ISGS - October and November 2011 Activity Highlights

Geologists Lead Field Trip for Champaign Students

On October 25, 2011, scientists at the Illinois State Geological Survey conducted a geology field trip for about 75 fifth grade students at Kickapoo State Park in Vermilion County, Illinois. The work was conducted with funding from a public engagement grant from the University of Illinois Office of Public Engagement. The program, "Curriculum-Based Geology Field Trip for 5^th Grade Champaign School Students," served as a pilot for a future geology and earth sciences program based on state science standards to reach all the fifth grade students in Champaign Unit 4 Schools. Over 30 classes from 11 schools (about 700 students) will participate in the program, starting fall 2012. Geologists participating in running the program were Curt Abert, Dan Adomaitis, David Morse, Andrew Phillips, Barbara Stiff, and Joan Crockett. Crockett and Kristin Camp, Science and Health Coordinator in Champaign Schools, are the co-investigators and authors of the grant proposal.

The field guidebook, written by Crockett and Stiff, ultimately will be made available to the public and may be used by schools, scout groups, and others. Portions of the guidebook may also be used to model other field trips to similar geologic settings. Students visited and actively participated in lessons and observations at each stop, including bedrock and glacial outcrops, reclaimed coal strip mine locations and historic markers, and a modern gravel bar on the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River. An erosion and deposition demonstration was conducted on the gravel bar by Stiff. Using cameras purchased with the grant and with field guides, notes, and rock samples from on-site field work at Kickapoo, student teams will prepare reports and conduct extended classroom activities based on their experiences. A splendid educational, enjoyable day was had by all.

The ISGS geologists also contributed in developing new curriculum lessons, which will be used in the classroom in 2012. Materials and lesson activities for study of rocks and minerals, maps, and landforms were prepared by ISGS geologists. The materials include rock samples, a hands-on rock and mineral description and observation lesson, and a photographic resource guide on landforms, which were provided to the Champaign School District by ISGS. (Contact: Joan Crockett)

Limestone Resource Information Saves Money

On November 16, 2011, Zak Lasemi presented a talk titled, "Mapping High-Calcium Limestone Resources near Illinois Coal-Fired Power Plants" at the Illinois Clean Coal Institute's Program Committee meeting in Fairview Heights, Illinois. The committee included professionals with diverse interest and experience in coal, coal applications, and clean energy. After the presentation, Mark Bryant, Manager of Emission Control Commodities for Ameren, said that Lasemi's maps and data had been used to help identify deposits and quarries of this special limestone for use in his company's power plant scrubbers. The work has saved the company millions of dollars because the identified high-calcium limestone deposits were closer to the plants, which resulted in substantial savings in shipping costs. (Contact: Zak Lasemi)

ISGS Public Field Trip

Daniel Adomaitis and ISGS staff Curt Abert, Tim Badger, LeAnn Benner, Cindy Briedis, Jim Damico, Kiel Keller, Ron Klass, Chris Korose, and Cheryl Nimz held a geological science field trip based around Siloam Springs State Park in western Illinois. The trip included the history of the park, information about the local geology and the oil and gas industry, and lots of geode collecting. Approximately 140 adults and children attended the field trip. (Contact: Daniel Adomaitis)

Trip to Hastie Quarry in Hardin County

Brett Denny led a field trip for Dr. John Rakovan of Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) and 17 students to Hastie Quarry in Hardin County, southern Illinois to examine the occurrence and distribution of fluorite deposits in the area. Fluorite, the Illinois state mineral, occurs abundantly in the area and provided a significant portion of the U.S. fluorite production until 1990. There is renewed interest in mining fluorite in southern Illinois and western Kentucky. Fluorite has many uses, including the manufacture of glass and the production of hydrofluoric acid. Flourite is also used as a source of fluorine in toothpastes and in various forms in fluoridation of drinking water. (Contact: Brett Denny)

Upper Pennsylvanian Stratigraphy Revision

At the October 2011 Annual Meeting of the Geological Society of America in Minneapolis, John Nelson, Scott Elrick, and Zohrah Askari Khorasgani presented a poster illustrating the first official revision of Illinois Basin Upper Pennsylvanian (Missourian and Virgilian series) stratigraphy in 20 years. For each unit, type sections were tied to the subsurface using core data when available. A network of cross sections was then constructed, maximizing the use of newly acquired long core records. Through this process, many redundant unit names were eliminated. Precise biostratigraphic correlations from palynology, fusulinids, and especially conodonts from Phil Heckel and other workers allowed extending a number of members, particularly black phosphatic shales, from the Western Interior into the Illinois Basin and Appalachian Basin, therefore correlating many units among Appalachian, Western Interior, and Illinois Basin regions. Many long-standing miscorrelations within the Illinois Basin were rectified. (Contacts: Scott Elrick and Zohrah Askari Khorasgani)

Highlights Archive

Updated 08/06/2012 SLD