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DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY

TWENTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT

August 2013

DEPARTMENT OF GEOLOGY TWENTY-SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT August 2013

Compiled, written, and edited by: Patrice Reeder Mark Wilson Department of Geology Scovel Hall 944 College Mall The College of Wooster Wooster, OH 44691-2363 Web address: http://www.wooster.edu/academics/areas/geology

Blog address: http://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/

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Additional Assistance/Photography: Shelley Judge Meagen Pollock Nick Wiesenberg Greg Wiles On the cover: Fig. 4. Summary of the climate response shown for the two yellow-cedar sites for three intervals. The grey lines represent the annual data, and the black lines represent the 6% weighted average. Note that during the last 50 years, both sites responded negatively to a relatively large climatic window (January–July). The interval between 1877 and 1900 is unavailable. These results are consistent with the leading hypothesis for yellow-cedar decline, which is linked to warming in southeast Alaska. In C, the black bars are the correlations between the PI chronology in B and the temperature data in A; the open bars are the correlations between the ER chronology in B and the temperature data in A. Wiles, G.C., Mennett, C.R., Jarvis, S.K., D’Arrigo, R.D., Wiesenberg, N. and Lawson, D.E. 2012. Tree-ring investigations into changing climatic responses of yellow-cedar, Glacier Bay, Alaska. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 42:814-819, dpi: 10.1139/x2012-028

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE A NOTE FROM THE CHAIR .......................................................................................... 1 FACULTY AND STAFF ................................................................................................... 3 THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA .................................................................. 10 AGU ............................................................................................................................. 11 FERN VALLEY ................................................................................................................. 12 GEOLOGY MAJORS ....................................................................................................... 13 ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE CLASS OF 2013 ...................................................................... 14 ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE CURRENT STUDENTS ............................................................ 18 SCHOLARSHIPS AND AWARDS .................................................................................... 22 THE GEOLOGY CLUB ................................................................................................... 25 SENIOR INDEPENDENT STUDY PROJECTS ................................................................... 29 THE OSGOOD LECTURE ............................................................................................... 41 ALUMNI NEWS .............................................................................................................. 44 SPECIAL THANKS .......................................................................................................... 52 ALUMNI INFORMATION SHEET .................................................................................... 53

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August 2013

Dear Alumni and Friends: I am very pleased to introduce the 2012-2013 annual report from the Department of Geology at The College of Wooster. Again it has been a year full of activity and adventures for faculty, students, and staff. The geologists of the Class of 2013 are now making their various ways in the world and we wish them our very best. It is always bittersweet to watch our students graduate and leave, but we know they are following the many opportunities currently available for those with strong geology backgrounds. As we distribute this report, Dr. Greg Wiles is about as far away as can be. He is currently in the Far East of Russia on Sakhalin Island coring trees and swatting mosquitoes. Dr. Wiles’ research program has been extraordinarily productive, and it has been student-centered from the beginning. His lab was featured this year in a delightful video program called “Barn Detectives” for the television program Our Ohio. Search for that title online and you’ll find the full piece on YouTube. Dr. Wiles is on a one-year research leave and will return to campus (and the chair position) in January 2014. “Team Utah” is now a primary example of innovation in Independent Study and field research, thanks to the untiring efforts of Dr. Meagen Pollock and Dr. Shelley Judge. This program is not only a model on campus, but it has national publicity as well. Dr. Judge was the senior author on a paper from the Wooster geology faculty published last year in Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union. It took Wooster’s story to new audiences and will bring benefits to our students for many years. Dr. Pollock also continues her work as a Councilor for the Council on Undergraduate Research, sharing ideas with top teaching geologists. As we all know, these curricular advances in Independent Study work so well because Dr. Judge and Dr. Pollock are also superb researchers in the lab and in the field. You can read more about their accomplishments in the following pages. Our Administrative Coordinator, Patrice Reeder, continues to manage the department with energy, skill, and compassion. It is a complicated, ever-changing position, and Patrice not only excels in the details, she sees the larger vision of a department where teaching and research are combined to provide the best education for Wooster geologists. As you can read in her report, her responsibilities are growing outside Scovel Hall as well. We are very fortunate to have her at the center of our team. Nick Wiesenberg has served this year as our departmental technician. His talents are extraordinary – I have yet to find a problem he can’t solve. He not only keeps us safe in the labs and the field, and maintains our equipment and supplies, he actively contributes to our teaching and research programs. (Note that he is a co-author of the article featured on our cover.)

Our custodians in Scovel Hall, Sherlyn Myers and Samantha Mowrer, have again succeeding in making Scovel Hall one of the cleanest and most presentable geology buildings I’ve ever seen. This is not easy considering the amount of rocks, soil, and wood flowing through the labs every day. As always, there is an Alumni Information Sheet at the end of this report with an online update link. Please tell us what you’ve been doing, where you’ve been, and what geological adventures you have had. We have an unusually active, committed and connected community of alumni for this department, and our bonds extend across generations. We learn from your experiences and are continually adapting our curriculum to the changing field of geology. We depend on your growing wisdom – and we also love your stories! Our stories are told in the departmental blog at:

http://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/ We keep this blog updated and consider it a kind of ongoing report on our teaching and research. Your comments on the blog and other communications are most appreciated. Best Wishes,

Mark A. Wilson, Chair

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Sakurajima Volcano, Kagoshima, Japan

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Faculty and Staff

Shelley A. Judge Assistant Professor of Geology (B.S. Mount Union University, 1991; M.A.T. Kent State University, 1993; M.S. Ohio State University, 1998; Ph.D. Ohio State University, 2007). During the fall semester, Shelley was on research leave; during the spring semester, she taught Processes and Concepts of Geology, Structural Geology, and Special Topics - Desert Geology (co-taught with Mark Wilson and Meagen Pollock).

Shelley’s research leave during fall 2012 was very productive. She worked on projects in central Utah, with special emphasis on deformation band research. In addition, she participated in a number of panels, workshops, and conferences to enhance her teaching and research (GLCA Campus Colloquy panels, GSA Annual Meeting and two short courses, GIS and Spatial Thinking in the Undergraduate Curriculum, Volcanism in the American SW, and NCAC fall Sports Caucus). During the academic year, Shelley continued a number of activities that she thoroughly enjoys: educational outreach with several local schools (including Wooster’s Nursery School and Melrose Elementary), admissions work for the College, GLCA Teagle Pedagogy Fellow duties, and Faculty Athletic Representative responsibilities. In addition, she served on two search committees (Dean; Head Football Coach -- both of which were incredibly enjoyable) and was invited to present a TEDx talk on Athletic Integrity. Shelley worked with Will Cary (‘13), Matt Peppers (‘13), Joe Wilch (‘13), and Jenn Horton (‘13) on their I.S. projects. Will and Matt were part of ‘Team Utah’, who collectively focused on the Ice Springs Volcanic Field in Utah’s Black Rock Desert. Will completed a ballistics analysis of volcanic ejecta from Miter Crater, and Matt interpreted features (fractures, pillars, tumuli) within inflated and deflated flows west of Miter. Joe participated in a Keck Geology Consortium project on the Northern Snake Range metamorphic core complex. As a double-major (Math), Joe undertook 40Ar/39Ar thermochronologic modeling of samples from the famous Hendrys Creek area (which I know so well from yearly summer visits with my field camp students). Jenn worked with Greg Wiles during the fall semester, but was ‘adopted’ in the spring when Greg went on research leave. Her project continued the long tradition in Wooster’s Tree Ring Lab of climate studies of Glacier Bay, Alaska.

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During summer 2013, Shelley spent two months in the field. In early June, Shelley and Tricia Hall (‘14) researched deformation bands within Cretaceous units in central Utah. Fieldwork was outstanding, and this project will become Tricia’s Senior I.S. Then, Shelley and Meagen Pollock took six students to Fillmore, Utah, to begin I.S. research on the Ice Springs Volcanic Field (Black Rock Desert). ‘Team Utah 2.0’ was composed of I.S. students Kyle Burden, Cam Matesich, and Candy Thornton (14’s), along with research assistants Tricia Hall (‘14), Michael Williams (‘16) and Adam Silverstein (‘16). Wooster’s Team was accompanied by a group from Albion College, led by Thom Wilch and two of his students. After the Ice Springs research, Shelley once again co-taught The Ohio State University’s field camp based in Ephraim, Utah; this field camp enjoyed a record number of students (32) in recent years. !

Meagen Pollock Assistant Professor of Geology (B.S. Marshall University, 2001; Ph.D. Duke University, 2007; Wooster since 2008). During the fall semester Meagen taught Geology of Natural Hazards and Mineralogy. In the spring semester she taught Geology of Natural Hazards again and Petrology. The summer of 2012 marked the beginning of Team

Utah, a collaboration between Meagen and Shelley. They worked with Kevin Silver (’13), Whitney Sims (’13), Matt Peppers (’13), Will Cary (’13), and Clare Boothe Luce Scholar Tricia Hall (’14) on the volcanology of Ice Springs Volcanic Field in the Black Rock Desert, south-central Utah. The research collaboration was highly productive. In October, Sims joined Shelley and Meagen at a specialized conference on Volcanism in the American Southwest. In November, the group made four presentations at the national meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA). The collaborative approach to mentoring I.S. students proved a successful experiment that has inspired Team Utah version 2.0, comprising Candy Thornton (’14), Cam Matesich (’14), Kyle Burden (’14), and student and faculty collaborators from Albion College. Team Utah 2.0 completed their field season in the summer of 2013. Michael Williams (’16) and Adam Silverstein (’16) joined Team Utah 2.0 and Alex Hiatt (’14) as field assistants in the summer of 2013. Alex is working with Meagen, and student and faculty collaborators from Dickinson College on Icelandic subglacial basalts. Meagen presented results from the Iceland study at the December meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

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Michael and Adam also worked as research assistants in the Wooster X-ray lab, along with Rachel Lorch (’16), Leo Jones (’15), and Clare Boothe Luce Scholar Mary Reinthal (’16). In addition to the Utah and Iceland projects, Meagen advised Anna Mudd (’13) on her Keck Project that used the clay mineralogy of paleosols from the Powder River Volcanic Field in Oregon to understand paleoclimate conditions. In her capacity as a CUR Councilor, Meagen co-led a featured interactive session at the 2012 CUR conference on using social media in undergraduate research and presented on a similar topic at GSA. She was also a co-leader for AGU and GSA workshops on establishing an undergraduate research program for new and future faculty. Together, with the other Wooster Geology faculty members, Meagen co-authored an article in EOS on best practices in mentored undergraduate research. Meagen planned a First Year Seminar for the fall of 2013 titled Nature Walks, which will be a service-learning course based in Wooster Memorial Park (aka Spangler). !

Gregory C. Wiles Geology Department Chair (fall semester), Professor of Geology, and Ross K. Shoolroy Chair of Natural Resources (B.A. Beloit, 1984; M.S. SUNY Binghamton, 1987; Ph.D. University at Buffalo, 1992; Wooster since 1998). Greg taught Geomorphology and Environmental Hydrogeology and a section of First Year Seminar in the fall. He was on research leave in the spring.

Greg co-advised Jennifer Horton’s (’13) senior I.S. work in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Jenn put together a glacial history for Adams Inlet in Glacier Bay in collaboration with the National Park Service (NPS) and Dan Lawson from CRREL (Cold Regions Research Environmental Lab). Jenn’s work focused on AD 600, a time of pronounced cooling and abrupt glacial advance in the region. Lauren Vargo (‘13) completed her I.S. developing a tree-ring record of North Pacific Climate Variability and tested modeling results that suggest large tropical volcanic eruptions can force decadal shifts in North Pacific climate. Jenn and Lauren presented results of their work at the fall GSA national meeting.

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Abby Vanleuven (‘14) and Andy Nash (’14) travelled to Glacier Bay this past summer for some glacial geology, tree ring work, extreme hiking and kayaking. Abby is taking on understanding how various species of trees along the North Pacific Rim are responding to climate change. She is focusing on shore pine, which is a coastal species that has shown sign of decline over the past decade. Her work is in collaboration with the NPS and National Forest Service. Andy’s work focuses on unraveling the glacial history of the beginning of the Neoglacial about 3200 years ago. He has a pile of logs and radiocarbon dates to assemble in collaboration with CRREL and the NPS. The Tree Ring Lab continues to work tree-ring dating houses and barns in the historic town of Somerset and other sites in southern Ohio. Nick Wiesenberg, department technician, as always, was a big help doing much of the sampling and managing the collections and the data. Greg presented results of the Alaska projects to the AGU in December and gave a keynote talk to the American Society of Foresters in March. Publications appeared in Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research with Stephanie Jarvis (’11) (first author) and Sarah Appleton (’12). Nathan Malcomb (’08) (first author) and Greg published the results of Nathan’s I.S. in Quaternary Research. Greg was also a co-author on a paper with colleagues from University of Miami – Ohio that appeared in Geomorphology and examines the challenge of dating late Holocene alluvial events in the Midwest. Greg continues his research leave into the fall semester traveling to the Russian Far East with colleagues at Moscow State University and Woods Hole examining the tree-ring record of ocean-atmosphere variability from the Western Pacific. This NSF-funded project will provide new I.S. projects examining ocean-atmosphere climate in the western Pacific. He continues to work as associate editor of Tree Ring Research and as a member of the U.S. National Committee (USNC) of the International Quaternary Society. Greg helped organize a special session for the AAAS Boston meeting on Extreme Weather events. !

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Mark A. Wilson Geology Department Chair, Professor of Geology, and Lewis M. and Marian Senter Nixon Professor of Natural Sciences (B.A. Wooster, 1978; Ph.D. Berkeley, 1982; Wooster since 1981). Mark taught History of Life and Invertebrate Paleontology in the fall. In the spring he taught History of Life, Sedimentology & Stratigraphy, and Desert Geology (shared with Meagen and Shelley; this course included a spring break field trip to the Mojave Desert).

Mark had four Senior Independent Study students this year: In the summer of 2012, Richa Ekka (’13) and Jonah Novek (’13) traveled with Mark to Saaremaa and Hiiumaa islands in Estonia to study Silurian limestones and their fossils. They were part of a larger team with students and faculty from Ohio State University (funded by a National Geographic grant to Bill Ausich and Mark). As usual, Olev Vinn of the University of Tartu assisted them. Richa worked on a detailed section of stromatolite-bearing Silurian limestones on Saaremaa, sorting out their stratigraphy and paleoenvironments. Jonah studied a Lower Silurian recovery fauna of sclerobionts in a quarry on Hiiumaa. Kit Price (’13) did fieldwork during the summer in southeastern Indiana for her project on cryptic sclerobionts found in Upper Ordovician limestones and shales. Melissa Torma (’13) went to Israel with Mark over the spring break, collecting fossils for her study of Middle Jurassic brachiopod communities. All four students presented their work as posters at the annual Geological Society of America meeting in Charlotte. Mark had eleven papers and ten abstracts published this year on geological and paleontological research in Israel, Estonia, and Poland. The papers include descriptions of new fossil taxa (crinoids, microconchids and trace fossils), analyses of event beds and sclerobiont communities, and a study of Late Cretaceous sharks in southern Israel (with Andrew Retzler (’11) as senior author). This summer Mark took three students to the Negev of southern Israel for fieldwork to support their Senior Independent Study projects. Steph Bosch (’14) is Mark’s first student to actually work directly with bryozoan systematics. She will be sorting out the rare species of tropical bryozoans found in the Middle Jurassic Matmor Formation. Lizzie Reinthal (’14) is also working in the Matmor Formation; her study is the taphonomy and pathology of the common crinoid there, Apiocrinites negevensis. Oscar Mmari (’14) is combining his interests of geology and economics with an investigation of the Upper Cretaceous phosphorites exposed and mined in the Negev.

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This year Mark was honored as the namesake of a new species of cheilostome bryozoan from the Upper Cretaceous of the United Arab Emirates: Conopeum wilsoni Di Martino and Taylor, 2013. Mark finished a three-year term on the Conference with Trustees committee this year. He also served on the Environmental Studies Curriculum committee, co-administered Science Roundtable with Dean Fraga of the Biology Department, and was on the search committee for the new Director of Sponsored Research and Foundation Relations. Mark continues his service as the Secretary of the Paleontological Society, and is still an Overseas Representative for the Palaeontological Association. (This year he was able to attend the annual meeting of the Palaeontological Association in Dublin, Ireland.) He also remains a member of the review boards for Choice and American Reference Books Annual. Mark will teach History of Life and Invertebrate Paleontology during the coming fall semester, and then be on a research leave in the spring. !

Patrice Reeder Administrative Coordinator for the Departments of Geology, Philosophy, and The Pre–Law Advising Program. Wooster since 2000.

This year Patrice was on the committee to plan the 2012 Annual GLCA Conference of Academic Administrative Assistants, which was held at The College of Wooster. This event hosted eight GLCA schools with more than

75 attendees. This was a very successful College event. She also completed ATIXA Title IX Investigator Training and serves on the newly formed Committee revising the policies and procedures. She attended several sessions for The College of Wooster Academic Administrative Coordinators. Patrice again went on the Spring Break Mojave Trip with the Desert Geology class. She organized many special activities hosted by both Geology, Philosophy, and The Pre-Law Advising Program, including The Thirty-Second Annual Osgood Lecture, The Sixteenth Bell Distinguished Lectureship in Law, The Seventh Lindner Lecture in Ethics, Philosophy’s Phi Sigma Tau (Honor Society) dinner and induction ceremony, and the holiday luncheon for Geology and Philosophy majors. She was again the Tournament Coordinator of the American Collegiate Moot Court Association Midwest Regional Tournament.

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This summer Patrice and her husband Kevin celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary with a train trip to the western United States and national parks. They are expecting their second grandson in September and will soon be proud parents of a College of Wooster alumnus as their daughter is scheduled to graduate Spring 2014. !

Nick Wiesenberg Geology Department Technician

Nick has worked at The College of Wooster since 2009 as a subcontractor for the Tree Ring Lab. In Fall 2012 he began his position as our Geology Technician. His daily duties include maintaining the department’s equipment, conducting safety checks, and keeping consumable items stocked. Nick is a curator for the Fern Valley field station’s weather- and stream-monitoring data collection and Geographic Information Systems (GIS)- based image collection. He has had additional training in chemical safety and the handling of hazardous materials, in operating GIS equipment and software, and has audited geology courses to better assist students with their work. He also monitors the College’s seismic station and is in charge of archiving data and samples as well as assisting students with equipment usage and software training.

Nick’s background is in woodworking and he has worked with the Timber Framers Guild, International Preservation Trades Network, and the Traditional Trades Research and Advisory Group. He helps oversee the Tree Ring Lab and enjoys dating historic barns and other structures. He was featured with Dr. Wiles and Wooster students on the “Barn Detectives” segment aired on PBS’s Our Ohio television program. Nick has been instrumental in creating tree-ring chronologies throughout Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and southeast Alaska.

Nick has traveled to Glacier Bay, Alaska, on four occasions to aid Dartmouth College/Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory and Wooster in their ongoing climate research project and to the Mojave Desert with the Geology Department to assist students with fieldwork and gathering data. He has co-authored papers for Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve and for other climate change projects.

Nick is a Wooster native and is a volunteer for the Wayne County Historical Society, Friends of Ohio Barns, Killbuck Marsh Wildlife Area, and the Malabar Farm Foundation. In his spare time Nick enjoys working on home improvement projects and being outdoors. !

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The Geological Society of America The following attended the annual GSA Alumni Reception (hosted by Shelley, Meagen, and Mark) held November 4—7 at the Charlotte Convention Center, Charlotte, North Carolina:

Lisa Park Boush (’88) Lindsey Bowman (‘12) David Budd (’76) Will Cary (’13) George Davis (’64) Richa Ekka (’12) Kathy (Bremar) Hollis (’03) Andy Horst (’07) Jenn Horton (’13) Stephanie Jarvis (’11) Tricia Kelley (’75) Katherine Marenco (’03) Molly Miller (’69) Anna Mudd (’13) Andy Nash (’14) Jonah Novek (’13) Matt Peppers (’13) Kit Price (’13)

Andrew Retzler (’11) Kevin Silver (’13) John Sime (’09) Whitney Sims (’13) Abe Springer (‘87) Melissa Torma (’13) Lauren Vargo (’13) Bill Woessner (’71) Friends of the Wooster Geology Department: Merrily Davis Andrea Koziol Pedro Marenco Calvin Miller Brian Pratt Bob Varga

The 2013 GSA Annual Meeting will take place October 27—30, 2013, in Denver, Colorado. We will take a group photo at 8:00 p.m. during the Alumni Reception. !

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The AGU Wooster was well represented at the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) in San Francisco, California. Greg Wiles presented a poster on recognizing non-stationarity climate response in tree growth for southern coastal Alaska, research that he and Stephanie Jarvis (’11), Sarah Appleton (’12), and Lauren Vargo (’13) completed in the Wooster Tree Ring Lab. Meagen Pollock presented a poster addressing whether detailed mapping of subglacial pillow lavas could inform our understanding of pillow-dominated submarine eruptions, with important contributions from Becky Alcorn (’11) and Lindsey Bowman (’12). Meagen was also co-leader of a workshop on getting started in undergraduate research, sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research. With over 24,000 attendees, it’s hard to believe that we also ran into several Wooster alumni. Jesse Davenport (’10), who recently completed his Master’s at Notre Dame, presented his work on 80 million year old basalts from Detroit Seamount while Sophie Lehmann (’08), who is at Johns Hopkins University, presented her work on the isotopic composition of tooth enamel from South Africa. Wooster Geologists are planning to return to AGU in 2013 and hope to see you there! !

Team Utah 2.0 – from left: Shelley Judge, Tricia Hall (’14), Michael Williams (’16),

Adam Silverstein (’16), Candy Thornton (’14), Meagen Pollock, Cameron Matesich (‘14), and Kyle Burden (’14).

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Fern Valley, Wooster’s Outdoor Classroom The College of Wooster has, as the result of a gift from Betty and David Wilkin (retired Wooster French professor), recently acquired a 45-acre tract of land, known as “Fern Valley.” This site is a northeast Ohio woodland, which encompasses the steep terrain around a small, first- and second-order stream system in northern Holmes County, about 20 miles south of Wooster. The acreage surrounding Fern Valley is a microcosm of the Ohio landscape, a patchwork of farms (both Amish and English) and small private home plots. Fern Valley provides the College with a location for dedicated, long-term environmental studies and monitoring, an outdoor classroom for field-based laboratory exercises, and an opportunity for development of faculty and student research projects that examine the interface between agricultural and built landscapes and included natural habitats. Nick Wiesenberg, along with class members in Geomorphology, has begun to instrument the stream flow, precipitation, temperature, humidity, and air pressure. They have also installed erosion pins in the bed of the stream and cameras to monitor erosion of the streambed and mass movements. !

David and Betty Wilkin with Lyn Loveless (right, Biology) during the dedication of the Fern Valley field station.

A transdisciplinary group examines the biota and geologic setting of the streambed. Several classes across the curriculum have visited and collected data from Fern Valley.

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Geology Majors

Class of 2013 Will Cary Wooster, Ohio Richa Ekka Jamshedpur, India Jennifer Horton Worthington, Ohio Anna Mudd Fruita, Colorado Jonah Novek Silver Spring, Maryland Matthew Peppers St. Charles, Illinois Katherine Price Ann Arbor, Michigan Kevin Silver Akron, Ohio Whitney Sims Euclid, Ohio Melissa Torma Evanston, Illinois Lauren Vargo Mentor, Ohio Joseph Wilch Albion, Michigan

Class of 2014

Stephanie Bosch Elkins Park, Pennsylvania Kyle Burden New Providence, New Jersey Coleman Fitch Columbus, Ohio Tricia Hall Marion, Ohio Alexander Hiatt Cass City, Michigan Scott Kugel Anchorage, Alaska Cameron Matesich Brownsville, Pennsylvania Oscar Mmari Moshi,Tanzania Andy Nash Cleveland, Ohio Elizabeth Reinthal Danville, Ohio Candice Thornton McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania Abby Vanleuven Portland, Oregon

Class of 2015 Sarah Bender Twinsburg, Ohio Olivia Brown St. Clairsville, Ohio Zachery Downes Howard, Ohio Sarah Frederick Shorwood, Wisconsin Elisabeth Gresh West Liberty, Ohio George Harrison Cincinnati, Ohio Thomas Herold Massillon, Ohio Leo Jones Columbus, Ohio Wilson Nelson Mayville, New York William Ossyra Evanston, Illinois Christian Tulungen Culver, Indiana

Class of 2016 Madeline Happ Mequon, Wisconsin Brittany Nicholson Wooster, Ohio Krysden Schantz Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Adam Silverstein Forest Hills, New York Katherine Zeigler Greenwich, Connecticut

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Achievements of the Class of 2013

Awards, Scholarships, Prizes, and Activities

William Cary Captain of Wooster Ultimate Frisbee team Cum laude Latin Honors at graduation Departmental Honors at graduation Francis G. Shoolroy Scholarship Geology Club Vice President Geology Department Teaching Assistant, fall and spring semesters Geology Departmental Assistant, fall and spring semesters Honors on Senior I.S. thesis Participated in College of Wooster Senior I.S. Research Symposium Peer Tutor Science Day Volunteer Winner of the 2012 Wooster Urban Adventure with Lauren Vargo Working at Tuolumne Meadows Lodge in Yosemite National Park over the summer.

front: Joe Wilch, Richa Ekka, Anna Mudd, Whitney Sims, Kit Price, back: Kevin Silver, Jenn Horton, Lauren Vargo, Jonah Novek, Will Cary, Melissa Torma, Matthew Peppers

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Richa Ekka Geology Club member Honors on Senior I.S. thesis Beginning this summer Richa will be a teacher at Instituto Campestre de Ciencias y

Artes de Metepec in the Estado de Mexico Jennifer Horton Geology Club member Participated in College of Wooster Senior I.S. Research Symposium Summer research assistant in the Tree Ring Lab Women’s Softball Team This fall Jenn will be attending the University of Toledo working towards a master’s

degree Anna Mudd Charles and Margaret Moke Endowed Scholarships co-recipient Cum laude Latin Honors at graduation Dean’s List, fall and spring semester Geology Club member Office of Admissions tour guide Participated in College of Wooster Senior I.S. Research Symposium Took percussion lessons Wooster Community Bike Program President Wooster Symphony Orchestra percussionist Anna is currently working as an Agricultural Research Assistant at the Western

Colorado Research Center (an extension of Colorado State University) in Fruita, CO. She is thinking about taking classes in botany and plant science and pursuing a masters or doctorate in soil science or organic agriculture. Some day she would like to work as an organic agricultural consultant/specialist, focusing on organic soil maintenance.

Jonah Novek Geology Club member Geology Department Teaching Assistant, spring semester Participated in College of Wooster Senior I.S. Research Symposium Trucking Department employee Woo 91 - Radio DJ In the fall Jonah will begin a two-year Masters of Science program in Geoscience at the

University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He will also be a teaching assistant. Matthew Peppers Cum laude Latin Honors at graduation Dean’s List, fall semester Geology Club member

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Geology Department Teaching Assistant, fall semester IM Bowling Champions Participated in College of Wooster Senior I.S. Research Symposium Poster presentation of I.S. Research at Geological Society of America Annual Conference

in Charlotte, North Carolina In August Matt will be working towards his Master's Degree in Structural Geology at

the University of Nebraska-Lincoln under the advisement of Dr. Caroline Burberry. He will also be a Research Assistant. Until August, he will be spending time with friends and family.

Katherine Price Andrews/Gault library employee as a circulation and media student assistant Dean’s list, fall and spring semesters Don J. Miller Memorial Fund scholarship recipient Geology Department Teaching Assistant, spring semester Magna cum laude Latin Honors at graduation Participated in College of Wooster Senior I.S. Research Symposium Phi Beta Kappa Robert W. McDowell Prize in Geology recipient This summer Kit will be working as a contractor at the National Museum of Natural

History (Smithsonian) in Washington DC. She will be assisting the Paleobiology Collections Manager (Kathy Hollis ‘03) with the organization and storage of the static and problematic USGS collections. She is also assessing the conditions of various collections, and aiding with the accessioning and deaccessioning processes.

Kevin Silver Geology Club member Whitney Sims Charles B. Moke Prize recipient Geology Club Treasurer Geology Departmental Assistant (fall and spring semesters) Highland Dancer in the Scot Marching Band and Symphonic Band Participated in College of Wooster Senior I.S. Research Symposium Poster presentation of I.S. Research at Geological Society of America Annual Conference

in Charlotte, North Carolina Students Helping Students member and treasurer Women of Images member Whitney is currently looking for employment for the next year before attending

graduate school.

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Melissa Torma Cornerstone Elementary School volunteer Delta Theta Psi secretary Geology Department Teaching Assistant, fall and spring semesters Geology Club member Highland dancer Participated in College of Wooster Senior I.S. Research Symposium Melissa is taking a gap year before applying to graduate schools Lauren Vargo Cum laude Latin Honors at graduation Dean’s List, fall semester Departmental Honors at graduation Geology Club President Honorable mention for 2013 I.S. Research Prize in Sustainability and the Environment Honors on Senior I.S. thesis Participated in College of Wooster Senior I.S. Research Symposium Wayne County Humane Society volunteer through WVN Winner of the 2012 Wooster Urban Adventure with Will Cary Women’s Varsity Lacrosse Team, captain This summer Lauren will again be competing in the Wooster Urban Adventure. She will

be doing research work for Dr. Wiles, as well as going to the Atacama Desert in Chile for three weeks to begin research for her masters thesis. In the fall she will begin work on her Masters thesis at University of New Mexico.

Joe Wilch Cum laude Latin Honors at graduation Dean’s List, fall semester Departmental Honors at graduation ESL Tutor GED Tutor Geology Club member Geology/Mathematics double major Honors on Senior I.S. thesis Participated in College of Wooster Senior I.S. Research Symposium Varsity Swimming In the fall Joe will begin graduate school at New Mexico Institute of Mining and

Technology.

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Achievements of our Current Students Class of 2014 Stephanie Bosch Archaeological Student Colloquium Vice President Archaeology research/lab assistant Copeland Funding recipient for archaeology I.S. Geology Club member Geology Department Teaching Assistant, spring semester Geology/Archaeology double major Pipe Band tenor drum Summer I.S. research with Dr. Wilson in Israel Wooster Scottish Arts Society President Kyle Burden College of Wooster Pipe Band Geology Club member Summer I.S. research in Utah with Drs. Judge and Pollock Ulster Scottish Pipe Band out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, competition Vice President of WOOSAS (Wooster Scottish Arts Society) World Pipe Band Championship competition Coleman Fitch Geology Club member Tricia Hall Clare Boothe Luce/I.S. research in Utah and Wooster with Dr. Judge Geology Club member Karl Ver Steeg Memorial Scholarship recipient Karl Ver Steeg Prize in Geology and Geography recipient Peer Tutor Study abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland, fall 2012 Varsity Track & Field team Alexander Hiatt Geology Club member Greenhouse member Margaret Reed and John O. Clay Endowed Scholarship recipient Summer I.S. research in Iceland with Dr. Pollock WOODS house outdoor education volunteer at the Montessori School

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Scott Kugel Eta Pi member Geology Club member Hillel member Senior I.S. research Keck project with Amherst College, University of Massachusetts

Amherst, and Smith College in western Massachusetts Study abroad in New Zealand, fall 2012 Cameron Matesich Final Four in Settlers of Catan Tournament Geology Club member Summer I.S. research in Utah with Drs. Judge and Pollock Oscar Mmari Geology Club member Wooster Cricket team Senior I.S. research in Israel with Dr. Wilson Summer internship with a mining corporation in Johannesburg, South Africa Thomas (Andy) Nash Geology Club member Peer Tutor Senior I.S. research in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska, with Dr. Wiles Sophomore research assistant for Dr. Wiles Tree Campus USA committee member Varsity Football Elizabeth Reinthal Geology Club member Study abroad at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, fall and spring semesters Summer I.S. research in the Negev of southern Israel with Dr. Wilson Candice Thornton Allan Scholar College of Wooster Anime Club President Geology Club member Resident Assistant South Asia Committee member Summer I.S. research with Drs. Pollock and Judge (and the rest of Team Utah 2.0) in

Black Rock Desert, Utah Summer volunteer at a local Community Development Committee and teaching

introductory Spanish and Korean to students 14 years and older Tier-3 Student Technology Assistant Wayne County Public Library Operations Center Administrative Assistant volunteer

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Abby Vanleuven Eta Pi member Geology Club member Teach cello lessons Ultimate Frisbee team Study abroad in Tanzania, fall 2012 Senior I.S. research in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska, with Dr. Wiles Class of 2015 Sarah Bender Alpha Gamma Phi COW 4 Kids Entrepreneurship Club Geology Club member Ilgen Foundation Scholarship recipient REU Bahamas - Summer 2013, advised by Lisa Park Boush (’88) Student Employment/Human Resources Office, office assistant Olivia Brown Geology Club member Sarah Frederick Andrews/Gault Library employee, Digital Scholarship and Services office assistant Dean’s List, fall and spring semesters EPA’s Campus RainWork’s Challenge, team member Geology Club member Learning Center, peer tutor Sophomore research in the Tree Ring Lab, spring semester Wisconsin Colonial Dames XVII Century scholarship recipient This summer Sarah will be conducting research at the Great Lakes WATER Institute in

Milwaukee, under the mentorship of Tim Grundl Elisabeth Gresh Charles and Margaret Moke Endowed Scholarships co-recipient Frederic Kent Warner Endowed Scholarship recipient Geology Club member Study abroad in Japan, fall and spring semesters Thomas Herold Geology Club member Lacrosse team Leo Jones Geology Club member Sophomore research assistant for Dr. Pollock

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Class of 2016 Brittany Nicholson Dean’s List, spring semester Geology Club member Registrar’s Office summer employee Volleyball team member Williams Fitness Center, athletic training room employee Wooster Christian Fellowship member Madeline Happ Dean’s Scholarship recipient Geology Club member Greenhouse Club member Organic Farming member Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Wooster Volunteer Network This summer Madeline is working as a volunteer intern at a local nature preserve. She

helps with land restoration and conservation work throughout the property. Adam Silverstein Summer Geology Lab Assistant Started a non-performing improvisational humor group with a friend called “No

Questions Asked” Summer research assistant in Iceland and Utah with Drs. Pollock and Judge Katherine Zeigler Dean’s List, fall and spring semester

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Sed/Strat field trip, Spring 2013

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Scholarships and Awards

Below are brief descriptions of the Geology scholarships and awards presented to our Geology majors during this year.

The Charles B. Moke Prize is given in memory of Charlie Moke (‘31) who taught in the Department of Geology for 36 years. The prize consists of a field instrument or device which is awarded to the graduating senior who plans to make Geology a vocation and who, in the judgment of the Geology staff, has shown the greatest improvement during his or her college career. This year’s recipient was Whitney Sims (’13).

The Margaret Reed and John O. Clay Endowed Scholarship was established in 1985 by John R. Clay, the son of Margaret (‘45) and John Clay (‘43). This scholarship is awarded annually to a student who has demonstrated academic achievement. This year’s recipient was Alexander Hiatt (’14).

The Don J. Miller Memorial Fund was established in 1961 by the family and friends of Don J. Miller, of the class of 1940. In recognition of Mr. Miller’s devotion to the science of geology, the scholarship which this fund provides is awarded annually to a student who is majoring in geology. This year’s recipient was Kit Price (’13).

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The Charles B. Moke and Margaret Kate Moke Endowed Scholarships were established in December of 1983 with a generous donation provided by Fritz Kate (‘38), Margaret’s brother. These two scholarships are awarded annually to Geology majors who have distinguished themselves by dedication to quality in their academic work, have demonstrated self-reliance, and have a sincere interest in and a concern for other people, characteristics which were exemplified by Charlie and Margaret Moke. This year’s recipients were Anna Mudd (’13) and Elisabeth Gresh (’15) (no photo available). The Robert W. McDowell Prize in Geology was established in 1945 by Philip C. (‘14) and Sarah Wright McDowell (‘14) in memory of their son, Robert W. McDowell (‘45), who lost his life in World War II. It is awarded annually to the geology major who has the highest general standing during the junior and senior years. This year’s recipient was Kit Price (’13).

The Karl Ver Steeg Prize in Geology and Geography, established in 1958, honors Karl Ver Steeg who taught in the Department of Geology and Geography from 1923 until 1952. This prize is awarded annually to the Geology major who has the highest general standing at the middle of the Junior year. This year’s recipient was Tricia Hall (’14).

The Karl Ver Steeg Memorial Scholarship is in honor and memory of Karl Ver Steeg, who taught in the Department of Geology from 1923 until 1952. It is awarded annually to a deserving student who is majoring in Geology. This year’s recipient was Tricia Hall (’14).

Anna Mudd

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The Frederic Kent Warner Endowed Scholarship Fund was established in 1986 by family and friends in memory of Fred Warner (‘76). Fred, originally from Orrville, Ohio, was killed in 1985 in a helicopter crash en route to an off-shore Alabama oil rig to examine a core while working for ARCO. This scholarship is awarded annually to a Geology major. This year’s recipient was Elisabeth Gresh (’15) (no photo available).

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Team Alaska: Greg Wiles, Abby Vanleuven (’14), Nick Wiesenberg, and Andy Nash (’14)

Scott Kugel (’14) Ashfield, Massachusetts

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Geology Club During the 2012-2013 academic year, The College of Wooster Geology Club worked on spreading the joy of Geology among many young minds. Members volunteered at local elementary schools, covering subjects including tree-rings, fossils, dinosaurs, and sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic rocks. Other members worked in the Wooster X-ray lab with girls from Expanding Your Horizons, a program aimed at encouraging young women to pursue careers in the sciences. The year culminated with the Geology Club participating in The College of Wooster Science Day, during which children from the community had the opportunity to learn about different rocks and fossils, watch the eruption of a volcano made of coke and Mentos, dig for shells in a sand pit, and put on temporary dinosaur tattoos. In addition to these outreach activities, the Geology Club helped over a dozen students make the trip to the 2012 GSA Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina.

2012-2013 Geology Club Officers: 2013-2014 Geology Club Officers: President: Lauren Vargo President: Stephanie Bosch Vice President: Will Cary Vice President: Andy Nash Treasurer: Whitney Sims Treasurer: Kyle Burden

Front Row: Candy Thornton (‘14), Richa Ekka (‘13), Anna Mudd (‘13). Second Row: Patrice Reeder, Alex Ford (‘14), Joe Wilch (‘13), Jonah Novek (‘13), Whitney Sims (‘13), Cameron Matesich (‘14), Stephanie Bosch (‘14). Third Row: William Harrison (‘15), Lauren Vargo (‘13), Matt Peppers (‘13), Kit Price (‘13). Fourth Row: Sarah Frederick (‘15), Rachel Bales (‘15), Andy Nash (‘14), Will Cary (‘13), Lilly Christman (‘13), Melissa Torma (‘13). Fifth Row: Mark Wilson, Meagen Pollock, Oscar Mmari (‘14), Greg Wiles, Kevin Silver (‘13), Jenn Horton (‘13).

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Geology Club Presentations

August 30 Departmental Meeting and Geology Club Photograph September 6 “What I Did Last Summer” slideshow September 13 Amanda Schmidt, Assistant Professor, Oberlin College, “Spatial

patterns of erosion in western China and Tibet” September 20 Senior I.S. Seminars

Lauren Vargo – “Tree-Ring evidence of North Pacific volcanically forced cooling and drought in Midwestern North America”

Jenn Horton – “Dating the First Millennium AD glacial history of Adams Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Southeast Alaska”

September 27 Senior I.S. Seminars

Will Cary – “Ballistic Analysis of Volcanic Ejecta: Ice Springs Volcanic Field, Black Rock Desert, Utah”

Kevin Silver – Senior I.S. Presentation October 4 Senior I.S. Seminars Whitney Sims – “Petrologic and Geochemical Analysis: Mapping of

Miter Lava Flows of Ice Springs Volcanic Field, Black Rock Desert, Utah”

Matt Peppers – “Analysis of Ice Springs volcanic field structures, Black Rock Desert, Utah”

October 11 Senior I.S. Seminars Jonah Novek – “An analysis of a Rhuddanian (Llandovery, Lower

Silurian) sclerobiont community in the Hilliste Formation on Hiiumaa Island, Estonia: a hard substrate-dwelling recovery fauna”

Richa Ekka – “Stratigraphy and paleoenvironment of the Soeginina Beds (Paadla Formation, Lower Ludlow, Upper Silurian) on Saaremaa Island, Estonia”

Kit Price – “Upside-down and inside-out: Cryptic skeletobiont communities from the Late Ordovician of Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky”

October 25 Senior I.S. Seminars Joe Wilch – “40Ar/39Ar thermochronologic study of the footwall

exhumation, Northern Snake Range, Nevada” Anna Mudd – “Paleoclimate interpretation of a Miocene paleosol,

Cricket Flats, Powder River Volcanic Field, northeast Oregon” Melissa Torma – “Patchiness and ecological structure in a Middle

Jurassic equatorial crinoid-brachiopod community (Matmor Formation, Callovian, southern Isreal)”

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November 1 GSA Warm-ups November 15 Careers and Grad Schools, presented by Career Services November 29 Thomas Wilch, Herbert H. & Grace A. Dow Trustees’ Professor in the

Sciences, Department Chair, Geological Sciences, Albion College, “Fire and Ice: Volcanism, Glaciation, and Climate Change in Antarctica”

December 6 Holiday Luncheon January 17 Welcome Back, Old and New Business. Dr. Sarah Fortner, Wittenberg

University – “Agriculture & Geology: Human transformation of the Critical Zone that supports life”

January 24 Senior I.S. Seminars Lauren Vargo – “Tree-Ring evidence of North Pacific volcanically

forced cooling and forcing of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)” Jenn Horton – “Dating the First Millennium AD glacial history of

Adams Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Southeast Alaska”

January 31 Dr. Patrick Burkhart, Department of Geography, Geology, and the

Environment, Slippery Rock University, “Darwin’s Advice to Students”

February 7 Senior I.S. Seminars Will Cary – “Ballistic Analysis of Volcanic Ejecta; Miter Crater, Ice

Springs Volcanic Field, Black Rock Desert, Utah ” Kevin Silver – “An Analysis of Sedimentary Xenoliths: Ice Springs

Volcanic Field, The Black Rock Desert, Utah” February 14 Senior I.S. Seminars Whitney Sims – “Petrologic and Geochemical Analysis: Mapping of

Miter Lava Flows of Ice Springs Volcanic Field, Black Rock Desert, Utah”

Matt Peppers – “Analysis of Ice Springs Volcanic Field Structures, Black Rock Desert, Utah”

February 28 Senior I.S. Seminars Jonah Novek – “Analysis of a Rhuddanian (Llandovery, Lower

Silurian) sclerobiont community in the Hilliste Formation on Hiiumaa Island, Estonia: a hard substrate-dwelling recovery fauna”

Kit Price – “Cryptoskeletozoan communities from the Upper Ordovician (Richmondian) of Ohio and Indiana ”

March 7 Senior I.S. Seminars Joe Wilch – “Implications on metamorphic core complex development

from compositional analysis and 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology of footwall rocks, northern Snake Range, Nevada ”

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Anna Mudd – “Clay mineral analysis and paleoclimate interpretation of a middle Miocene paleosol from the Powder River Volcanic Field, northeast Oregon”

Melissa Torma – “The paleoecology of a brachiopod-bearing marly subunit of the Matmor Formation, Israel: A Middle Jurassic shallow marine environment near the equator”

March 28 Michael Mann, The Pennsylvania State University – “The Past as

Prologue: Learning from the Climate Changes in Past Centuries” April 4 Dr. Kris Jaeger, The Ohio Agricultural Research & Development

Center, “Increased Intermittency in Desert Streams Under a Changing Climate”

April 11 David Ramsay, Cascades Volcano Observatory, “Crater Lake Revealed:

The Volcanic landscape beneath the clear blue water”

April 18 GeoJeopardy May 2 Annual Geology Club Picnic

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Lizzie Reinthal, Oscar Mmari, Stephanie Bosch (‘14s) in Israel

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Senior Independent Study Abstracts

Ballistics Analysis of Volcanic Ejecta: Miter Crater, Ice Springs Volcanic Field, Black Rock Desert, Utah

by William Cary

Ice Springs Volcanic Field, located in the Black Rock Desert west of Fillmore, Utah, is composed of three large craters, Crescent, Miter, and Terrace, and several smaller craters. Concern over the hazards of the volcanic field, ±660 years old, reactivating prompted the creation of a hazards model. This study focuses on Miter Crater in order to conduct a ballistic analysis of the blocks and bombs observed along the crater rim. Data analysis of Miter Crater ejecta was then used to create a hazards model for ballistic volcanic ejecta. Thirty-four blocks and bombs were recorded along the rim of Miter Crater. Teardrop, quot (cowpie), spheroidal, and ribbon bombs were recorded and sampled around the crater rim. All blocks sampled were massive basalts and were found in situ in the northeastern quadrant (the only undisturbed section of Miter Crater from quarrying). Data collected was then used to model possible trajectories and muzzle velocities for each block and bomb according to their respective recorded parameters in the program “Eject!”. The application of drag to large, dense blocks did little to change flight paths. With smaller blocks and bombs, the effect of drag on flight paths became increasingly dramatic at higher ejection angles. The eruptions involving these blocks and bombs likely experienced a relatively large zone of reduced drag and/or multiple collisions that aided in the transport of smaller ejecta. A hazards map was created that shows four zones of differing risk levels. Intuitively, the level of risk due to ejecta impact decreases as one heads away from the eruptive center. The extent of the largest zone reaches approximately 1300 m in diameter. A model was devised that used a polar plot to prove the risk trend shown in the hazards map. The model was also used to create ballistic curves for conditions of zero drag, constant drag, and zones of reduced drag. !

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Stratigraphy and paleoenvironments of the Soeginina Beds (Paadla Formation, Lower Ludlow, Upper Silurian) on Saaremaa Island, Estonia

by Richa Ekka

The Soeginina Beds in the Paadla Formation on the island of Saaremaa, western Estonia, are a lower Ludlow (Upper Silurian) sequence of dolostones, marls, and stromatolites. They represent rocks just above the Wenlock/Ludlow boundary, which is distinguished by a major disconformity that can be correlated to a regional regression on the paleocontinent of Baltica. The depositional environments of the Soeginina Beds include a shelfal environment, restricted shallow marine setting, intertidal mudflat and finally a hypersaline supratidal setting. The evidence includes halite crystal molds, oscillation ripples, eurypterid fragments, stromatolites, ostracods, gastropods, Chondrites trace fossils, intraclasts and oncoids. Nautiloid conchs are common, probably because storm currents washed them in. I measured two sections of the Soeginina Beds at Kübassaare, eastern Saaremaa in western Estonia. The beds in one section are virtually horizontal; in the second they are steeply dipping, probably because of Pleistocene glacial ice overpressure. The beds begin with fine-grained dolostone and end with large, well-preserved domical stromatolites. The equivalent section at Soeginina Cliff in western Saaremaa (about 86 kilometers away) has larger oncoids, branching coral fragments, and bigger stromatolites. It is also more heavily dolomitized. These differences indicate that the western Soeginina Cliff was deposited in slightly deeper, less saline waters than those in the east at Kübassaare. !

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Dating the First Millennium AD Glacial History of Adams Inlet, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Southeast Alaska

by Jennifer Horton

Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve (GBNPP), located in southeast Alaska has a long and complex Holocene glacial history. The objective of this study is to determine the glacial history of Adams Inlet, a small tributary located within the East Arm of the Park. An analysis of the glacial history required dendrochronology data from wood samples in the area. Glacial stratigraphic and radiocarbon dating performed by previous researchers has identified two episodes of glacial lakes in the area. Evidence suggests that as the West Arm and parts of Muir Inlet filled with ice, glaciers dammed most of Muir Inlet, which includes Adams Inlet. These series of ice dams lead to the creation of Glacial Lake Muir at 2500 yr. BP and Glacial Lake Adams at 1700 cal. yr. BP. This study presents new tree ring data and calibrated radiocarbon dates that detail the First Millennium AD (FMA) creation of Lake Adams in Adams Inlet. Calendar dating of 86 tree cores and cross sections from detrital logs in Adams Inlet combined with a tree-ring-width series from Casement Glacier Valley show a kill event at approximately 640 AD. This study found no correlation between the kill dates and the location of samples, suggesting that these dates constrain the expansion of Glacial Lake Adams filling the inlet during the FMA. Other known glacial advances in GBNPP and across southeast Alaska support this statement. In general the FMA is an important period for studying climate variability because of the geologic evidence that suggests cooling at this time in the Gulf of Alaska. !

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Clay mineral analysis and paleoclimate interpretation of a middle Miocene paleosol in the Powder River Volcanic Field, Northeast Oregon

by Anna Mudd

Paleosols (fossil soils) often contain geochemical, mineralogical, and structural soil features as indicators of past climates. As sources of paleoenvironmental data, they contribute to the terrestrial climate record. Several paleosols are preserved between volcanic deposits in Northeast Oregon. Outside of Elgin, Oregon, the clay mineralogy of the Cricket Flat paleosol (~14 Ma) was studied to obtain a paleoclimate interpretation of the middle Miocene. XRD analysis and SEM microphotography was performed on three clay samples from the soil profile and results indicate that halloysite (7Å, 10Å and 14Å) and calcian montmorillonite are the dominant minerals present. These clays commonly form from the weathering of volcanic material, the rock type upon which the Cricket Flat paleosol formed. This clay mineral assemblage suggests that the soil developed in a humid and warm temperate climate with low to moderate rainfall and a distinct dry season. These results fit within the Miocene climate record. !

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Analysis of a Rhuddanian (Llandovery, Lower Silurian) sclerobiont community in the Hilliste Formation on Hiiumaa Island, Estonia: a hard substrate-dwelling relict fauna

by Jonah Novek

The Hilliste Formation on the island of Hiiumaa, western Estonia, is a Rhuddanian (Llandovery, Lower Silurian) sequence of limestones and shales. It represents some of the earliest Silurian rocks on the paleocontinent of Baltica. We studied the Hilliste Formation in a small quarry near the village of Hilliste on Hiiumaa. Numerous encrusted specimens were collected for analysis of sclerobiont occurrences in this rare example of a Rhuddanian hard substrate community. The depositional system was tropical and shallow marine. Major taxa in the Hilliste Formation include crinoids, trilobites, bryozoans, corals, stromatoporoids, gastropods, and brachiopods. Sclerobiont communities (organisms that lived on or within hard substrates) have yet been previously described from the Hilliste Formation of Estonia. The Hilliste Formation contains many encrusters on skeletal substrates (primarily tabulate corals). These sclerobionts include crinoid holdfasts, cornulitids, sheet-like bryozoans, runner-type bryozoans, halysitid corals, and auloporid corals. Sheet-like bryozoans were found encrusting four different phyla making them the most diverse sclerobiont in terms of host selectivity. Most if not all of these sclerobionts inhabited dead substrates. These encrusters, along with the macrofauna, have a distinct Late Ordovician aspect and could represent a relict fauna. Several Hilliste sclerobionts studied are common in the Upper Ordovician, for example, the genera Corynotrypa and Cornulites. This fauna is comparable to that of the Cincinnatian. !

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Analysis of Ice Springs Volcanic Field Structures, Black Rock Desert, Utah

by Matthew Peppers

The Ice Springs Complex is an area of recent (>600 ya) volcanism within the Black Rock Desert west of Fillmore, Utah, that has been influenced by E-W crustal extension and subsequent vertical crustal thinning related to the formation of the Basin and Range Province. The area has been subjected to both the regional stress field of the Basin and Range as well as local stress field of the cone, and to the processes of inflation and deflation of the lava flows. These processes have created and impacted a number of features visible at the field site, and this study seeks to explain these structures using the stress fields and inflation and deflation. Unfortunately, the cones have been greatly disturbed due to heavy mining in the area, and so the field site was constrained to the flows from Miter Crater for the purpose of this study. The regional stress field resulted in the creation of a normal fault oriented 015° and with a minimum displacement of 17.2 m out of the northern edge of the Miter flows, prior to flow emplacement. Inflation of a flow that breached west out of Miter Crater resulted in the creation of a N-S trending scarp that shows banding characteristic of inflation. The scarp marks the western boundary of the flow and indicates a stagnation point in the flow’s advance. The resulting inflation was responsible for the creation of a monoclinal boundary between the inflated flow and an older, chemically distinct flow. A breach at the western scarp of the inflated flow allowed fresher pulses of magma to spill out past the stagnation point, which then cooled and inflated to create anastomosing, v-shaped fractures seen on the lower side of the scarp. Similar fractures seen on the upper side of the scarp are associated with the stresses of inflation of the original flow. The drainage of lava through the breach also led to the collapse of a large central area of the inflated flow. This process of collapse left a flat, depressed area bounded by scarps that show vertical lineations. Finally, the depression has several large “islands” that show similar jointing and fracture patterns to smaller tumuli within the area. We theorize the different characteristics of the islands are the result of tumuli that have been subjected to deformation of the subsidence of the area. This study demonstrates that analysis of structures found at Ice Springs provides valuable insight into the processes that affect the flow during and after emplacement, and would be enhanced by further data collection from the field and literature analysis on inflation. !

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A description of cryptoskeletozoan communities and growth analyses of cryptic Cuffeyella arachnoidea and Cornulites from the

Upper Ordovician (Richmondian) of Ohio and Indiana

by Katherine Price

In the majority of the studies in which skeletozoan communities (organisms that encrusted a hard, skeletal substrate) are described, they are found on the exteriors of shell substrates. Skeletozoan communities that inhabited these cryptic environments (cryptoskeletozoans) inside similar shells are poorly known. In those instances where cryptic communities have been described, the communities represent different assemblages of organisms (i.e. algae, sponges) and different environments (i.e., cavities in bryozoan reefs and areas under hardground ledges) compared to the communities and environments found within shell substrates. These cryptoskeletozoan communities are frequently preserved in the Upper Ordovician (Richmondian) of Ohio and Indiana, and have been found encrusting the interiors of gastropod, monoplacophoran, nautiloid, and bivalve shells post mortem. Sheet and runner-type bryozoans, cornulitids and microconchids, along with some craniid brachiopods comprise the cryptoskeletozoans found preserved in this study. Sheet-like bryozoans were present on the majority of the specimens, their preservation varying greatly. These bryozoans bioimmured cryptoskeletozoans and preserved others through bioimmuration. The craniid brachiopods Petrocrania scabiosa and Philhedra sp. were identified, although they were the least common of the cryptoskeletozoans. Microconchids were abundant in these shell environments, and all have been preserved through bioimmuration or have been bioimmured. Two runner-type bryozoans, Cuffeyella arachnoidea and Corynotrypa sp., inhabited these cryptic environments. Cuffeyella was more abundantly preserved than Corynotrypa, and both often had intergrown colonies. Cornulites was also very abundant in these communities, with tube morphology varying from straight to strongly curved. Statistical analyses were done on Cornulites and Cuffeyella arachnoidea in an attempt to determine if there had been preferential growth directions of these encrusters. The Rayleigh test showed that the growth directions of both Cuffeyella arachnoidea and Cornulites could be correlated to the location of the host’s aperture; the dominant mode of Cuffeyella arachnoidea colonies grew cryptically away from the host’s aperture,

whereas the majority of Cornulites grew towards the direction of the host’s aperture. From this, it can be inferred that Cuffeyella arachnoidea benefitted from the protection provided by the cryptic environment and that Cuffeyella arachnoidea

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was not negatively impacted by the hypothesized decrease in nutrients heading into the shell. Cornulites, on the other hand, needed to face the host’s aperture because they needed more nutrients than Cuffeyella arachnoidea to survive. !

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Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park front: Nick Wiesenberg, Steph Bosch (’14), Melissa Torma (’13), Tricia Hall (’14).

Back: Yoav Avni (Geological Survey of Israel), Ananda Menon, (’14), Andy Nash (’14), Olivia Brown (’15), Sarah Frederick (’15), Alex Hiatt (’14), Kyle Burden (’14), Jonah Novek (’13), Joe

Wilch (’13), Meagen Pollock, Shelley, Judge, and Patrice Reeder

Alex Hiatt (’14) Iceland

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Geochemical and Geospatial Analysis: Mapping of Miter’s Lava Flows in Ice Springs Volcanic Field, Black Rock Desert, Utah

by Whitney Sims

The Ice Springs Volcanic Field in the Black Rock Desert of Utah last erupted approximately 660 +/- 170 years ago (Valastro, 1972). Within the area are four intact cinder cones: Crescent, Miter, Pocket, and Terrace. Lava flow boundaries from the multiple cinder cones are unclear and current maps do not distinguish between individual flows. This study is focused on the distribution of the Miter flows to determine the sequence of emplacement. An individual flow boundary was determined based on characteristics of vegetative cover, morphology, vesicularity, and chemistry of the lava flows. Samples were analyzed for bulk rock major elements by x-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF). A pattern relating age and silica content was found to correlate some similar Miter flows to different parts of the field. My study finds the Ice Springs emplacement history generally agrees with previous workers with a few modifications made to identify individual flows and boundaries within the larger Miter flow field. !

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The paleoecology of a brachiopod-bearing marly subunit of the Matmor Formation, Israel: A Middle Jurassic shallow marine environment near the equator

by Melissa Torma

The Matmor Formation is made up of alternating fossiliferous marl and limestone layers ranging in age from the Callovian to the Oxfordian. This unit is exposed in Hamakhtesh Hagadol in the Negev of southern Israel. During the Middle Jurassic, this formation was located at the equator in a shallow marine environment. This study is important because this is one of the only equatorial shallow marine formations that are exposed today. Although the stratigraphy and several fossil groups, including brachiopods, ammonites, crinoids, and sclerobionts, have been described, the fauna, as a whole, has not. This study focuses on Subunit 51 of the Matmor Formation, upper Callovian, that is made up of a marl sediment. I collected fossils several kilometers along this subunit, as well as, used fossils that were collected from this subunit on previous trips. The fossil community is mostly made up of brachiopods (mostly terebratulids and rhynchonellids), crinoids, echinoids, scleractinian corals, and calcarous sponges. Molluscks and worms were also found and very few bryozoans were found. The main focus of this study was on the identification and paleoecology of the brachiopods in this subunit and how they fit in to the paleoecology of the subunit as a whole. The brachiopods found were Bihenithyris mediocostata, Burmirhynchia jirbaensis, Digonella boylani, Kutchirhynchia sp., Kutchithyris sp., Moorellina negevensis, Sphaeroidothyris sp., and Somalirhynchia africana. When comparing the genera and species to other locations in the Ethiopian Province, it seemed that the brachiopod fauna is endemic to Israel. Possible functional morphologies for rhynchonellids and terebratulids were examined leading to conclusions about terebratulids using pedicles, attached to fragments of shell found in the sediment, and rhynchonellid juveniles using pedicles similar to the terebratulids but lost the need for them as an adult. Encrusters and bioerosion were found on corals, sponges, and crinoid stems. The subunit is made up of patchy reefs. Corals and crinoids seemed to have come first to the soft sediment, and then when enough hard substrate accumulated, were followed by brachiopods and other invertebrates. Storm sediment deposits and disruption most likely kept the reef from developing more than just an early reef stage.!

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Tree--Ring evidence of North Pacific volcanically forced cooling and forcing of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)

by Lauren Vargo

Two large undocumented volcanic eruptions in 1698/9 and 1809 have been previously identified in ice cores as sulfate peaks, and in tree-ring latewood density data as low-density rings. These eruptions can also be recognized using tree-ring width data, and can be identified in the tree-ring record as narrow rings for several consecutive years. The first part of this study uses tree-ring width data from the Gulf of Alaska to provide further evidence that these eruptions occurred. The two eruptions also provide a natural experiment for investigating the effects large volcanic eruptions have on North Pacific climate, including the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which is considered a primary driver of North Pacific climate. A recent modeling study suggests that strong volcanic eruptions (SVEs) can have significant impacts on Gulf of Alaska climate, including forcing the PDO into a negative phase. To gain further insight into this possible forcing, the second part of this study presents a PDO reconstruction that was created using tree-ring data from the Gulf of Alaska. The reconstruction is then analyzed at the times of the 1698/9 and 1809 eruptions. Our analyses find that while SVEs in 1698/9 and 1809 correlate with negative phases of the PDO, both eruptions occurred when the PDO had already entered a negative phase. Therefore, it appears that SVEs may intensify negative shifts of the PDO, but that the PDO is also driven by other factors including El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), atmospheric circulation, ocean circulation, and solar variability. !

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Insights into the tectonic evolution of the northern Snake Range metamorphic core complex from 40Ar/39Ar thermochronologic results, northern Snake Range, Nevada

by Joe Wilch

Located in eastern Nevada, the Snake Range represents a classic example of a Cordilleran metamorphic core complex, where large-scale crustal extension has formed a detachment fault that separates highly strained and metamorphosed rocks in the footwall and normally faulted sedimentary rocks in the hanging wall. There is still considerable debate about the formation of metamorphic complexes. This study presents multiple diffusion domain modeling of K-feldspar 40Ar/39Ar thermochronologic results in order to better assess the tectonic evolution of the northern Snake Range. The thermal histories show a phase of rapid cooling occurring at 20 Ma near the center of the range and 16 Ma near the eastern flank. This paper also gives background on the mathematics of diffusion, discussing Fouier series and the heat equation; the backbone to 40Ar/39Ar thermochronologic analyses. Previous thermochronologic studies in the area have incorporated irregular muscovite age spectra in their interpretations (Lee and Sutter, 1991; Lee, 1995; Gebelin et al., 2011). Compositional data as well as analyses of step heating data of muscovite separates show that original muscovite samples may be a combination of at least two separate muscovites, each representing different tectonic stages. Therefore, drawing conclusions from these muscovite data should be approached with caution. !

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The Osgood Lecture

The Richard G. Osgood, Jr. Memorial Lectureship in Geology was endowed in 1981 by his three sons in memory of their father, a paleontologist with an international reputation who taught at Wooster from 1967 until 1981. Funds from this endowment are used to bring a well-known scientist interested in paleontology and/or stratigraphy to the campus each year to lecture and meet with students. Dr. Michael E. Mann, Distinguished Professor of Meteorology at Penn State University, with joint

appointments in the Department of Geosciences and the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute (EESI) was our Thirty-second Annual Richard G. Osgood, Jr., Memorial Lecturer on March 27, 2013. Dr. Mann received his undergraduate degrees in Physics and Applied Math from the University of California at Berkeley, an M.S. degree in Physics from Yale University, and a Ph.D. in Geology & Geophysics from Yale University. His research involves the use of theoretical models and observational data to better understand Earth’s climate system. He is also director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center (ESSC). Dr. Mann was a lead author on the Observed Climate Variability and Change chapter of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Third Scientific Assessment Report in 2001 and was organizing committee chair for the National Academy of Sciences Frontiers of Science in 2003. He has received a number of honors and awards including NOAA’s outstanding publication award in 2002 and selection by Scientific American as one of the fifty leading visionaries in science and technology in 2002. He contributed, with other IPCC authors, to the award of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. He was awarded the Hans Oeschger Medal of the European Geosciences Union in 2012. He is a Fellow of both the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society.

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Dr. Mann is author of more than 150 peer-reviewed and edited publications, and has published two books including Dire Predictions: Understanding Global Warming in 2008 and The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines in 2012. He is also a co-founder and avid contributor to the award-winning science website RealClimate.org. !

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Andy Nash and Abby Vanleuven (’14s) Glacier Bay, Alaska

Dante’s View, Death Valley, California Front: Sarah Frederick (‘15), Ananda Menon (’14); back row: Jonah Novek (’13), Melissa Torma (’13), Stephanie Bosch (’14), Alex Hiatt

(’14), Joe Wilch (’13), Andy Nash (’14), and Olivia Brown (’15).

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Osgood Lecturers

1982 John Pojeta, Jr. United States Geological Survey

1983 J. William Schopf The University of California, Los Angeles

1984 David Jablonski The University of Chicago

1985 Walter Manger (‘66) The University of Arkansas

1986 Susan Kidwell The University of Chicago

1987 Niles Eldredge The American Museum of Natural History

1988 Steven Stanley Johns Hopkins University

1989 Paul Taylor The Natural History Museum, London

1990 Erle Kauffman The University of Colorado

1991 Rodney M. Feldmann Kent State University

1992 Molly F. Miller (‘69) Vanderbilt University

1993 John Van Wagoner (‘72) Exxon Production Research Company

1994 Adrienne Zihlman The University of California, Santa Cruz

1995 Martin Lockley The University of Colorado at Denver

1996 Timothy J. Palmer The University of Wales, Aberystwyth

1997 Jeffrey F. Mount The University of California, Davis

1998 Mary Droser The University of California, Riverside

1999 Bruce Latimer The Cleveland Museum of Natural History

2000 Paul C. Mayewski The University of New Hampshire

2001 Carlton E. Brett The University of Cincinnati

2002 Douglas H. Erwin The Smithsonian Institution

2003 Mark A. Norell The American Museum of Natural History

2004 Lonnie Thompson The Ohio State University

2005 Patricia H. Kelley (‘75) University of North Carolina at Wilmington

2006 Orrin H. Pilkey Duke University

2007 Richard Alley Pennsylvania State University

2008 Paul Olsen Columbia University

2009 David A. Burney National Tropical Botanical Garden, Hawaii

2010 James W. Hagadorn Amherst College

2011 M. Susan Lozier Duke University

2012 George Davis (’64) University of Arizona

2013 Michael D. Mann The Pennsylvania State University

The 2014 Osgood Lecturer will be Jessica Conroy (‘03), Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, on Wednesday, April 2, 2014.

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Alumni News

Kathryn (Hauenstein) Gray (’45) went on an Honors Flight as a WWII veteran out of Columbus in May 2013. ! George Schneider (’49) has moved to Lafayette, Louisiana. His wife, Elaine (Vandenbosch) Schneider (’50) passed away on April 14, 2013. He retired from Caltex Pacific Indonesia in September 1987. ! David Ewing (‘50) turned 86 in April, and as President of Ewing Exploration Company (EEC) is still an active generating geologist in the oil and gas industry. EEC is presently concentrating on prospects with oil potential in the southwestern portion of the Bighorn Basin of Wyoming in spite of ongoing problems created by the over-regulation of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). ! William Goshorn (’58) served as Chairman for the Association of Engineering Geology (AEG), Kansas City - Omaha section for 2 years, President of the Association of Professional Geologists (AIPG) for one year, and is a Registered Professional Geologist in Arizona and Indiana. ! David Dickason (‘60) says, “My center publishes Authoritative U.S. Topos as hyperaccurate quads and as GeoChange maps with map content overlaid on digital orthophotos. They can be used in the field with iOS (soon Android) tablets/smartphones, perfect for field study. Maps are GPS-enabled & self-contained, do not need cell towers, and don’t incur roaming charges. Photos can be geotagged, and databases updated in the field e-mailable as .kml files to base station, w/utility tool kit in the app. Look for Avenza’s PDF Maps, free from Apple’s App store. Once downloaded, the app has its own iTunes-like store to acquire maps by WiFi. Many uses besides field Geology. Crowd-sourcing of info of all kinds.” ! Ceylon Strong (’64) retired from GNS Science (fka Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences) July 2012, but is still doing some consultancy work on casual contract. He is also involved with a research group investigating Paleocene-Eocene paleotemperature and climate. “New Zealand has world class onshore and offshore stratigraphic records of this time interval.” ! Stephen Moran (‘65) – “Judi and I enjoy spending about a week with Dick and Jan Liebe each winter alternating between Tuscon and Desert Hot Springs, California. Serious bridge and hiking.” ! David Morse (‘67) retired July 1, 2012, from the Illinois State Geological Survey and relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado, to live near family (brother, daughter, and

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grandkids), and enjoy the scenery, geology, and outdoor opportunities of the Rockies. “I am looking forward to our big 50th class reunion!” ! Joe Benson (’68) was named interim provost at University of Alabama in November 2012. ! Joseph Morley (‘68) – “Am entering my 22nd year at William Paterson this coming fall (2013). Although no longer receiving direct funding, I still am conducting research concentrating on past climate utilizing distribution of siliceous microfossils (Radiolaria) preserved in marine sediments. Have two articles in press this year with Marine Micropaleontology.” ! Trinda Bedrossian (’69) is currently working part-time as a Retired Annuitant Specialist with the California Geological Survey (CGS), where she has worked for the past 43 years. Most of her work has been focused on forest and watershed geology-related issues, which she supervised for more than 20 years. She recently completed the mapping of surficial deposits related to alluvial fan flooding in southern California (CSG Special Report 217). Her current projects involve the restoration of roads and trails, dunes, and watercourses; erosion control on OHV and timberland trails; and identification of geologic hazards for environmental planning. She is licensed and certified in California and in New Hampshire, where she and her husband also have property. She is also active as a Stephen Minister in Davis Community Church and keeps in touch with classmates Kit Beery, John Bone, Susan Frederick Marchesani, and Mary Shields Schneider on a regular basis. ! In February/March Steven Emerson (‘69) was the chief scientist on a 21-day Cruise from Yokohama, Japan aboard the R.V. Melville. The cruise crossed the Kuroshio current in the Northwest Pacific between 30 and 40 N with the goal of determining the mechanisms that control the dramatic influx of carbon dioxide into the ocean in this area. Hydrographic measurements were made from the surface to 2000 m and 20 profiling floats were released that will transect the upper 2000 m once every five days for the next 5 years measuring temperature, salinity, and oxygen. The floats send their measurements to computers at University of Washington each time they surface. The cruise was supported by the National Science Foundation but also doubled as teaching experience involving 11 U.W. Oceanography undergraduates and 3 graduate students. The Undergraduates were compiling data for their capstone research project, which is something like a mini-I.S. at Wooster. The graduate students were collecting data for their Ph.D. theses. ! Bruce Elijah (‘72) – “I have had the opportunity to drill wells on six continents in a career that has spanned 42 years. I have for the last 15 years been involved in actively mentoring younger professional geologists in petroleum geology and geology field practices in sampling outcrops and whole core data as well as software and mapping techniques for different basins in the United States and Canada.” !

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Richard (Rick) Peterson (’72) traveled through 14 countries and 48 states, always looking at the rocks and landforms. “Love the Roadside Geology books!” ! William Byrne (’74) is president of Explor, has been integrally involved in many of Canada’s largest oil and gas discoveries over the last 32 years. Explor specializes in extreme exploration environments including the most difficult weather, terrain, political and environmental challenges. ! Patricia (Hagelin) Kelley (’75) – “Enjoyed co-authoring an article with Mark Wilson and other colleagues for the GSA 125th anniversary volume - our article covered the last 50 years in paleontology, so no small task! We’ve enjoyed spending time with son Timothy, his wife Lisa, and two-year-old McKenzie at their new home in Arlington, VA, and visiting daughter Katherine and her husband John at their new home in Albuquerque, NM.” ! Kaz Aoki (’77) and his wife Sachiko had a very busy year full of celebrations. This year Kaz reached the age of official retirement in Japan, their youngest child will graduate college, their oldest is welcoming a baby this summer, and another daughter was married. ! For the past 8 years Alan Spencer (’78) has been working on a collection of hand made ceramic vessels that represent the geologic periods. You can see his work at http://www.spencerceramics.com/default.aspx ! Kevin Trem (’78) married Wooster alumni Cindy Byers (Math) in 1982. They have 3 children (2 girls and 1 boy). Their daughter, Robyn Trem (’11), majored in Sociology and is currently teaching at a charter school outside of Boston. ! Edward Andrew, Jr. (’80) is the Andrew Family Foundation President. ! Joanna Scheffler (’80) – “Way back when I did my IS, our field area in southern AZ seemed exotic. That work seems fairly little league compared to some of the projects I read about at COW these days! Keep up the amazing research, students and advisors!”! Mark Petersen (’81) “After more than 30 years since graduating from Wooster, I am continuing to enjoy life as exploration geologist in the metals mining industry. I am especially fascinated by the challenge of integrating traditional boot leather field methods, which we still rely on quite heavily, with more modern techniques of data collection, analysis and interpretation. The critical thinking skills I acquired during my time at Wooster remain as important as ever to the continued success of both my company and myself.” !

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Mark Edwards (‘82) says, “Live your passion, mine happens to be geology, you might have a huge impact on someone! I influenced my niece to go back to school and earn a geology degree. She just finished and is now working as a Geologist!” ! Michael Smith (’82) – “In October of 2012 I married my high school sweetheart. We reunited last year after 35 years apart. I’ve moved to Cleveland Heights, Ohio (my first time living in Ohio since I graduated from Wooster) and teach AP environmental science, honors biology, and AP Biology at an all-girl private school in Shaker Heights.”! Tom Forster (’83) – “I am enjoying teaching a lot of outdoor hands-on science including 4 weeks of outdoor science in the fall and spring. I have also incorporated outdoor leadership into my curriculum. I enjoy coaching my own children - girls middle school soccer and boys high school lacrosse. I remember grinding out my IS in the basement of Scovel Hall in 1982-83. We had a great group of geology majors that year!” ! Brad Leach (‘83) has completed a 23-year career as an exploration and orebody development geologist with Newmont Mining Corporation, and is now working as an independent consultant. “After living and working in a variety of locations, including Ghana, Bolivia, Mexico, and nearly five years in rural Peru, my wife Cindy (also a geologist) and I are enjoying more time at home here in Colorado. My Wooster geology classes, and especially the IS experience, were a huge help in preparing me for the Master’s degree, and the eventual career in geology.” ! William Totten (’83) – “Started my own law firm, Totten Law Office LLC, on March 28, 2011. The practice includes Social Security Disability and Veterans Disability, family law, personal injury law, estate planning and some general law, with an emphasis on helping those who are unable to help themselves.” ! The Board of Directors of Bemis Company, Inc. elected William Jackson (’84) as Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. ! Lynette Seigley (’84) was featured in an article by the The Times-Delphic titled “Project AWARE drives passion for water and the environment.” The article can be found at http://timesdelphic.com/2012/11/05/project-aware-drives-passion-for-water-and-the-environment ! Polly (Groth) Wheeler (‘84) – “Michael and I have been married 29 years. We have 4 grown children and one granddaughter. Our sons are all employed (!), and our daughter attends Hiram College. We started our own business in 1991 and are still working together. While I do not work directly in either geology or physics, the training I received at Wooster taught me a scientific approach to data and to problems, and this I use every day.” !

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Nancy (Neagoy) Rice (‘85) - “Going on almost 28 years with the Ohio EPA - hard to believe. Still enjoy working in the Division of Drinking and Ground Waters, overseeing the regulation of public drinking water systems in 15 counties in NE Ohio. Not sure retirement is that close as our daughter, Rachael, will be 11 in two years! The most expensive things are yet to come, I’m sure.” ! Julie (Ferguson) Haines (’86) was on campus last summer. Her daughter, Alexandra, just completed her first year at Wooster. Julie also accepted the position of Vice President with AMEC this year. ! Brian Carl (‘87) is having a wonderful time living in Netherlands. He has been there one year already after living in Chengdu, China, 2010-12. He says, “Still love the expat life. Come visit!” ! Christopher Finton (’91) has been staying busy working on water supply, mine/quarry water resource, and some unconventional shale gas development related projects. He and Leslie (Belgrad ‘93) have two daughters: Hannah (15) and Sarah (12) that keep them very involved in their school and swimming events. ! Rob Noble (‘91) and Hillary Morrell are proud to announce the birth of their daughter, Natalie Grace Noble, on April 20, 2013. She is already looking forward to the C.O.W. class of 2036. ! Carl Schopf (’93) – “I recently visited with Dr. Wilson at Wooster before leaving for Colorado after spending my whole life in Ohio. It had been a good 10 years since I have been there. Dr. Wilson was gracious to give me and my son a tour of the Geology building and I could not be more impressed with the changes and how it has grown.” ! John Parsons (’94) – “I’m in the midst of wrapping up three plus years of Active Duty service with the Coast Guard as a Reservist. I deployed for a year as supervisor of a USCG team advising the DOD, primarily Army, on HAZMAT shipping and Customs issues for units returning from Afghanistan and Iraq. For the past year I’ve been training USCG personnel deploying to Bahrain, Kuwait and Afghanistan. But I hope that by the time anyone from Wooster reads this I’ll be driving around the mountains of western and central PA (Here’s to you Dr. Root!) for a company contracted to do server upgrades/maintenance to the computers in those little sheds at the base of cell phone towers in rural areas. We’ll see what happens.” ! Russ Kohrs (’01) – “Quite the honor! I recently received word that I have been honored as the Virginia and Eastern Section ‘Outstanding Earth Science Teacher’ for 2013 by the National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT). Two awards in one! How cool!”! Kristina Brady (‘03) – “This is my 10th year at the University of Minnesota and it has been great to see some fellow Wooster Alums come and use our lab (LacCore). Last year

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I worked on a number of exciting projects including a drilling project in Kenya and an REU program in the Bahamas.” ! Jessica Conroy (’03) has finished her postdoc at Georgia Tech, and will be starting her new position as an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana this fall. On June 15, 2013, she and Willy Guenthner were married. Jessica will be our 2014 Osgood Lecturer. ! Leslie McCluskey-Eissing (‘03) – “I’ve been working at EMSL for three years now and was recently promoted from doing light microscopy of asbestos samples to analyzing for asbestos and a broad range of silicate minerals via transmission electron microscopy. I have the privilege of characterizing materials from a number of EPA Superfund sites and working with a group of very intelligent people.” ! Megan (Kennedy) Williams (’03) – “In December 2012 I switched jobs and moved from the consulting business into the not-for-profit/State sector. I’m really enjoying my new position as laboratory coordinator for the Maryland Environmental Service. I also became a certified CrossFit trainer and am teaching CrossFit classes three nights a week, which has become a real passion over the past year.” ! Matthew Beckwith-Laube (‘04) – “Things have been going swimmingly in my third year in Lake Placid. I would give you an update on all of the comings and goings, but that would take a long time. Imagine something interesting and that is what I am doing.” ! On March 6, 2013, Will Driscoll (’05) presented “The ecological consequences of microbial sociality” at The College of Wooster Biology Department Seminar. He finished his Ph.D. last year at The University of Arizona and is now a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Département de Biologie, École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France. That is a long way from Scovel Hall! ! Josh Michaels and Charlene (Adzima) Michaels (‘05s) celebrated their six year wedding anniversary in June. ! Nicolas Young (’05) received his Ph.D. from the University at Buffalo in 2012. He is currently a postdoctoral research scientist for Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. ! Erica Clites (‘06) is now the museum scientist at the University of California, Museum of Paleontology. ! Anne Krawiec (’06) received her Masters of Science degree from Northern Arizona University in May of 2013. She was married August 17 to a geologist she met in grad school and they are moving to Denver, Colorado. !

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Andrew Horst (’07) received his Ph.D. from Syracuse University earlier this year, and will begin his position of Visiting Assistant Professor at Oberlin College this fall. ! Cordelia (Dennison-Budak) Swegal (‘07) began a new job with ARCADIS this summer.! Andrew Welshhans (‘08) lives in San Antonio, Texas, purchased a house last year, and is currently busy with creating a 30’ stacked greenschist fireplace. He is enjoying the hot weather and sunny winters. “Hope everyone at Wooster and in the Alumni community are doing well.” ! Travis Brown (’10) will be joining the Hydrologic Science graduate program at the Colorado School of Mines this fall. ! Bill Thomas (’10) and Kathleen Metcalfe were married this summer. ! Andrew Retzler (’11) passed his defense received his Master’s degree from Idaho State University and has a job at the Minnesota Geological Survey starting in August. ! Samantha Spencer (’11), along with her mother, Mary Spencer, placed 29th in the 2013 Wooster Urban Adventure Challenge. ! Katharine Schleich (‘12) is a Graduate Teaching Assistant at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. She received the American Electric Power Watershed Restoration Fellowship for her master’s thesis research on acid mine drainage in the Raccoon Creek Watershed, southeastern Ohio. !

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Sarah Bender (‘15), Lisa Park Boush (‘88), and Kristina Brady (‘03) on Eleuthera in the Bahamas

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We are saddened by the deaths of the following alumni and friends: Thomas Angerman (’53) March 22, 2013 Mary Dixon (’42) January 6, 2013 Paul Finefrock (’46) July 11, 2013

Thomas Kuhn (’50) January 25, 2013 David Lanning (‘43) July 17, 2012 Elaine Schneider (’50) April 14, 2013 Alfred Spreng (’44) October 19, 2012

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Glacier Bay, Alaska

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Special Thanks

Thank you to Becky Jensen (‘78) for her annual gift to the Geology Department, which was placed in The James R. Baroffio Fund for Geologic Research. ! Thank you to Brian Bodenbender (‘87) for his gift to the Geology Department, which was placed in The W.R. “Ted” Danner Fund for Student Geological Fieldwork. ! Thank you to George Chambers (’79) for another donation of fantastic fossils and minerals he gave to the Geology Department. ! Thank you to Rob Lydell (’10) and Haley & Aldrich for the rock cores they donated to the department. ! If you would like to give a gift to the Geology Department, feel free to send your gift directly to the Department or to the College Development Office. It is very helpful to us if you designate how you would like your gift to be used, or if you would like it placed in a specific fund. Gifts that are not specifically designated will go in the general Geology Department annual budget to be used for the day-to-day operations of the department. !

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Zabriskie Point, Death Valley National Park front: Sarah Frederick and Olivia Brown (’15s); back: Alex Hiatt, Steph Bosch, Ananda Menon (‘14s), Melissa Torma (’13), Kyle Burden, Andy Nash (’14),

Joe Wilch, Jonah Novek (’13), and Tricia Hall (’14).

ALUMNI INFORMATION SHEET Department of Geology

Twenty-Seventh Annual Report August 2013

Name:

Maiden Name (if applicable):

Class: I.S. Advisor:

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If your occupation is related to geology, please check one or more of the following:

Environmental Petroleum

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Thank you for responding to this request. You may complete this form at http://tinyurl.com/2013-Geology-Alumni-Update, or send to us

via U.S. Mail, fax (330–263–2249), or by e-mail to preeder@wooster.edu

Photo by Andrew Collins (’12)

Scovel Hall, originally built in 1902 and renovated in 1983-1984,

is the home of the Departments of Geology, Philosophy, and The Pre-Law Advising Program.

It bears the name of Dr. Sylvester F. Scovel, the third president of The College of Wooster.

http://www.wooster.edu/academics/areas/geology

http://woostergeologists.scotblogs.wooster.edu/

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