Geological and Mining Engineering and Science News

Category: News

Bornhorst Publishes on the Native Copper District

Published
By

Native Copper OccurrencesTed Bornhorst, executive director of the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum, and professor (GMES) recently published an article in Minerals – an Open access Mining and Mineral Processing Journal. Bornhorst’s article was titled “Copper isotope constraints on the genesis of the Keweenaw Peninsula native copper district, Michigan, USA” and was co-authored by Ryan Mathur, professor and chair of geology at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.

Minerals 2017, 7(10), 185; doi:10.3390/min7100185

Abstract

The Keweenaw Peninsula native copper district of Michigan, USA is the largest concentration of native copper in the world. The copper isotopic composition of native copper was measured from stratabound and vein deposits, hosted by multiple rift-filling basalt-dominated stratigraphic horizons over 110 km of strike length. READ MORE

Continue Reading →

Aleksey Smirnov Elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America

Published
By
Aleksey Smirnov
Aleksey Smirnov

Aleksey Smirnov (GMES), has been elected a Fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA), as elected by the GSA Council.

Established in 1888, the GSA is a global professional society with more than 26,000 members in 110 countries, all working to advance geoscience research and discovery. The society unites thousands of earth scientists, like Smirnov, to study the perplexity of our planet and share scientific findings.

Society Fellowship, the highest level of membership, is an honor bestowed on the best in the profession by election by the GSA council. GSA members are nominated by existing GSA Fellows in recognition of their distinguished contributions to the geosciences through such avenues as publications, applied research, teaching, administration of geological programs, contributing to the public awareness of geology, leadership of professional organizations, and taking on editorial, bibliographic, and library responsibilities.

In his nomination letter, John A. Tarduno, University of Rochester, wrote “Aleksey is recognized for his advances in fundamental rock magnetism and related innovative applications of paleomagnetism to solve geologic problems, especially concerning the nature of the early geodynamo and core.”

On being elected a Fellow, Smirnov says “I am truly honored to be joining others as a newly elected GSA Fellow”.

Smirnov has authored or coauthored 49 peer-reviewed journals and about 80 conference publications. He has been an associate editor for Journal of Geophysical Research since 2005.

Continue Reading →

Global Satellite Monitoring of Volcanoes

Published
By

Eruptions Earthquakes EmissionsSmithsonian.com reported on the Global Volcanism Program, a study of the inner workings of volcanoes. Simon Carn (GMES) is one of the program’s researchers.

How Earthquakes and Volcanoes Reveal the Beating Heart of the Planet

The Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program has stitched together a visual archive of the world’s earthquakes and volcanoes

To illustrate these dynamic patterns, the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, hosted within the National Museum of Natural History, has created a time-lapse animation of the world’s earthquakes, eruptions and emissions since 1960. Drawing from the first compiled database of sulfur emissions dating to 1978, the animations show how the seemingly random activity of volcanoes and earthquakes form consistent global patterns over time. Understanding those patterns gives researchers insight into how these dramatic events are entwined with the inner workings of our planet.

Earthquakes and volcanoes can conjure up images of widespread destruction. But for those who study Earth’s deepest reaches, like Elizabeth Cottrell, a research geologist at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and director of the Global Volcanism Program, volcanoes are also “windows to the interior.”

“Global satellite monitoring of volcanoes will transform our understanding of gas fluxes from Earth’s interior to exterior in the coming decade,” says Cottrell, who has been working along with Michigan Tech researcher Simon Carn and data manager Ed Venzke to incorporate volcanic emissions into the Smithsonian database since 2012.

Read more at Smithsonian, by Rachel E. Gross.

Continue Reading →

Jackie Huntoon on STEM Field Mentoring

Published
By
Jackie Huntoon
Jackie Huntoon

HER Magazine quoted Provost Jackie Huntoon in an article on the importance of same-gender mentors for women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

The Power Of Gender Peer Mentors

A new study in the Proceeding of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that 100% of first-year women engineering students who had women peer mentors remained in the engineering program for the second year.

“I think that all students, not just women, and not just those in STEM, need mentors,” Huntoon says. “If you look like and think like the majority of your professors and classmates, it will be easy for you to find a mentor that you feel comfortable with.”

But, she believes that students in a minority group as a result of their gender, race, country of origin, etc., might need to put forth the extra effort to find the right mentor. “A good mentor is someone who can understand what you want and need and is willing to help you figure out how to achieve your goals,” Huntoon explains. “Mentors for women in STEM do not have to be women in STEM themselves – in fact, some of the best mentors I’ve ever had have been men, and not all of them have been scientists or engineers.”

Read more at HER Magazine, by Terri Williams.

Continue Reading →

AIPG Awards Scholarship to Katie Kring

Published
By
Katelyn Kring
Katelyn Kring receives the Andrew Mozola Scholarship.

Katie Kring, a third-year student in geological engineering, has received the Andrew Mozola Scholarship from the Michigan section of the American Institute of Professional Geologists (AIPG). She won for her essay, “Why I Want to be a Geologist.”

Kring first discovered geology when her sophomore high school class visited a Superfund site. Most of the students were bored; Kring says she was fascinated. A summer geology program cemented her interest.

“This past spring semester was the most challenging semester of college I have undertaken to date,” Kring wrote in her prize-winning essay. “My courses included geophysics, structural geology, statics & mechanics of materials and petrology. While the classes were demanding, I did not waver from my desire to become a geologist. In fact, these classes only reinforced my passion.”

She plans to use the AIPG scholarship to fund summer field work. When she finishes her BS in geological engineering, she hopes to work in the mining field.

Students can apply for AIPG membership online.

By Jenn Donovan.

Continue Reading →

Oommen Collaborates on Landslide Atlas of Kerala

Published
By

Landslide Atlas of KeralaA geologist with the University of Kerala has collaborated with a U.S.-based geological engineer to prepare the Landslide Atlas of Kerala. The atlas, co-authored by K.S. Sajinkumar, Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, University of Kerala, and Thomas Oommen, Associate Professor, Michigan Technological University, U.S., depicts the spatial and temporal distribution of landslips and potentially hazardous locations in the Western Ghats.

The atlas, prepared after an extensive mapping process that lasted for a year, has used the latest tools of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

Public Works Minister G. Sudhakaran will formally launch the Landslide Atlas of Kerala at the Department of Geology on the Karyavattom campus of the university on September 19, 2017. The Geological Society of India is the publisher of the atlas.

Read more at Nyoooz.

Continue Reading →

A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum Lends Geode Display

Published
By

GeodeFind your own treasures at the Tulip City Gem and Mineral Club’s annual rock, mineral and jewelry show. At the show, visitors will have the opportunity to crack their own geode to find crystals. This is in keeping with this year’s theme “Geodes — Hidden Treasure.”

The A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum at Michigan Technological University in Houghton is loaning its display, “How Geodes Are Made.” It will include 10 museum-quality geodes from Mexico, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kentucky and Argentina.

Read more at the Holland Sentinel, by Lori Timmer.

Continue Reading →

Effect of Earthquakes on Volcanoes

Published
By

Earthquakes VolcanoesDulcinea Avouris’s, who was advised by Simon Carn (GMES), lead research published in the journal Geology and was highlighted in a Focus article along with a news brief in EARTH Magazine.

What effects do earthquakes have on volcanoes?

The interaction between earthquakes and volcanoes intrigues the public and provides a complex and cascading hazard that challenges scientists across a spectrum of disciplines. The key to understanding earthquake-volcano interactions is the response of gas and magma to earthquake-imposed stresses.

Read more at GeoScienceWorld Geology, by Ben Kennedy.

Continue Reading →

Clifford Mineral Collection Donation

Published
By
The Paul and Janet Clifford Collection
The Paul and Janet Clifford Collection
Selections from the first installment

Paul and Janet Clifford continue the donation of their mineral collection to the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

They recently donated 201 specimens, the second installment of the approximately 4000 specimens they pledged in 2003. They have now donated about half of their collection to the museum.

Paul is the former curator of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History’s gem and mineral collection and was assisted by Janet. An endowment has been created by the Clifford’s with the proceeds to be used to purchase specimens for the museum’s collection.

The quality, depth, and breadth of Michigan Tech’s mineral collection continues to improve through the generosity of donors such as Paul and Janet Clifford. The museum looks forward to the next installment of their minerals.

By A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

Continue Reading →