Issue 1 - Geology Newsletter - Spring 2014

RED ROCK
MAGAZINE
SUUs Geology
Newsletter
SUU Geology students in southeastern Utah
OUR FIRST NEWSLETTER!

WELCOME
UNDERGRAD RESEARCH
Welcome to our first

newsletter! We hope to
spread the news about past
events and future
happenings in SUUs
Geology Program. Join us!
Every geology major

completes an undergraduate
research project. Last fall
several students presented
their research at the
Geological Society of
America Annual Meeting in
Denver, Colorado, and at the
WMG COSE Undergraduate
Research Symposium. Read
samples of work on page #3.
CARAT SEMINAR
SUUs Center for Applied
Research and Advanced
Technology hosted Michael
Hofmann in November
2013. He spoke on,
Geological, Technological,
and Environmental
Challenges in a Transforming
Energy Sector.
Page #5
SPRING SYMPOSIUM
FIELD TRIPS
This spring we made field
trips to Death Valley
National Park and to Coral
Pink Sand Dunes and Snow
Canyon state parks. You can
read more about each trip on
the next page.
Page #2
Each year, we host

professionals on SUUs
campus for a day of talks
focused on a particular
aspect of southern Utah
geology, followed by a day in
the field where the content
of the talks is put into
context. This years
symposium focused on Zion
National Park.
Page #4
MAJORS AND ALUMNI

See what our two clubs have
been up to. Also, this issue
highlights one of our
promising new majors,
Sarah Zdanowski, and one of
our successful recent
graduates, Stephanie
DeGraffenried.
Pages #6-7
RED ROCK MAGAZINE SUUS GEOLOGY NEWSLETTER

SPRING 2014
GEO 2000/4000 FIELD TRIPS

GEOLOGY OF DEATH VALLEY
Led by Johnny MacLean
What's a field trip without a flat tire? On
February 21-23, we studied the geologic
resources in Death Valley National Park. Day 1
was spent investigating Meso- and
Neoproterozoic sedimentary rocks, igneous sills,
and the resulting talc deposits that have
contributed to the regions mining industry. We
fixed a few flat tires at Saratoga Springs. The
second day, we focused on modern and surficial
processes at Mesquite Dunes and Ubehebe
Crater, followed by an investigation of alluvial
fan development at the mouth of Marble
Canyon. On our way out of the park on the third
day, we checked out the salt deposits at Devils
Golf Course and Badwater Basin, and then we
viewed the Cenozoic extensional features
preserved in the turtlebacks south of Badwater.
THE SAHARA OF SOUTHERN UTAH

Led by Jennifer Hargrave
The purpose of this field trip was to compare modern processes and features with ancient examples
from southeastern Utah. First, we explored the modern, active dunes of Coral Pink Sand Dunes State
Park. Students learned how to classify the dunes and understand why the dunes form here. We also
learned about the modern ecosystem of the park, including the presence of the carnivorous grasshopper
mouse! Next, we headed to Snow Canyon State Park to examine the Jurassic Navajo Sandstone. The
students were challenged to find preserved examples of the features we learned about on day one. We
also examined some of the volcanic rocks of the region and explored the lava tubes.

SPRING 2014
UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH
KAIPAROWITS PALEOENVIRONMENT GORDON HAIGHT
The Kaiparowits Formation, located in south central Utah, is a record of a Late Cretaceous floodplain
that drained the highlands of Laramidia into the Western Interior Seaway. The formation is highly
fossiliferous and contains fossil plants, invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals, many
of them new to science. The large-scale interpretation of this formation has been previously
described as fluvial and floodplain deposits with various swamp and pond deposits. This study
provides a detailed sedimentological description of a small fossil plant quarry and interprets the
depositional environment. After measuring the stratigraphic section, samples were collected every
10 centimeters and analyzed for mineralogical content and grain size. From this data, we interpret
the depositional environment as an oxbow lake. Comparison with the fossil flora agrees with this
interpretation.
TECTONICS ON MARS GENEVIEVE KIDMAN

Past observations of Mars have led scientists to believe that it was a
tectonically dead planet, it was thought that tectonic kinematics
stopped early in Mars planetary development. With all the new
exploration of Mars, new theories have been developed that support
an active tectonic regime on the Tharsis rise. With the advancement of
new satellites and technologies such as Thermal Emission Imaging
System (THERMIS), High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment
(HiRISE) satellite imagery, the Mars Orbital Laser Altimeter (MOLA),
and interactive software such as J-Mars and Esri GIS, we have
identified additional large-scale surface features in the Tharsis Rise
Province and surrounding areas. Large scale Martian lineations, folds,
and conjugate joints can be compared to similar structures on Earth to
interpret potential plate boundaries. For example, a northeasttrending set of lineations with significant left-lateral strike-slip
displacement and conjugate jointing located to the northeast of Tharsis
Rise could accommodate transform motion between two plates. Our
observations allow the designation of multiple potential plate margins
in the region. We propose a tectonic model showing relative motions
along plate boundaries that shows evidences of a multiple-plate
system on Mars that has the possibility of being kinematically active.

SPRING 2014
GEOLOGY SYMPOSIUM
THE DETAILS
The SUU Geology Program has been quite lucky
to partner with professional geologists in Utah
and professors from other universities. This
years Geology Symposium highlighted some of
these partnerships during an overview of several
aspects of Zion National Parks geology on
Friday, April 4, followed by a field trip to Zion
and its surrounding areas on Saturday, April 5.
Our large group of SUU geology majors, geology
faculty, and guest speakers navigated the
crowds and discussed a wide array of topics,
including natural hazards along the SR-9
corridor, soft sediment deformation of the
Navajo Sandstone, and hydrogeology of Zion
Canyon. Be sure to join us for next years
symposium!
OUR GUEST SPEAKERS

Adrienne Fitzgerald is an interpretive ranger in
Zion National Park. She gave a thorough
introduction to the regional geology.
Dr. Gerry Bryant is a professor at Dixie State
University specializing in soft sediment
deformation in porous sandstones.
Bob Biek works at the Utah Geological Survey in
Salt Lake City. He recently discovered important
evidence regarding the Markagunt gravity slide.
Bill Lund and Tyler Knudsen work in Cedar Citys
UGS office. They specialize in natural hazards,
including the rock falls near Zion National Park.
Dave Sharrow is a hydrogeologist for the
National Park Service, and he studies the Virgin
River in Zion Canyon.

SPRING 2014
CARAT SEMINAR
By Johnny MacLean
I met Michael Hofmann in 2004 at the University of Montana
where we were both earning our doctorate degrees. He was a
star of the program then, and after working in the oil and gas
industry for 5 years, he is back at UM as a research professor. He
specializes in siliciclastic sedimentation processes, and his
favorite study area is in the Book Cliffs of Utah.
The SUU Geology Program has been fortunate to have him lead
us on two field trips to the Book Cliffs. Each trip was an eyeopening educational experience for all. We studied depositional
settings in the Sevier Orogenys foreland basin, which include
ancient alluvial fans, braided channels, meandering river
systems, and deltaic sediments.
In November 2013, Michael spoke to SUUs Walter Maxwell
Gibson College of Science and Engineering. The title of his
CARAT Seminar was, Geological, Technological, and
Environmental Challenges in a
Transforming Energy Sector. He described
the complicated balance between energy
demand/consumption and resource
availability/cost.
The seminar addressed some of the
concepts we cover in Environmental
Geology (GEO 3010). It was a review for
those who have taken the course, and a
provocative teaser for those who will take
the course in spring 2015.
Michael also assisted my acquisition of six
sets of closely-spaced core from the Book
Cliffs area, each of which record fluvial and
deltaic lithologies and sedimentary
structures ~1500 feet into the subsurface. I
am also grateful to Ken Fleck from Energy
West Mining for contributing the cores.
Our partnership with Michael will continue. We are currently describing the Book Cliffs cores so we can
eventually build a three-dimensional model of how lithofacies change over a short distance. Our hope is
that our model will be useful for scientists interested in fluvial/deltaic depositional settings. Two
students in particular, Casey Bouck and Spencer Francisco, deserve credit for the countless hours they
spent on the initial analyses which will make subsequent descriptions much more efficient. In fact,
students in Physical Geology (GEO 1110) and Sed/Strat (GEO 3410) have already benefited during class
projects from Casey and Spencers efforts.

SPRING 2014
CLUB ACTIVITIES
SIGMA GAMMA EPSILON
The SUU chapter of SGE is back in
full swing. This honors society
received the Quality Chapter
Award last year, one of seven in
the country, and is on pace to do it
again this year. The main focus of
the club is educational outreach to
the community. Genevieve
Kidman serves as the president,
and has made great strides to
increase the amount of service we
provide. We have racked up over
100 hours of service this year and
visited several schools across
southwestern Utah, from Beaver
to Hurricane.
GEOLOGY CLUB
Were award-winners!!! We
started out the year with an
opening campout at Kolob
Reservoir, and we quickly followed
it up with a 3rd place prize for Best
Float during the Homecoming
Parade. After a busy year of guest
speakers and rock hounding
outings, we earned the SUUSA
award for Best Academic
Development Club. What an
honor! A big thanks goes to Jeff
Chipman and Jeff Yon, our club
president and vice president. Also,
we have plenty of t-shirts
available, and they make great
gifts for friends and family.

SPRING 2014
NEW STUDENTS AND ALUMNI

SARAH ZDANOWSKI
Sarah joined our program from Temecula,
California, for a couple of reasons. First, she just
feels like SUU is home. Reko and Jennifer
Hargrave welcomed her for a visit, and she was
impressed they remembered her during her
second visit. She also loved the prospect of
working in the field, which is something we take
pride in.
She has always loved rocks, so when she learned
she could build a career around rocks, she had to
go for it. In fact, she gets rocks from her friends
as gifts!
Sarah is looking forward to traveling around the
U.S. and the world, and she hopes her growing
background in geology will make her travels
even more interesting.
STEPHANIE DEGRAFFENRIED
Stephanie was hired as a geologist at CS Mining
in Milford, Utah, immediately after she
graduated in 2012. Shes in charge of
exploration drilling, which includes finding drill
locations, preparing drill pads, stopping holes,
analyzing rocks and chips that come out of the
holes, and supervising her drilling team. She
also analyzes rock assays, and she determines
the size of ore deposits.
She has impressed the company so much that
her responsibilities continue to grow. She is now
the Ore Control Geologist. As she says, If there
are copper minerals out there, Im expected to
find them, drill them, and map them.
Thank you, Stephanie, for representing our
program so well. We wish you the best of luck
as you continue to succeed. Please come back
to visit any time!

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RED ROCK

SUU Geology students in southeastern Utah

OUR FIRST NEWSLETTER!

Welcome to our first

Every geology major

Each year, we host

MAJORS AND ALUMNI

RED ROCK MAGAZINE SUUS GEOLOGY NEWSLETTER

GEO 2000/4000 FIELD TRIPS

THE SAHARA OF SOUTHERN UTAH

RED ROCK MAGAZINE SUUS GEOLOGY NEWSLETTER

TECTONICS ON MARS GENEVIEVE KIDMAN

RED ROCK MAGAZINE SUUS GEOLOGY NEWSLETTER

OUR GUEST SPEAKERS

RED ROCK MAGAZINE SUUS GEOLOGY NEWSLETTER

RED ROCK MAGAZINE SUUS GEOLOGY NEWSLETTER

RED ROCK MAGAZINE SUUS GEOLOGY NEWSLETTER

NEW STUDENTS AND ALUMNI

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