Students Study Fragile Sandy Beach-Dune System, Eastern Lake Ontario Shoreline

Audra Crocetti and Sarah Green completed Independent Study projects during Fall, 2003 semester that focused on the beautiful and fragile beach-dune system on Lake Ontario's eastern shore. This freshwater sandy barrier beach-dune system is unique in New York State and is the focus of numerous conservation groups such as The Nature Conservancy. Audra Crocetti monitored beach profiles on 5 beaches along the 17-mile stretch of sandy coast. She detected dramatic changes in the beaches following two unusually strong wind storms. Sarah Green participated in a survey of the bathymetry and grain size variations in and around Sandy Pond Inlet which connects North Pond to Lake Ontario. This is an important navigation route for recreational boaters in the Village of Sandy Pond, and shallowing water depths in late summer have interfered with navigation. Working with John DeHollander of the Oswego County Soil Water Conservation District and Dawn Wood of the Natural Resources Conservation Service in Mexico, NY, detailed maps of bottom topography in the inlet were made in July and September, 2003. These maps showed significant restriciton of inle cross-sectional area due to deposition as lake levels fell during this period. Sharon Gabel was faculty advisor on these projects.

2 students, Rachel Price and Paul Freyer, presented their research results at
NORTHEAST GSA, MARCH 27-29, 2003, HALIFAX, NS

DEFORMATION SPANNING HIGH- TO LOW-GRADE IN THE PISCEO LAKE SHEAR ZONE, SPECULATOR, NEW YORK
FREYER, Paul1, VALENTINO, David W.1, and SOLAR, Gary S.2, (1) Department of Earth Sciences, State Univ of New York at Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126, kailest@hotmail.com, (2) Department of Earth Sciences, SUNY College at Buffalo, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222

GREENSCHIST FACIES METAMORPHISM ASSOCIATED WITH THE PISECO LAKE SHEAR ZONE, CENTRAL ADIRONDACKS, NEW YORK PRICE, Rachel E., Department of Earth Sciences, State Univ of New York at Oswego, Department of Earth Sciences, Oswego, NY 13126, racharooda@hotmail.com, VALENTINO, David W., Department of Earth Sciences, State Univ of New York at Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126, SOLAR, Gary S., Department of Earth Sciences, SUNY College at Buffalo, 1300 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14222, and CHIARENZELLI, Jeffrey R., Department of Geology, State Univ of New York at Potsdam, Potsdam, NY 13676

QUEST 2002

Good job everybody! Geology and the whole Earth Sciences Department was well represented at this year's quest. Here are the abstracts for poster sessions by geology students and faculty and talks by geology students and meteorology students and faculty.

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA -- 2002 NORTHEAST SECTION ANNUAL MEETING

We have many students who have been hard at work on research projects. Several presented their results at the Geological Society of America Northeast Section Meeting in Springfield, MA this March. Here are links to their abstracts -- good job, everybody!

Eric Weimer and Kevin Bradley have been working with Dave Valentino on MICROSTRUTURAL ANALYSIS OF SHEARED QUARTZITE IN THE CANADA LAKE SYNFORM, SOUTHERN ADIRONDACKS, NEW YORK

Kevin Bradley, Eric Weimer, Rachel Price, Hallie Meaghan, Meredith Mathewson, and Ron Testa collaborated with Dave Valentino on USE OF AZIMUTHAL ELECTRICAL RESISTIVITY TO STUDY BEDROCK FRACTURES IN THE SUBSURFACE AT RICE CREEK FIELD STATION, OSWEGO, NEW YORK

RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN GEOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY

Are you interested in doing research in geology or environmental geology? Here are some potential research topics.

Wind-driven sediment transport, Eastern Lake Ontario coast

Bluff retreat along the south Lake Ontario shoreline

Sedimentology of the Late Ordovician Oswego Sandstone, Oswego County, NY

Hydrology of riparian wetlands

Groundwater-lake interactions in coastal wetlands

For more information, contact us.

POSTER SESSIONS

Lanigan Hall - Reception Area

8:55 a.m. David Valentino
Analysis of Regional Fracture Trends in the Western Hudson Highlands, New York
In conjunction with bedrock mapping for the StateMap program in NY State, bedrock fracture maps were produced for the Monroe and Sloatsburg 7.5' quads., located in the Hudson Highlands, southern NY. Fracture orientations are highly consistent and some fracture sets correlate with mapped faults and topographic lineaments. Some of these faults have up to 2 km offset. Fresh talus slopes at their bases in this highly glaciated area and recent earthquake activity suggest that they may be relatively young. Their apparent association with Mesozoic features also suggests that they may be related to stresses produced during the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. Similarly oriented dextral strike-slip faults farther south in NJ have documented mid-late Cretaceous activity. These extensive WNW fracture & fault systems appear to be the youngest structural features in the region and may reflect current stress fields.

12:30 p.m. Eric Weimer, Kevin Bradley, David Valentino
Microstructural Analysis of Sheared Quartzite in the Canada Lake Synform, Southern Adirondacks, New York
The southern Adirondacks are underlain by numerous map-scale bedrock folds. Many of these folds were shown to have formation histories consistent with high-temperature sheath folding. The Canada Lake synform is one of these folds. The core of the synform contains interlayered quartzite (Irving Pond), pelitic and granitic gneiss. All rock types contain penetrative L>S, S=L, or S>L deformation fabrics. This study involved detailed petrofabric analyses of the Irving Pond quartzite and interlayered granitic gneiss to estimate the strain and shear sense to better understand the mechanics of sheath fold development at the map-scale.

12:45 p.m. David Valentino, Alfred Stamm, Sam Peavy
Long-Term Electrical Resistivity Monitoring at the Rice Creek Field Station, Oswego, New York
Electrical resistivity methods have been used with increasing frequency as an environmental monitoring tool for conductive and/or non-conductive fluids at landfills and hazardous waste sites. A problem with long-term monitoring using this method is the variability of the data with near-surface conditions, such as temperature and moisture changes. These changes may mask the effects of the potential pollutants and render these methods less than ideal for the monitoring job. A long-term resistivity experiment is being conducted at the Rice Creek Field Station, located in Oswego, NY, to ascertain the impact of near surface conditions on resistivity data with the ultimate goal of being able to remove these effects from the data. Electrical resistivity and weather information were frequently monitored between October 1, 2000 and May 1, 2001. Visual inspection of the data reveal that precipitation and temperature changes can be tracked by changes in electrical resistivity as the change propagates downwards through the subsurface. The analysis indicates strong correlations between electrical resistivity values and variations in temperature and precipitation. These correlations are denoted by consistent lag times between the weather event and the changes in resistivity at depth. Monitoring will continue with the goal of establishing a filter to remove these effects from the resistivity data

Lanigan Hall - Room 103
8:40 a.m. Steven DiMartino
The Millennium Storm of December 30, 2000
On December 30, 2000 a very strong low-pressure system developed off the Mid-Atlantic coast bringing heavy snow, high winds, and sub freezing cold temperatures. Snow totals from New Jersey to the Southern New England ranged from a foot to over two feet of snow and near blizzard conditions. The purpose of this paper is to examine what facts gave birth to the storm, made the storm intensify, and how well did the ETA model handle the development of said storm.

8:55 a.m. Nicole Wells
The Storm of the Century
The "Storm of the Century" was a meteorological phenomenon so powerful that its effects were felt from the Gulf of Mexico, all the way up the Atlantic seaboard, and into Canada. Tornadoes, flooding, and extreme amounts of precipitation resulted from a synoptic system that began in the western Gulf region. This study will examine both the synoptic and mesoscale scenarios that brought about this March 12-14, 1993 storm, as well as analyze data collected throughout the duration of the event. Finally, the precision of forecasters and the accuracy of several meteorological forecasting models in predicting this storm will be touched upon.

9:10 a.m. Kennie Lass
A Case Study of the 1997 Fort Collins, Colorado Flash Flood
On the 28th of July 1997, more than 10 inches of rain fell in a six-hour period in the Fort Collins region, leading to five deaths and over $200 million dollars in property damage. With several extreme rainfall events occurring annually in Colorado, it is important to study the "classic" set-up of this storm in order to improve forecasting and preparing for future flash floods. Data analyses and research will address the synoptic and mesoscale set-up of the event and briefly how it compares to other Western United States precipitation events.

9:25 a.m. Jonathan Hitchcock, Erik Heden
Snowstorm of a Life: December 24-28 2001 Buffalo NY
In this study an in depth analysis of the synoptic and mesoscale environment which led to a historical snowfall in Buffalo, New York will be examined. Radar archives from the National Weather Service radar in Buffalo will be used to track the storm. Synoptic and mesoscale model performance for the duration of the week-long storm will also be covered. The presentation will include an overview of storm total accumulations from the Buffalo Weather Service snow spotter network, and the implications on the people and commerce of Buffalo.

2:00 p.m. Meredith Croke
The Influence of Upper Tropospheric Disturbances on Tropical Cyclone Formation
The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of upper level disturbances on tropical storms and obtain basic knowledge of the tropospheric dynamics of the tropical region. Concepts of eddy cyclonic momentum fluxes, Eliasson-Palm fluxes and potential vorticity fluxes will be studied. Real model data will be used and a computer program will be created to perform diagnostics of eddy cyclonic momentum fluxes to determine the impact of these fluxes on a tropical storm.

Lanigan Hall - Room 103

2:15 p.m. Rachel Price, Kevin Bradley, Eric Weimer, Hallie Meighan
Use of Azimuthal Electrical Resistivity to Study Bedrock Fractures in the Subsurface at Rice Creek Field Station
Azimuthal electrical resistivity (Wenner) is used to examine the heterogeneity of electrical conductivity around a point in the subsurface. This electrical geophysical technique can be used to approximate the strike of steeply dipping fracture. Oswego, NY is underlain by the Ordovician Oswego sandstone and glacial till (drumlins). Bedrock fracture analysis revealed two fracture sets that are subvertical and strike NNW and ENE respectively. Azimuthal resistivity data was collected at the Rice Creek Field Station to: 1) examine bedrock fracture orientations in areas of thin till; and 2) examine the heterogeneity of electrical conductivity in the local drumlin deposit. In the valley at RCFS, the resistivity variation is consistent with the two fracture sets observed in bedrock locally, suggesting that bedrock is less than a few meters from the surface and that fracture orientations persist away from Lake Ontario. Data from the drumlin produced some interesting results. Near the northern steep face of the drumlin, radial resistivity variations shows a strong WNW high trend and on the gentle southern slope the radial resistivity data showed no consistent trends. Minor reverse faults occur in some local drumlins and the consistent resistivity trend observed in the drumlin at RCFS may reflect fault surfaces in the steep face of the drumlin.