Monthly Archives: July 2009

The Pavant and Canyon Ranges: Windows into the Sevier Orogeny

Pavant and Canyon Ranges, Utah. Research Day 6 (July 15). The old slogan for geologists is that the best geologists are the ones who have seen the most rocks. So, today, instead of spending time in the Green River Formation, … Continue reading

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Bill, The Human Antennae (…or our own Statue of Liberty)

White Hill, north of Ephraim, Utah. Research Day 5 (July 14). We devoted most of today to mapping the largest and most continuous tuff in the Green River Formation. Our goal was to walk completely around White Hill while mapping … Continue reading

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Working in the Quarries

White Hill, north of Ephraim, Utah. Research Days 3-4 (July 12-13). In the Green River Formation exposed in the Sanpete Valley, there are numerous large and small quarries that provide excellent exposures of the unit. In some places, the Green … Continue reading

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Cedar Adventure to Excursion Ridge

Kelly and Colin standing on one of the lower ridges near Excursion Ridge. Today we hiked up Excursion Ridge to collect yellow-cedar samples for Colin’s I.S. On the trek up to the cedar stand, we hiked up the road and … Continue reading

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Introducing Ourselves to the Green River Formation

Ephraim, Utah.  Research Day 2 (July 11). Field work began on one of the cuestas north of Ephraim, commonly called White Hill. This particular cuesta rises to a height of 6,381 ft in elevation — a good climb for our … Continue reading

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Wooster Comes to Central Utah

Ephraim, Utah.  Research Day 1 (July 10). This summer Phil Blecher and Bill Thomas will both be tackling separate problems in the Eocene Green River Formation of central Utah. They both arrived in Ephraim, which is a small town in … Continue reading

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News from the North

After arriving in Juneau, we went on a quick tour of the town before grabbing a bite to eat and setting up camp across the lake from Mendenhall Glacier. A constant misting rain provided a fitting welcome to Alaska. The … Continue reading

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Professor Greg Wiles in the news and a new book

Earlier this summer the Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom ran a photo essay about scientists working hard to sort out climate change questions. One of the people featured is Wooster professor of geology Greg Wiles in a classic photo … Continue reading

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Destroy, Pound, Crush, Grind

After a relatively uneventful journey and a short stay in Wooster, we’ve made it to Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. We’re spending the week analyzing our samples on Dickinson’s X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer (XRF) and X-Ray Diffractometer (XRD). First, we need … Continue reading

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Blog Worlds Collide

Now that we’re finished with field work, we’re back on the road. First, we stopped at Godafoss, one of Iceland’s beautiful waterfalls (also an excellent location for columnar joints!). Next, we headed to Krafla, an active volcanic region in northern … Continue reading

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