Undergraduate Research

The following students and faculty from the Earth Sciences Department presented research at the 2011 combined meeting of the Northeast and North Central sections of the Geological Society of America, held in Pittsburgh, PA:

Leandra Baker, Fiona Lowry, Molly Reed, Les Hasbargen and Devin Castendyk presented Pre-Gas Development, Baseline Water Quality Monitoring in the Susquehanna River Headwaters, Otsego County, New York: Part 1 Groundwater

Stephen Job and Devin Castendyk presented Pre-Gas Development, Baseline Water Quality Monitoring in the Susquehanna River Headwaters, Otsego County, New York: Part 2 Surface Water

Christopher Aucoin and Les Hasbargen presented Preliminary Data Collected on Dinosaur Tracks in the Connecticut River Valley Using New Digital Maps Colleen Rappa, Cailey Wood, Elly Powers, Anna Downey, and James Ebert presented Counteracting Student Misconceptions Regarding Formation of Sedimentary Rocks

Alicia Pucci and James Ebert presented A New Source of Biogenic Sediment in the Great Lakes: Contributions of Quagga Mussels (Dreissena rostriformis bugensis) to the Beac Sediments of Lakes Ontario and Erie Martha Growdon presented Alleghenian Strain Localization and Recrystallization in the East Derby Shear Zone, Connecticut

Damon Matteson (Network Operations) and James Ebert presented Where Does the Devonian Begin in the Appalachian Standard Succession? Recognition of the Silurian – Devonian Boundary Event in the Helderberg Group of New York State

James Ebert, Todd Ellis and Steve Kluge presented Can A Dual-Enrollment Program Recruit Majors for Your Department?

"Over the past two years, two of our graduating seniors, Joseph Krikorian and Christopher Keefe, have been exploring the potential for trace metals to leach from drill cuttings of the Marcellus Shale if these cuttings should be exposed to rainwater. They used rock samples collected from Route 20 outcrop in Cherry Valley, New York to explore the leaching potential of weathered samples. Last fall they presented their findings at the National Meeting of the Geological Society of America in Denver.

"In late March, their project advisor, Devin Castendyk, received a phone call from Time Magazine asking for samples of the Marcellus Shale for a photo shoot that would be used in a special story on the Marcellus. Unsatisfied with the samples they had on hand, Joey and Chris dropped what they were doing, drove back to Cherry Valley, and collected a new sample which they gave to the Time photographer Jeff Riedel. On April 11th, Joey and Chris's rock sample appeared on the front cover of Time Magazine. The following photo shows Chris (left) and Joey (right) holding a framed copy of the magazine along with a personal thank you letter from the magazine.