The Devonian geology research team’s semester is planned out in striking detail this semester. Our work will focus around one event, the annual Geological Society of America North-Central section meeting. The meeting will be held in Ames this year, so many members of the BETA team are going to present their work on April 16-17. The rock team members have some experience preparing poster presentations. If I’m honest, we felt a little rushed last time we went through this process. We know it’s a lot of work and have decided to be prepared for this conference well in advance.
Starting right away, we have begun describing samples we took from a local quarry last September. This involves consulting literature written about the rock sections we took samples from and then examining our samples with this knowledge in mind. We wet the samples to see more detail in them and describe their color, grain size, cracks, holes, minerals, etc.
After sample descriptions are done we will start building a graphical representation of the rock section we measured. This graphic is constructed using our detailed field notes, sample descriptions, and lots of time at a computer. Below is an example of the graphic we constructed for another local quarry last fall. Each section in the column represents a different type or feature in the rock. You can see the rock change as we worked our way up the section. Rocks near the marker 3 are 3 meters above where we started measuring. The total height of the rock section was 8 meters.
Starting right away, we have begun describing samples we took from a local quarry last September. This involves consulting literature written about the rock sections we took samples from and then examining our samples with this knowledge in mind. We wet the samples to see more detail in them and describe their color, grain size, cracks, holes, minerals, etc.
After sample descriptions are done we will start building a graphical representation of the rock section we measured. This graphic is constructed using our detailed field notes, sample descriptions, and lots of time at a computer. Below is an example of the graphic we constructed for another local quarry last fall. Each section in the column represents a different type or feature in the rock. You can see the rock change as we worked our way up the section. Rocks near the marker 3 are 3 meters above where we started measuring. The total height of the rock section was 8 meters.
Graphical Representation of the Measured Rock Section Each section in the column represents a different type or feature in the rock. You can see the rock change as we worked our way up the section. Rocks near the marker 3 are 3 meters above where we started measuring. The total height of the rock section was 8 meters.
After this graphic is complete we will start creating thin sections of the samples from our quarry. These slices of rock are so thin you can shine a light through them! Kayla Beck wrote a great BETA blog post about making thin sections last fall.
The next step in our GSA preparation will be to photograph the samples. I took photos of our older samples for a poster presentation last fall. This involves finding a camera, zoom lens, black background, getting the light source right and keeping a short leash on my auto-focus. I took many photos of each sample. I picked out the best image of each sample and edited them in software called gimp. I’d never photographed rock samples before and was surprised at the amazing detail I could bring out of seemingly blank rocks with a little color curve manipulation! Below is an example of a sample photograph I took.
The next step in our GSA preparation will be to photograph the samples. I took photos of our older samples for a poster presentation last fall. This involves finding a camera, zoom lens, black background, getting the light source right and keeping a short leash on my auto-focus. I took many photos of each sample. I picked out the best image of each sample and edited them in software called gimp. I’d never photographed rock samples before and was surprised at the amazing detail I could bring out of seemingly blank rocks with a little color curve manipulation! Below is an example of a sample photograph I took.
While all this is going on, our team members will be reviewing literature related to our project. We will learn as much as we can about the chemostratigraphy, biology, and depositional environments of Iowa during the Devonian period some 400 million years go.
Once all this is done, we’ll need to position everything correctly on our new poster and update any text we may need to. Making a poster and preparing a presentation at this level is a lot of work, but we know it’s possible.S The BETA Rock Team will see you at GSA in Ames this April!
-- William Spurr
Once all this is done, we’ll need to position everything correctly on our new poster and update any text we may need to. Making a poster and preparing a presentation at this level is a lot of work, but we know it’s possible.S The BETA Rock Team will see you at GSA in Ames this April!
-- William Spurr