SUNY Cortland - Geology Department

Below are news items, event announcements and pictures of interest to students, alumni and friends of the Department of Geology. Should you wish to contribute to this news list, please send an e-mail with a description of the item, including attached pictures where appropriate, to Dr. Christopher Cirmo at chris.cirmo@cortland.edu, or to geologydept@cortland.edu. You may also send them via US Mail to Geology Department, SUNY Cortland, PO Box 2000, 342 Bowers Hall, Cortland, NY 13045.

We look forward to hearing from you!

DEPARTMENT SEMINARS

(all lectures sponsored by the SUNY Cortland Geology Department, the Geology Club, and the Campus Artists and Lecture Series)

Spring 2009 : February 24, 2009

Dr. Andrew Kozlowski, NYS Geologic Survey and NYS Museum

Title: "Dates, Rates, and Geologic Hazards: On-going Investigations of the NYS Geologic Survey"

Department Academic Awards

Academic Awards: The Geology Department made its annual academic awards at the Spring College Honors Convocation ceremonies held in April of 2007 and April of 2008.

Department Dominion Scholarships

The Dominion Scholarships were established by the Dominion Resources Inc. with the assistance of Cortland Geology alumnus Kevin Zink (’77). The award is dedicated to junior and senior student Geology majors who either have a concentration in environmental science or water resources, or have interests or research experiences in the environmental geological sciences. The awards consist of a $1000 scholarship per semester.

The 2004-2005 award winners were Leslie Tomic, Megan Bradley and Stephanie DeSisto. Stephanie left for graduate school at Queens University in Canada this past fall (2006), and Leslie and Megan are completing their senior years at Cortland. In Fall 2005, George Holmes was selected as the award winner. George has a major in Geology/Environmental Science and is interested in pursuing a graduate degree in Water Resources or Hydrogeology. Bobby Taylor was awarded this scholarship in the fall of 2006. Bobby is a GLY/Environmental Science major and will complete his degree in May 2008. Congratulations to all of these well-deserving students.

Field Camp Scholarships, Awards and Notes

During the summer 2008 Field Camp held at the Brauer Education Center, three students received the James Kradyna Field Camp Scholarship: John-Luke Henriquez from SUNY Cortland, and Jodi Gaeman and Andrew Kosiba, both from the University of Maryland. A $900 scholarship was awarded to each student to help offset tuition for the five-week summer geology field course at Brauer. Applicants for the scholarships must be enrolled in the five week Field Geology course and have a demonstrated record of outstanding academic achievement in geology. The field camp experience was enhanced for all involved by the participation of these three dedicated and talented students.

The recipient of the 2008 James Kradyna Student Award was SUNY Fredonia student Justin Schwab for his hard work, enthusiasm, positive attitude, and initiative in helping camp run smoothly. The $350 award goes to a student who displays the characteristics of James Kradyna while at field camp. Candidates are nominated by the camp staff toward the end of the three-week course and presented to the students for their consideration. The students then vote to determine the recipient.

The James Kradyna Scholarships and the Student Award are possible through generous donations from James Kradyna’s family and friends as a memorial to James and his enthusiasm and support of the field camp from 1981 until his death in 1999.

This past summer the SUNY Cortland Geology Department ran its Field Geology Program out at the Brauer Education Center (aka the Brauer Field Station) just south of Albany, NY. Twenty-one students signed on for three to five weeks of intense study of geology and geologic processes in the field. Dr. McRattles…er… McRoberts lead the study of the classic Devonian stratigraphy of the area; Dr. Barclay guided the students in surveying methods of geomorphology; Drs. Gleason and Darling mentored the students through their bedrock mapping exercises; and Dr. Fauth held continuous “office hours.” Students from as far away as George Mason University and the University of Maryland experienced New York poison ivy and deer ticks (as illustrated on the camp T-shirt!). Some things never change. Lucky for the students and staff, though, some things do: the Center has all new mattresses and pillows! Brauer Center Coordinator Jennifer Novak, has made tremendous improvements at the facility, and had an essential role in the smooth running of field camp. Thanks, Jenn! Our cook, Tom, was also terrific—the chocolate cheese cake was worth the wait!

By the way, thinking of staging a family reunion or other get-together? Consider Brauer. Just contact Jennifer at NovakJ@cortland.edu or (518) 767-9538…..Want to see a field camp reunion occur at Brauer? Again, contact Jennifer. Oh, and check out the news pics on the webpage: http://web.cortland.edu/gleasong/fc2008.html.

While you are visiting the departmental web page, check out the field course page, too. There are some links to pages of photos of past camps. If you would like to contribute pics from earlier camps, please email me (gleasong@cortland.edu).

Geology Field Trips

Faculty News

Faculty in the Geology department have been busy with teaching, service activities and with their own research, along with advising students and acting as community and regional experts. Dr. Gleason continues to act as the Field Camp coordinator, and has been busy with several presentations and posters involving micro-structural geology. She was involved with student Stephanie DeSisto on several projects. Dr. Barclay advised several students on a project culminating in a poster presentation at Scholar’s Day, and was on sabbatical during the fall 2006, completing work on another important aspect of his paleoecological analysis of tree ring data. He also hosted the spring 2006 speaker from the National Weather Service. Dr. Darling continued work on fluid inclusions and hosted the fall 2005 speaker from Binghamton University. Dr. McRoberts continued work on his new grant involving bivalves in Italy, and made several trips to Europe and Alaska. He was very active at conferences and publishing, and took the position of Acting Chair in Dr. Cirmo’s absence. Dr. Cirmo was on leave during the 2005-2006 academic year to the National Science Foundation, where he was a Program Manager for the Program in Hydrologic Sciences.

Research Pictures

Staff News and Adjunct Instructors

Ms. Susan Nevins joined the department in the fall of 2006 as our new secretary. Susan was a Secretary at SUNY ESF for fourteen years before coming to SUNY Cortland. She lives in Groton with her husband and three children. She has already initiated several innovative changes in her position and we look forward to her taking a large role in assisting the chairs and faculty in running the Geology and Physics departments.

Ms. Julie Barclay continues to act as an adjunct instructor responsible for our GLY 171 Earth Science lectures and laboratories. She was promoted to full-time lecturer in August 2005 and taught GLY 297 Physical Oceanography in Dr. Cirmo’s absence in the spring of 2006.

Dr. Raymond Gildner served the department in 2005-2006 as a replacement for Dr. Stephen Losh who left for a tenure track position at the University of Minnesota Mankato in the fall of 2005. In fall 2006, Ms. Joyce Kruger-Knuepher joined the department to teach GLY 171, 172 and SCI 180.

John Driscoll continues to serve as instructional support specialist to both Geology and Physics Departments and recently reinvigorated the Planetarium on the first floor of Bowers Hall and has run several programs for elementary school children and the scouts.

Conference Presentations and Publications

Barclay, D.J.: Slow and Fast Modes of Tidewater Glacier Advance, Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, 22-25 October 2006, Philadelphia, PA.

Barclay, David J., Barclay, J.L., Calkin, Parker E. and Wiles, Gregory C., 2006, A Revised and Extended Holocene Glacial History of Icy Bay, Southern Alaska, U.S.A.: Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research, v.32, no. 2, p. 153-162.

Cole, A.C., C.P. Cirmo, D.L. Wardrop and R.P. Brooks. 2006. Using Hydrology to Compare a Regional Hydrogeomorphic Classification across a Latitudinal Gradient of the Appalachian Mountains. 9th Annual EPA Wetlands and Watersheds Workshop. Atlantic City, NJ. October 2006.

Darling, R.S., 2006, Superheated ice in pure water fluid inclusions from Moose River, NY, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 38, no. 2, p. 5.

DeSisto, Stephanie and Gayle Gleason; Water content in quartz and shear initiation of a small mylonite in the Western Adirondacks, Northeastern Geological Society of America Meeting, March, 2006, Harrisburg, PA.

Gleason, Gayle C. and Harry W. Green II (IGPP, UC Riverside); An Effect of Brittle Deformation on Metamorphic Reactions as Seen in the Albite to Jadeite + Coesite Transition, American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, December 11-15, 2006, San Francisco, CA.

Hesselbo, S.P., McRoberts, C.A. and Pálfy, J (Editors). 2006. Triassic-Jurassic Boundary Events: Special Issue of Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, Elsevier, Science. (in-press).

Hesselbo, S., McRoberts, C. A. and Pálfy, J. Editors. In Press. Triassic–Jurassic boundary events. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, Elsevier. A large co-edited volume with 22 chapters by leading authorities.

Hopkin, E.K. and McRoberts, C.A., 2005. A New Middle Triassic Flat Clam (Pterioida: Halobiidae) from the Middle Anisian of North-Central Nevada, USA. Journal of Paleontology, v. 79, no. 4, pp. 796-800.

McRoberts, Christopher; National Science Foundation research grant to study the Triassic/Jurassic boundary and end-Triassic extinction in Austria and Italy.

McRoberts, C.A. and Newell, N.D., 2005. Marine Myalinidae (Bivalvia: Pterioida) from the Permian of West Texas. American Museum Novitates, no. 3469, pp.1-15.

Reyes, Alberto V., Wiles, Gregory C., Smith, Dan J., Barclay, David J., Allen, Sandra, Jackson, Scott, Larocque, Sonya, Laxton, Sarah, Lewis, Dave, Calkin, Parker E., and Clague, John J., 2006, Expansion of Alpine Glaciers in the Pacific North America in the First Millennium A.D.: Geology, v.34, no. 1, p. 57-60, doi: 10.1130/G21902.1

Stanley, G. D., McRoberts, C. A. and Whalen, M.J. In Press. Stratigraphy of the Triassic Martin Bridge Formation, Wallowa Terrane: Stratigraphy and Depositional Setting. Accepted for publication in Geological Society of America Special Paper.

Tomic, Leslie, Christopher Cirmo, Edwin Romanowicz, Eileen Allen; Runoff generation on Jay-5 and the east Ausable in the upper peaks of the Adirondacks, New York. Northeastern Geological Society of America Meeting, March, 2006, Harrisburg, PA.

Ward, P., Garrison, G. Williford, K, Kring, D, McRoberts, C. and Goodwin, D. In Press. Chapter 7. The organic carbon isotopic and paleontological record across the Triassic–Jurassic boundary at the candidate GSSP section at Ferguson Hill, Muller Canyon, Nevada, USA. Accepted for publication in Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.

Yin, J., and McRoberts, C.A., 2006, Latest Triassic-earliest Jurassic bivalves from the Germig Formation from Lanongla (Tibet, China): Journal of Paleontology, v.80, p.104-120.

Zonneveld, J.-P., Henderson, C.M., Hall, R., McRoberts, C.A., Orchard, M.J., and Pitaru, S., 2005. Stratigraphy, sedimentology and faunal distribution of Triassic-Jurassic boundary sections in the Rocky Mountain front ranges of northeastern British Columbia: implications for biostratigraphy and paleoecology: Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, v. 37, p. 77-76.

Geology/Biology Softball Game

The “Bat and Ball” trophy went from its “semi-permanent” home in the Geology Department to Biology this past fall when Biology got its first win in the series with a 21-19 win over Geology, after a furious late inning rally by “team Geology” fell short. The prior fall, Geology brought home the trophy, as usual. Pictures of the 2006 game are shown below: