Notes from the Field
On March 19th and 20th, Rutgers seismology group attended the Northeastern sectional meeting of GSA, held in Burlington, Vermont. In the session aiming to integrate geology and geophysics, our undergraduates, Stephen Elkington and Janine Hlavaty, contributed results from their research investigating the upper mantle rock textures beneath New England. The talk was masterfully presented by Steve. The study was done in conjunction with the Aresty Research Assistant Program (https://aresty.rutgers.edu/our-programs/research-assistant-program), and will be presented by Janine and Steve once again at the Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium in April.
Chondrules are melt spherules in meteorites. Whether chondrules are universally primitive condensates from the solar nebula or spherules produced by planetesimal collisions during planetary accretion is uncertain. Emeritus Professor Roger Hewins and Ph.D. alumna Claire Condie defined the formation conditions of some unusual chondrules, which partially remelted during cooling (see Condie’s 2012 EPS Ph.D. thesis). Melissa Morris’ group at SUNY Cortlandt used Condie’s data to conduct 3D modeling of an impact plume with the adaptive mesh refinement code FLASH4. They found heating spikes in compressed parcels of gas like those in crystallization experiments. The agreement between the geological experiments from Rutgers and the astrophysical models from SUNY Cortlandt supports formation of these chondrules by collision of planetesimals
Read more: First EPS Publication in The Astrophysical Journal Letters
Rutgers University celebrated Graduation on May 13, 2018. The day was cold and rainy, but did not dampen spirits. EPS celebrated its Geological Sciences graduates (here taking shelter within the Rutgers Stadium at the SAS Convocation). Pictured are Bachelor's degree recipients Trevor Tibbrine, Tiffany Otai, Julie Fircha, Amy Bottge, Kyle Cusack, and Michael Debones, accompanied by Undergraduate Program Director Gail Ashley. Also receiving Bachelor's degrees were Orion Farr and Morris Peshtani. The following students also received Master's degrees from EPS during the past academic year: Rachel Filo, Gabe Gallegos, Michael Klaser, and Jon Lacarrubba.
This past winter, Professor Juliane Gross participated in the annual Antarctic Search for Meteorites (ANSMET), which consisted of several weeks of fieldwork in frigid conditions. Upon her return, we conducted a Q&A with Dr. Gross about her meteorite hunting expedition!
Read more: Antarctic Adventures - Q&A with Professor Juliane Gross
Rutgers Earth and Planetary Sciences (EPS) Book Cliffs, UT Field Trip, May 31-June 6, 2017 Rutgers EPS Professors Ken Miller and Greg Mountain led 15 graduate students (including student collaborators from Haifa and Dalhousie Universities) on an exploration of the Book Cliffs of Utah and other geological highlights in the Helper/Price, Green River, and Moab areas. We explored “The Birthplace”, not of football but of outcrop sequence and parasequence stratigraphy, pioneered in the 1980’s and 1990’s by Exxon Production Research Company.
Rutgers is well represented during Expedition 363! From left: Gregory Mountain (Faculty in EPS), Tali Babila (former student in Oceanography, now at University of California, Santa Cruz), Samantha Bova (new Post-Doc in Oceanography), and Yair Rosenthal (Co-Chief Scientist, Faculty in EPS). (Credit: William Crawford & IODP JRSO) [Photo ID: exp363_134]
GeoTalk: Drilling into the crater which contributed to the demise of dinosaurs
Six months ago, somewhere in the tropical waters off the coast of Mexico, scientists began drilling into one of the most iconic geological features on Earth: the Chicxulub crater; the 66 million year old remnants of a deadly asteroid impact, thought to have contributed to the demise of dinosaurs and most other forms of life which inhabited the Earth at the time.
The Medford Auger Project (22-26 Aug. 2016) exceeded expectations. Six sites, 10 holes, and 359 ft of section were successfully cored with excellent recovery (328.65 ft; 91.5% recovery). Site 6 stands out with the thickest Marlboro Formation (10.5 ft) that was double cored. We had an overall recovery of 72.6 ft of Marlboro Formation, our target. Weather was spectacular for late Aug. Seven students worked the sites, with the study of these cores constituting part of L. Podrecca’s Masters thesis. Study onsite provided an excellent introduction to the geology of the coastal plain for 3 incoming students (Alex Adams, Luca Podrecca, and Mark Yu.
Read more: Medford Auger project site 2 Medford Transportation Center, Medford, NJ
Harrison (Jack) Schmitt, Annette Hilton, Dr. Juliane Gros
Rutgers planetary science research was well represented at the 47th Lunar and Planetary ScienceConference (LPSC) held from 3/21-3/25. The Rutgers group presented a total of ten papers (two oral presentations and eight posters). This does not include the three papers that Rodger Hewins and Bridget Zanda were authors/co-authors on ( Roger continues to list Rutgers as a co-affiliation.) So over all, thirteen papers were presented with Rutgers authors onmasthead.
Dr. Sonia Tikoo joins Rutgers EPS as its newest faculty member after a two-year postdoctoral stint at the University of California, Berkeley. Sonia received her B.S. with Honors in Geology and History (Minor) from the California Institute of Technology (2008) and her Ph.D. in Planetary Sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2014).
Sonia’s research interests lie at the intersection of planetary science and paleomagnetism. By studying a combination of meteorites and lunar rocks from the Apollo missions, she seeks to determine the magnetic field generation mechanisms and longevities of core dynamos on differentiated planetary bodies. Constraining the intensities of core dynamo fields over time provides insight into the long-term planetary thermal and chemical evolution. Sonia is also interested in how impact cratering events alter the magnetization preserved within planetary crusts and is working on rocks from a number of terrestrial impact craters.
Through these efforts, Sonia will help us build a stronger planetary science program at Rutgers, as well as expand our program in rock magnetism. We look forward to exciting new course offerings and fruitful collaborations in the coming years!
Welcome, Sonia!
- Sea-level Rise in 20th Century was Fastest in 3,000 Years
- Ken Miller: Sea-level Change: Past, Present, and Future
- After Life on a Submarine, a Navy Veteran Takes up Earth Science - Michael Klaser moves from sonar to seismograph
- Earth and Planetary Sciences welcomes new faculty member Dr. Juliane Gross !
