Vol. 1, Issue 2 - August 2006

Welcome to the second edition of e-GeoNews, the electronic newsletter of the Indiana Geological Survey. In this issue we highlight research activity, new publications, and staff transitions.

 

Research and Activities

Indiana State Geologist Heads National Data Preservation Advisory Board
Indiana Geological Survey (IGS) Director John Steinmetz chaired a national advisory board charged with developing an implementation plan for the Geoscience Data Preservation Act, a part of the Federal Energy Policy Act of 2005. Following presentation of the draft report to a federal advisory committee in June, the plan worked its way to the director of the U.S. Geological Survey and to the Secretary of the Interior, before being sent to Congress on August 8, where it is currently under consideration. If implemented, the plan could provide several million dollars to state geological surveys to improve facilities for the storage and preservation of basic geologic samples and data.

IndianaMap
High-resolution digital aerial photography of the state is now available from IndianaMap, a new interactive Web site that is a joint project of the IGS, University Information Technology Services (UITS) at Indiana University, and the Indiana Geographic Information Council. Funded primarily by federal money as part of the 2004 Indiana State and Local Homeland Security Grant, the collaborative project produced the first map of its kind among the 50 states.

This aerial photo of the football field inside Memorial Stadium at Indiana University shows the degree of detail visible in the new high-resolution orthophotography.

IndianaMap is a unified base map for all of Indiana, including several "framework" layers, such as roads, township and section lines, elevation contours, hydrologic features, and aerial photography. Most notably, the site features high-resolution color aerial photos taken in spring 2005.

Rick Hill, the Survey's Assistant Director for Technical Services, worked with Jill Saligoe-Simmel, Executive Director of the Indiana GIS Council, to set up a Memorandum of Understanding wherein the IGS developed and hosts the IndianaMap Web site. University Information Technology Services at Indiana University is a partner in the agreement and supports spatial database services that provide the aerial photography.

The site was released to the public in April and was largely responsible for an IGS record of 10,000,000 Web page views during the month of July. The IndianaMap Web site was developed by IGS staffers Chris Walls and Prem Radhakrishnan. An in-depth article about the project is available on the Indiana Daily Student Web site.

National Coal Resources Data System
The IGS has been adding coal resource information to the National Coal Resources Data System (NCRDS) since 1982 in a series of cooperative projects with the U.S. Geological Survey. Indiana coal depth and thickness data from the IGS's extensive files of drilling records, measured sections, and core descriptions continue to increase geologists' understanding of our coal resources.

Map of southwestern Indiana showing stratigraphic data points available in NCRDS database for the Danville coal. Points in Illinois that are close to Indiana border are also included.

In the early phases of the NCRDS program, coal units and the distribution of mined-out areas for numerous named coal members and many unnamed coal beds were mapped on 174 different 7.5-minute quadrangles covering 21 counties in southwestern Indiana. Since 1994, the IGS has completed several additional projects using the NCRDS database, including eleven quadrangle-based coal availability studies, three county-based coal resource studies, and three statewide coal assessments. This database has been used in several other IGS projects and has been a major source of stratigraphic information for the public.

In the current phase of the project, Nelson Shaffer, Head of the Coal and Industrial Minerals Section, and coal geologists Maria Mastalerz and Agnieszka Drobniak are focusing on collecting, processing, verifying, and encoding new data for entry into the NCRDS database. They have recently completed drilling in Gibson and Knox Counties as part of a project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy on coal-bed methane potential in Indiana, and are adding the information to the database. In addition to the thickness and depth data available as a result of this drilling, coal-quality and gas-content data have been generated. These data will aid in correlating, evaluating the resources, and characterizing the coals.

As a result of this project, new public data will become available from records on file at the Indiana Division of Reclamation (IDOR). These data include maps of the extent of mined-out areas, point-source stratigraphic data, and a limited amount of point-source coal-quality information. Mapping mined-out areas has been a subject of a continuous Coal Mine Information System (CMIS) project, and coordination between the NCRDS and CMIS has been very successful.

These data will be used to more precisely evaluate the remaining coal resources that are available for surface or underground mining. They will also be used to assess coal-bed methane and carbon dioxide sequestration potential of all the major coal beds in Indiana.

IGS Sedimentologist, Todd Thompson, demonstrates the vibracorer during the National Science Olympiad held at Indiana University.

National Science Olympiad
Continuing in our tradition of encouraging budding young scientists throughout the state, the IGS participated in the campus-wide open house during the opening days of the National Science Olympiad, held this year on the IU Bloomington campus. Groups of Olympians, families, and coaches visited the Survey on Thursday, May 17, and were treated to a cross section of the activities and research ongoing at the IGS.

A number of IGS staffers were on hand to enlighten visitors about tools used in geologic research: Todd Thompson explained how he uses the Vibracorer to acquire data near the Great Lakes, Marni Dickson Karaffa showed the gamma logging equipment and how it helps glacial geologists determine the nature of subsurface materials, Amzie Wenning demonstrated the ground-penetrating radar equipment, and Dan Fox discussed the uses and methods of acquiring data for the new GeoProbe. Inside the building, Nelson Shaffer enlightened the groups on mineralogy, caves, fossils, and mineral resources in Indiana. Paul Irwin demonstrated GIS technology and its use in mapping and research. The event was organized by Kim Sowder, who volunteers many hours of her own time throughout the year as a coach for local Science Olympians. Photos of the IGS open house are available on the IGS Web site.

In addition to open house activities, two IGS geologists assisted with the National Science Olympiad competition. Marni Dickson Karaffa served as the Rocks/Mineral Event co-coordinator and Sally Letsinger participated as a judge in the aquifer model competition called “Awesome Aquifers.”

New IGS Publications

IGS publications are now available for purchase online from the IGS Bookstore.

A. Drobniak, M. Mastalerz, and K. Shaffer,  2006,  Coal, Electricity, and Gas Transportation Systems in Indiana: Indiana Geological Survey Open-File Study 06-03.

This large-format poster comprises two maps, one showing transmission lines and natural gas pipelines in Indiana, including their capacities, the other featuring coal-burning electric power plants and their capacity ranges.

N. Shaffer, K. Sowder, B. Hill, J. Day, 2006, Minerals of Indiana: Indiana Geological Survey Poster 7.

Minerals of Indiana is the newest addition to the IGS poster series. Beautiful mineral specimens are highlighted on this full-color 26” by 34” poster, which also features a basic explanation of how minerals are created from atoms. This poster can be purchased now from the IGS Bookstore.

 

 

K. Shaffer, 2006, Directory of Industrial Minerals Producers in Indiana: Indiana Geological Survey Directory 11, 74 p., 8 figs., 3 indices.

This useful directory lists all the known producers of industrial minerals in the state of Indiana. Commodities listed include cement, clay and shale, crushed stone, dimension limestone, dimension sandstone, gypsum, lime, peat, construction sand and gravel, industrial sand, and slag. Directory 11 is also available on CD-ROM.

T. A. Thompson and K. H. Sowder, 2006, Generalized Stratigraphic Column of Indiana Bedrock: Indiana Geological Survey Poster 6.

This 6-ft-tall full-color chart illustrates the general lithologies associated with Indiana rock units. Lithologies are simplified to show major lithologic variations through time, and rock units are displayed with thumbnails of the Indiana bedrock geologic map to show where the rocks occur within the state.

 

 

 

Comings and Goings

During the last few months, a number of new staff members have joined the Survey, and we've said goodbye to some others. It's an exciting time, as searches for new geologists are in the works, with the opportunity for new ideas and projects. Please join us in welcoming our new colleagues, and wishing old friends farewell.

• Glenda Bitner joined the IGS in June as the new Assistant Director for Business. Glenda replaces Charlotte Smith, who moved on to a new position at Indiana University-Purdue University at Columbus.
• Teresa Blevins joined the Survey in June as the Director's Administrative Secretary and Licensing Coordinator for the Indiana Board of Licensure for Professional Geologists. Teresa replaces Amanda Wilson, who resigned in May to pursue another position within the university.
• Ned K. Bleuer, Glacial Geologist and Associate Scientist, retired from his position in January. Ned began working in the Geology Section at the IGS in 1968. While with the Survey, Ned authored more than 90 publications ranging from glacial geology to earthquake liquefaction to seismic risk.
• Steve Brown, Glacial Geologist and Research Scientist, moved on from the Geological Survey in May to take the position as the Head of the Quaternary Geology Section at the Illinois State Geological Survey. Steve began working at the IGS in 1990, and he was the sole staff member at our field office at Indiana University Northwest in Gary.
• Erik P. Kvale, Sedimentologist and Research Scientist, left in July after 17 years with the Survey to take a position as senior geological advisor with Devon Energy. Working with another former staff member of the IGS, Al Archer, Erik discovered that small-scale sedimentary structures called tidal rhythmites preserve a hierarchy of astronomically induced tidal cycles (such as phase changes of the moon).
• Nathan Eaton joined the IGS in June as the Section Head of Information Services. Nathan replaces Jeff Kirby, who left the IGS in April to pursue a career in Web development in Warsaw, Indiana. Nathan previously worked at the Survey as a database specialist and contributed greatly to the IGS Coal Mine Information System.
• In May, Sally Letsinger was promoted to Director of the Center for Geospatial Data Analysis. Sally has been a research hydrogeologist at the IGS since 2000.
• Drew Packman joined the IGS as the new Laboratory and Field Assistant in the Physical Facilities and Field Services Section. Drew had previously worked in a part-time capacity for the IGS. He replaces Jay Arnold, who left the IGS in May after 17 years of service.
• Grzegorz Lis, a graduate student in geology who has worked as hourly staff at the IGS for the past 5 years, defended his doctoral dissertation and has accepted a post-doctoral position at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada. The title of Dr. Lis’s dissertation is “Effects of thermal maturation on organic D/H ratios and hydrogen isotopic exchangeability in kerogen type-H.” Maria Mastalerz served as a co-chair of his committee with Arndt Schimmelmann from IU's Department of Geological Sciences.

 

A final thought from IGS Director, John Steinmetz.
Language is the only natural resource that can be mined indefinitely without depletion. I enjoy mining it. — Robert L. Bates (1912–1994), professor of economic geology at Ohio
State University and co-author of the Glossary of Geology.

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