer, participated in the U.S. Geological Survey's two-day workshop to gather information on earthquakes in the central and eastern United States for the next set of hazard probability maps used by the building code industry to set standards for construction. Every three years, the U.S.Geological Survey requests input on new information and consensus from the scientific community on data used in production of the maps. Each area of the United States is reviewed and discussed. The ISGS provided copies of articles from the past year that produced new estimates for maximum magnitude of earthquakes in the Wabash Valley Fault Zone. One article was a paper by representatives of the Illinois and Kentucky Geological Surveys that suggested lowering the magnitudes of prehistoric earthquakes in the Wabash Valley from those used in the last set of U.S. Geological Survey hazard maps. (Contact: R. Bauer)

Kendall County Groundwater Study Field Work Begins

The Illinois State Geological Survey (ISGS) and Illinois State Water Survey (ISWS) are conducting a scientific study of the geology and groundwater resources of Kendall County, Illinois. The project, contracted by the county and many local communities, has been under way since June 2005. The purpose of the study is to provide technical information and support for the sustainable management and protection of the county’s groundwater. The scientists are especially interested in evaluating the groundwater's long-term availability and sensitivity to contamination. As part of its study objectives, the ISGS will conduct sediment sampling throughout the county in May and early June, collect surface geophysical profiles this summer, and drill and install observation wells later in the summer summer. A press release was distributed to inform local residents of the work. (Contact: E. Smith)

Publications

Busy Month for Abstracts and Papers

Two journal articles, eight abstracts, and nine unpublished Preliminary Environmental Site Assessments reports were released this month.

Outside Publications

Curry, B.B., 2006, Deglacial lakes in northeastern Illinois: Genesis, age, paleoenvironments, and implications for chronologies: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 38, no. 4, p. 57.

Dey, W.S., A.M. Davis, C.C. Abert, B.B. Curry, and J.C. Sieving, 2006, Data integration for three-dimensional geologic mapping of ground water resources in Kane County, Illinois, Abstract Book of the 2006 Ground Water Summit: Westerville, Ohio, NGWA Press, p. 4.

Fussell, B.L., T.G. Fisher, M.J. Camp, and B.B. Curry, 2006, Reconstructing late Holocene paleoenvironments based on fauna and isotopes from two inland lakes on Michigan's west coast: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 38, no. 4, p. 58.

Herzog, B.L., C. Reimer, and C. Esham, 2006, Proposal for a National Ground Water Monitoring Program, Abstract Book of the 2006 Ground Water Summit: Westerville, Ohio, NGWA Press, p. 166.

Herzog, B.L., C. Reimer, and C. Esham, 2006, Proposed National Ground Water Monitoring Program, National Water Monitoring Conference Program with Abstracts: National Water Quality Monitoring Council, U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, p. 61.

Lasemi, Z., and D. G. Mikulic, 2006, Illinois Mining Review: Mining Engineering, v. 58, no. 5, p.86-90.

Roy, W. R., and I. G. Krapac, 2006, Potential soil cleanup objectives for nitrogen-containing fertilizers at agrichemical facilities: Soil and sediment contamination, v.15, p. 241-251.

Smith, A.J., R.M. Forester, D.F. Palmer, and B.B. Curry, 2006, Applications of the new North American Non-marine ostracode database: NANODe version 1: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 38, no. 4, p. 28.

Stumpf, A.J., A.C. Phillips, G.E. Pociask, L.R. Smith, and W.P. White, 2006, Mass wasting and its control on channel behavior and valley formation in the Partridge Creek watershed, Illinois River valley, Illinois: Program and Abstracts of the Mass Wasting in Disturbed Watersheds, the Second Shlemon Specialty Conference in Engineering Geology, May 3-5, 2006, Durango, CO.

Weibel, C. P., and S.V. Panno, 2006. Delineation of karst regions in drift mantled Illinois: Boulder, Colorado, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 38, no. 4, p. 22.

Highlights Archive

Updated 07/19/2012 SLD