houck2040/artisci huggingface dataset:
this winter break the texas a&m university department of geology and geophysics field-based courses explored geology from death valley ca to the valley of fire nv field methods course dr mike pope professor; three graduate teaching assistants (tas) james martell tanner mills and dawid szafranski; and 27 undergraduate students enrolled in geol 250 field methods spent early january mapping the geology of nevada and eastern california
students dot the surface of the aztec sandstone in valley of fire state park nv (photo courtesy of dr brian balta)field tents are warmed by the rising sun in the campground of the valley of fire state park nv (photo courtesy of dr brian balta)
after flying into las vegas international airport the students rendezvoused with pope and the tas and from there proceeded to nevadas valley of fire state park the class set up camp in a scenic group site area and spent the first three days mapping the keystone thrust in the park and miocene sedimentary rocks just outside of the park boundary while in the valley of fire some of the group saw a herd of desert sheep
student stands before aztec sandstone in valley of fire state park nv (photo courtesy of dr brian balta)students stand on outcrop in valley of fire state park nv (photo courtesy of dr brian balta)
the class then moved on to death valley national park california where they mapped a pliocene to pleistocene extensional basin along the furnace creek fault zone some nights students went swimming and took showers in the nearby furnace creek resort i would say that the students' hands-on geologic mapping experience is important in understanding geologic concepts taught in the classroom said martell the field methods course to death valley was many of the students' first time mapping where they began to identify different structural and stratigraphic features through several mapping areas in many cases students would get excited about features they had only seen in the classroom and can now use their field experience to better transition into the upper-level courses
student stands before chevron folds in death valley national park ca (photo courtesy of dr brian balta)students investigate a road cut outside of death valley national park ca the road cut exposes a noticeable black geologic unit obsidian volcanic glass and the surrounding brown area aka a baked zone and the surrounding unbaked light gray sedimentary unit (photo courtesy of dr brian balta)
finally they left the park and spent two days measuring a stratigraphic section through early cambrian sediments then mapping the distribution of these rocks near emigrant pass each day students worked in the field from 8 am to 5 pm and even though it was dry there were some cold evenings and early mornings with temperatures in the low 30's each night they had a large campfire to keep warm and bring everyone together
aztec sandstone in valley of fire state park nv (photo courtesy of claire martin)student stands in one of many slot canyons in death valley national park ca (photo courtesy of dr brian balta)weathered aztec sanstone balances upon itself in the valley of fire state park nv (photo courtesy of claire martin)
"i thought the class was quite fun and the daytime weather really was spectacular as we had no rain and temperatures commonly in the high 50's and low 60's pope said it was different mapping the entire time as i had taught geol 330 in this area but it is more of a show-and-tell experience so this was a first for me too i hope the student's liked the course/trip as we will likely go there again next year"
panoramic image of students atop the aztec sandstone in valley of fire state park nv (photo courtesy of dr brian balta)
geology field trips course dr brian balta lecturer; ta claire martin; and 16 undergraduate students enrolled in geol 330 geology field trips also conducted field-based learning in the death valley national park area in california and nevada this winter this class was a delight to teach as i did my graduate research in california and ran half a dozen different field trips to death valley so i got to visit sites i went to 15 years ago and this time i did so leading my own students balta said plus i was able to visit a number of locations i never got to on my own making this extra fun for me
students ponder the geologic origin of a large breccia outcrop with angular clasts suspended in a calcite matrix outcrop is located in titus canyon death valley national park ca (photo courtesy of dr brian balta)group photo of geol 330 students ta and instructor at teakettle junction in death valley national park ca (photo courtesy of dr brian balta)
the course included a hike across the southern death valley fault zone in an area called the confidence hills and a night of wilderness camping just past racetrack playa aside from some cold nights students saw a lot of unique geology learned how those features formed and had a good time in the process hopefully in 20 years someone on this trip is bringing their own students or colleagues back to this trip passing it on just as i did balta concluded by ali snell
the sun sets over the racetrack in death valley national park ca (photo courtesy of claire martin)the view from zabriskie point in death valley national park ca (photo courtesy of claire martin)
group photo of the us geotraces team at the north pole alongside the crew of the uscgc healy texas a&m assistant professor fitzsimmons is in the middle of the front row in blue photo courtesy of us geotraces and the us coast guard (photo courtesy of dr jessica fitzsimmons)
significant quantities of carbon and trace elements are flowing across the central arctic ocean under the sea ice via freshwater runoff from rivers and continental shelf sediments according to a new study by an international team of ocean scientists this research is critical to understanding the current and future health of the arctic ocean which is warming faster than much of the rest of the planet said dr jessica fitzsimmons a co-author of the study and assistant professor in the department of oceanography at texas a&m university the arctic is also receiving more freshwater with its changing climate making an understanding of the chemistry and fate of that freshwater more important than ever before texas a&m doctoral students laramie jensen and tatiana williford and dr rainer amon professor of marine and coastal environmental science at texas a&m - galveston were also co-authors of the study their results were recently published in the journal of geophysical research-oceans
dr jessica fitzsimmons assistant professor of oceanography at texas a&m on the sea ice near the north pole preparing to collect samples (photo courtesy of dr jessica fitzsimmons)phd candidate laramie jensen at the door to the fitzsimmons lab clean room at texas a&m oceanography where the metal samples for this study were analyzed due to the low metal content of some of these water samples they were highly prone to contamination from dust and human fibers and thus they were analyzed in fitzsimmons metal-free clean room (photo courtesy of dr jessica fitzsimmons)
our team analyzed the concentrations of six nutrient metals – like iron and zinc – and one toxic contaminant metal – lead - and found that the nutrient metals are supplied by arctic rivers and are directly transported across the center of the arctic ocean within a high-speed current fitzsimmons said fortunately toxic contaminant fluxes in this study remained low and do not appear to be coming from arctic rivers the increased nutrients are carried by the transpolar drift a major surface current that moves water from siberia across the north pole to the north atlantic ocean in 2015 oceanographers conducting research in the arctic ocean as part of the international geotraces program found much higher concentrations of trace elements in surface waters near the north pole than in regions on either side of the current many important trace elements that enter the ocean from rivers and shelf sediments are quickly removed from the water column said dr matthew charette lead author of the study and a marine chemist at woods hole oceanographic institution but in the arctic they are bound with abundant organic matter from rivers which allows the mixture to be transported into the central arctic over 1 000 kilometers from their source" trace elements like iron form essential building blocks for ocean life as the arctic warms and larger swaths of the ocean become ice-free for longer periods of time marine algae are becoming more productive a greater abundance of trace elements coming from rivers and shelf sediments can lead to increases in nutrients reaching the central arctic ocean further fueling algal production its difficult to say exactly what changes this might bring charette said but we do know that the structure of marine ecosystems is set by nutrient availability nutrients fuel the growth of phytoplankton a microscopic algae that forms the base of the marine food web generally speaking more phytoplankton brings more zooplanktonsmall fish and crustaceans which can then be eaten by top ocean predators like seals and whales
arctic ocean sea ice operations about the uscgc healy on the 2015 us geotraces cruise (photo courtesy of cory mendenhall us coast guard)a polar bear investigating the ship while on the us geotraces cruise in the arctic (photo courtesy of dr jessica fitzsimmons)
higher concentrations of trace elements and nutrients previously locked up in frozen soils (permafrost) are expected to increase as more river runoff reaches the arctic which is warming at a much faster rate than most anywhere else on earth while an increase in nutrients may boost arctic marine productivity charette cautioned that the continued loss of sea ice will further exacerbate climate warming which will impact ecosystems more broadly the arctic plays an important role in regulating earths climate with the ice cover reflecting sunlight back to space helping to mitigate rising global temperatures due to greenhouse gas emissions charette added once the ice is gone the arctic ocean will absorb more heat from the atmosphere which will only make our climate predicament worse funding for arctic geotraces was provided by the us national science foundation swedish research council formas french agence nationale de la recherche and labexmer netherlands organization for scientific research and independent research fund denmark the arctic geotraces expeditions were supported by the captains and crew of the uscgc healy and the r/v polarstern laramie jensen was also funded by a texas a&m graduate merit fellowship written in collaboration with woods hole oceanographic institution
texas a&m research team finds life deep beneath ocean floorthe cores show life present at 2 600 feet below the indian ocean seafloor the discovery could lead to similar finds around the worldmar 19 2020 the joides resolution research drillship (photo by iodp)a team of scientists – including two texas a&m university researchers – have uncovered cores that contain life at some of the deepest levels ever found in subseafloor ancient rocks their discovery could open new doors for finding life at other remote areas of the word dr jason sylvan assistant professor in the department of oceanography and graduate student shu ying wee along with a team of international scientists have had their work published in the current issue of nature the team examined ocean cores from the international ocean discovery program (iodp) that were drilled almost 2 600 feet beneath the floor of the indian ocean they found tiny microbes that are alive and active in the rock cores and revealed how they survive so deep below the seafloor in an environment with no light barely any space and very little food they are tiny around 1 micrometer sylvan said we cant tell the age but assume them to be currently extant so not necessarily old but in an environment that is extreme and subsurface we believe this is the first research to show active microbes in this environment and to be able to describe their lifestyles using such a broad array of data streams he said the findings could reveal secrets about how the earth evolved and how life – no matter how small – can find ways to survive even in the most harsh and difficult of environments this environment and lower oceanic crust is comprised largely of types of material called gabbro and peridotite and these allow for some chemical reactions that were likely present on early earth and also on other planets where water and volcanic rocks interact sylvan said so this is an exciting discovery that expands the places on our own planet where life has been found and also tells us what to look for elsewhere in the solar system iodp is an international research collaboration that coordinates seagoing expeditions to study the history of the earth recorded in sediments and rocks beneath the ocean floor for the past 34 years texas a&m has operated the joides resolution research ship on behalf of the national science foundation to study the history of the earth recorded in those sediments and rocks sylvan said the research is especially noteworthy for texas a&m because the cell counts and methane measurements were conducted here on campus for this type of work it also shows us that microbial life is likely to persist wherever there is room for it and that it will evolve ways to live in those difficult environments he said the study was funded by the national science foundation by keith randall texas a&m marketing & communications
a team of scientists – including two texas a&m university researchers – have uncovered cores that contain life at some of the deepest levels ever found in subseafloor ancient rocks their discovery could open new doors for finding life at other remote areas of the word dr jason sylvan assistant professor in the department of oceanography and graduate student shu ying wee along with a team of international scientists have had their work published in the current issue of nature the team examined ocean cores from the international ocean discovery program (iodp) that were drilled almost 2 600 feet beneath the floor of the indian ocean they found tiny microbes that are alive and active in the rock cores and revealed how they survive so deep below the seafloor in an environment with no light barely any space and very little food they are tiny around 1 micrometer sylvan said we cant tell the age but assume them to be currently extant so not necessarily old but in an environment that is extreme and subsurface we believe this is the first research to show active microbes in this environment and to be able to describe their lifestyles using such a broad array of data streams he said the findings could reveal secrets about how the earth evolved and how life – no matter how small – can find ways to survive even in the most harsh and difficult of environments this environment and lower oceanic crust is comprised largely of types of material called gabbro and peridotite and these allow for some chemical reactions that were likely present on early earth and also on other planets where water and volcanic rocks interact sylvan said so this is an exciting discovery that expands the places on our own planet where life has been found and also tells us what to look for elsewhere in the solar system iodp is an international research collaboration that coordinates seagoing expeditions to study the history of the earth recorded in sediments and rocks beneath the ocean floor for the past 34 years texas a&m has operated the joides resolution research ship on behalf of the national science foundation to study the history of the earth recorded in those sediments and rocks sylvan said the research is especially noteworthy for texas a&m because the cell counts and methane measurements were conducted here on campus for this type of work it also shows us that microbial life is likely to persist wherever there is room for it and that it will evolve ways to live in those difficult environments he said the study was funded by the national science foundation by keith randall texas a&m marketing & communications
aggie student veteran receives ams outstanding poster award atmospheric sciences and oceanography student lance belobrajdic 21 was awarded an outstanding student conference poster award from the american meteorological society (ams)mar 10 2020texas a&m university college of geosciences student lance belobrajdic 21 recently received an outstanding student conference poster award: undergraduate from the american meteorological society (ams) belobrajdic presented his research at the 2020 ams conference in boston from jan 11-12 2020 belobrajdic is currently an undergraduate student in the department of atmospheric sciences as well as a graduate student in the department of oceanography through the master of ocean science and technology (most) graduate degree program belobrajdic is a military veteran and was named a 2018 tillman scholarlance belobrajdic standing next to his poster at the 2020 american meteorological society conference (photo courtesy of lance belobrajdic)belobrajdics research focuses on over evaluating geostationary and polar orbiting satellite measurements to in situ buoy measurements of sea surface temperatures (sst) for large and small lakes this research was started while i interned at the nasa kennedy space center over the 2019 summer and continued while at texas a&m with my advisors dr don conlee (instructional professor in the department of atmospheric sciences) and dr robert hetland (professor in the department of oceanography) said belobrajdic the goal of the research was to determine the reliability consistency and accuracy of the two different satellite platforms ability to measure ssts for the indian river lagoon around the nasa kennedy space center in florida measured sst data is incorporated into the local high-resolution numerical weather prediction (nwp) model from nasa to resolve the mesoscale land/sea breezes initiated by the lagoon system which inhibits rocket launches along the space coast read more about his research during the nasa internship in this article at the ams conference belobrajdic gave a poster presentation titled investigating sea surface temperature retrievals of lakes using geostationary and polar orbiting platforms i am grateful to my judges who enjoyed my poster and presentation and thank the ams student conference team for allowing me to present this research said belobrajdic i would like to thank my two advisors and mentors at nasa dr kristin smith and dr kathy rice who greatly supported and guided me through this research process most of the practice preparation familiarity for presenting research came from the department and faculty in encouraging students to present in the classroom to develop these public speaking and presentation skills said belobrajdic by bumsoo kim
texas a&m university college of geosciences student lance belobrajdic 21 recently received an outstanding student conference poster award: undergraduate from the american meteorological society (ams) belobrajdic presented his research at the 2020 ams conference in boston from jan 11-12 2020 belobrajdic is currently an undergraduate student in the department of atmospheric sciences as well as a graduate student in the department of oceanography through the master of ocean science and technology (most) graduate degree program belobrajdic is a military veteran and was named a 2018 tillman scholar
lance belobrajdic standing next to his poster at the 2020 american meteorological society conference (photo courtesy of lance belobrajdic)
belobrajdics research focuses on over evaluating geostationary and polar orbiting satellite measurements to in situ buoy measurements of sea surface temperatures (sst) for large and small lakes this research was started while i interned at the nasa kennedy space center over the 2019 summer and continued while at texas a&m with my advisors dr don conlee (instructional professor in the department of atmospheric sciences) and dr robert hetland (professor in the department of oceanography) said belobrajdic the goal of the research was to determine the reliability consistency and accuracy of the two different satellite platforms ability to measure ssts for the indian river lagoon around the nasa kennedy space center in florida measured sst data is incorporated into the local high-resolution numerical weather prediction (nwp) model from nasa to resolve the mesoscale land/sea breezes initiated by the lagoon system which inhibits rocket launches along the space coast read more about his research during the nasa internship in this article at the ams conference belobrajdic gave a poster presentation titled investigating sea surface temperature retrievals of lakes using geostationary and polar orbiting platforms i am grateful to my judges who enjoyed my poster and presentation and thank the ams student conference team for allowing me to present this research said belobrajdic i would like to thank my two advisors and mentors at nasa dr kristin smith and dr kathy rice who greatly supported and guided me through this research process most of the practice preparation familiarity for presenting research came from the department and faculty in encouraging students to present in the classroom to develop these public speaking and presentation skills said belobrajdic by bumsoo kim