ISGS - February 2011 Activity Highlights

New Publication on the Illinois Sinkhole Plain's Karst Terrain

The Illinois State Geological Survey has released Guidebook 39, Illinois Sinkhole Plain: Classic Karst Terrain of the Midwestern United States: Geological Field Trip Guidebook for the 12^th Multidisciplinary Conference on Sinkholes and the Engineering & Environmental Impacts of Karst, January 10-14, 2011, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. The 45-page book was written by Samuel V. Panno, Keith C. Hackley, Walton R. Kelly, and Donald E. Luman.

This trip travels into the heart of Illinois' sinkhole plain along the western flank of the Illinois Basin. In this area in southwestern Illinois, the loess-and till-covered Mississippian-age limestone bedrock has given rise to a landscape of more than 10,000 cover-collapse sinkholes, active branchwork caves, and large picturesque springs. The trip discusses the karst geology and hydrogeology of the sinkhole plain and ongoing research involving
      • isotopic chemistry and an rRNA gene to find the identify and sources of nitrate and bacteria in contaminated
        wells and springs,
      • the use of stalagmites in nearby caves to study the periodicity of large earthquakes,
      • the significance of saline springs in the Illinois Basin,
      • and mapping efforts to identify and catalogue karst features in Illinois.

Of special interest are the 37 full-color images of the plain, springs, and caves in the area and the seven pairs of aerial photographs comparing topographic features shown in 1940 with those of the same areas in 2005. Trip stops feature Falling Springs in Dupo, Sparrow Creek Cave Spring in Carondelet, Stemler Cave Woods Nature Preserve and Columbia Saline Spring in Columbia, Camp Vandeventer and Fountain Creek Stone Bridge in Waterloo, and Rock City in Valmeyer. This guidebook can be purchased online from the ISGS Shop Site. (Contact: Samuel Panno)

Earthquakes in the Central United States

Robert Bauer presented three talks to Illinois groups regarding earthquakes in the central United States:
      • February, 9, 2011, in O'Fallon to 75 participants from 18 local health departments, at the Illinois Department of Public Health Region 4 meeting. The presentation covered expected general damage and safety practices for responders during earthquake events. These southwestern Illinois health departments will participate in a national level exercise in May 2011.
      • February 22 and 24, 2011, in Peoria at the Mutual Aid Box Alarm System state conference to 400 fire chiefs and commanders and 200 fire dispatchers. Bauer presented information on earthquakes throughout the state, the general damage that might occur, and personal safety for first responders with an emphasis on additional damage from aftershocks.
      • February 23, 2011, in Springfield to 75 participants at the Illinois Association of Mutual Insurance Companies state conference. Information was presented on earthquakes throughout the state, the estimated numbers of structural damage for various earthquake events, the general damage that might occur, and personal safety practices. He also discussed the difference between damages resulting from earthquakes and from coal mine subsidence. (Contact: Robert Bauer)

Illinois Coastal Management Program Hearing

The pending Illinois Coastal Management Program (ICMP) crossed another milestone in the federal approval process on February 18, 2011. A public hearing was held in Chicago to discuss the basic elements of the planned program and the timeline leading to the establishment of a fully staffed and grant-reviewing ICMP office in Chicago during fall 2011. Senior Coastal Geologist Michael Chrzastowski presented an overview of the coastal geology and management issues of the Illinois coast. This presentation was available via webinar and is now posted on the Illinois Department of Resources Coastal Management Program Web site ( http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/cmp/Pages/default.aspx). Approximately 35 people were present at the hearing, and another 30 participated via the webinar. Robert Bauer, as a member of the Technical Advisory Committee, was also present at the public hearing. (Contact: Michael Chrzastowski)

Addressing Geophysical Hazards through Continuously Operating Observational Network and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program

Yevgeniy Kontar contributed the white paper, Addressing Caribbean Geophysical Hazards through the Continuously Operating Caribbean GPS Observational Network (COCONet) and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) (http://www.unavco.org/community/meetings-events/2011/coconet/abstracts/Yev_Kontar_white_paper.pdf) to the UNAVCO COCONet workshop in Puerto Rico (February 3-4, 2011). UNAVCO is a member-governed university consortium serving new science communities, including those focusing on the deformation of the Earth's response to groundwater, sea level, and other aspects of the hydrosphere. The UNAVCO-supported toolbox available to the science community has expanded to include many new geodetic tools: advancing GPS towards millimeter-level global GPS geodesy and to streaming high rate observations; borehole strain meters and seismometers; and expanded geodetic imaging using LiDAR and InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar. (Contact: Yevgeniy Kontar)

Highlights Archive

Updated 07/03/2012 SLD