|
I am a field geologist interested in structural geology and metamorphic petrology and tectonics. Structural geology is the study of how rocks deform, change shape, bend, or break. Metamorphic petrology is looking at the mineral assemblage of metamorphic rocks to determine the protolith (preexisting rock prior to metamorphism) or the conditions of metamorphism. Tectonics is the study of large scale plate motion. In the past, I have analyzed geologic structures at the macro-, meso-, and microscales (map, outcrop, and under the microscope) to determine the kinematic history (history of strain) and what that can tell us about the tectonic history, such as the sequences of major mountain building events.
The rocks of the Adirondacks have a >1 billion-year-old complicated tectonic history with evidence for multiple mountain building events. Since SUNY Potsdam is located within 10 km of a major structure in the Adirondacks, the Carthage Colton Shear Zone (CCSZ). Due to ease of access and its significance, I have focused my research on this and associated structures. Although the CCSZ has been recognized for decades, the kinematic history of the shear zone is still uncertain. My research plan is to increase our understanding of the strain history of shear zones in the area and the tectonic history of the Adirondacks while simultaneously training geology majors at SUNY Potsdam. I have focused on projects that are small enough to be completed by an undergraduate in a couple of semesters. These small projects are also able to be supported by smaller and internal grants. I found the most successful approach has been to have a research group of students that each have their own piece of the project but also act as a cohort to support each other and together produce something significant. Two, eventually three, undergraduates participated in a research project in 2017-2018 looking at a nearby mylonite zone (specific type of fault). This project involved literature review, field work, collection of oriented samples, hours in the 'rock room' cutting billets for three orthogonal thin sections for each sample, petrographic and microstructural analysis of the thin sections, and compilation of the results. In Spring 2018, students presented the poster at the Northeast Geological Society of America Meeting in Burlington, VT. The poster won the Ram Chugh North Country Public Service and Research Award at the SUNY Potsdam Learning and Research Fair. The experience doing research inspired Adam Ketchum ('18) to pursue graduate school at California State University Long Beach. Through this project, Kristie Yager ('18) gained the confident to pursue and earn her M.S. in Science Education and is now an Earth Science teacher in Rochester, NY. In a subsequent research project, three students used Geographic Information Science to explore the recently released high-resolution LiDAR to determine whether it could better elucidate the location of the Carthage Colton Shear Zone. This project involved students learning valuable GIS skills as they downloaded, organized, and assembled large amounts of LiDAR data. Once assembled and layered with the geology, students learned how to interpret the topographical features and identify which features were influenced by the geology. On a broader scale, it is important to determine how new technologies such as LiDAR can change our approaches to geologic mapping. Students presented their results at the SUNY Potsdam Learning and Research Fair in 2019. In the fall of 2019, a student was awarded a Kilmer Grant to research garnets and microstructures in the Popple Hill Gneiss at Glenmeal State Forest. I am actively recruiting interested students to continue analyzing rocks from Glenmeal State Forest as well as Stone Valley. The Carthage Colton Shear Zone (CCSZ) is exposed at Stone Valley in Colton, NY. Although petrographic and geochronological studies have been extensive, there has not been a systematic study of the microstructures across the shear zone. This will require the collection of oriented samples, each sample being cut in three orthogonal sections, and then analysis of the thin sections to quantify the strain. At Glenmeal State Forest, away from the Carthage Colton Shear Zone, the Popple Hill Gneiss is exposed, a unique unit that preserves original layering and also contains prolific garnets. These garnets act as porphyroblasts and the shape of the strain shadows around them provide a method by which to quantify the strain experienced by these rocks. We will then compare the strain in this outlying gneiss at Glenmeal State Forest with the strain recorded in the shear zone at Stone Valley. This semester, I am supervising a student doing science education research as she compares pedagogical approaches in the two different lab sections of Environmental Geology. |