Wichita State Department of Geology

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Perhaps Kansas' most famous geologic park, Rock City is a small park near Minneapolis that packs quite a punch! Over 200 sandstone concretions, some up to 20 feet in diameter, cover the area. These concretions were formed from ancient sea deposits millions of years ago. Turbulent groundwater unevenly distributed the cement causing certain portions of the sand to cement together. As erosion broke down the landscape, the cemented concretions stood strong and now are here for all to appreciate.
https://geokansas.ku.edu/rock-city

Way down in southwest Kansas is the state's largest sinkhole, Big Basin Prairie Preserve. Big Basin, and its neighbor Little Basin were formed from dissolving minerals of salt and gypsum below the surface; this dissolution caused the surface to collapse. You can drive through Big Basin on U.S. Highway 283 and appreciate the geology and its local bison. The park also serves as a great starting point to explore the nearby Red Hills on U.S. Highway 160. The Red Hills are capped with gypsum and are stained red by iron within its rocks.
https://ksoutdoors.com/KDWP-Info/Locations/Wildlife-Areas/Southwest/Big-Basin-Prairie-Preserve

Nestled along the outskirts of the Flint Hills and near Wamego is Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie Park. This park serves as a great example of the geologically old and the recent. Layers of limestone and shale build up to the hill's apex, which originated from ocean deposits hundreds of millions of years ago. Dotting the hillside are large boulders of pink quartzite, rock that was dropped off by glaciers during the Ice Age two million years ago. The geoheritage park also reflects a key moment in Kansas history, as a site for the westernmost route for the Underground Railroad. This is an easy stop just north of I-70 and can be a great way to stretch your legs as you travel across Kansas.
Photo by Tom Leopold.
https://mountmitchellprairie.org/

Out in western Kansas, Little Jerusalem Badlands State Park is one of the best geological sites in the state. The Niobrara Chalk dominates this region, with years of erosion shaping the fragile rock into buffs, hoodoos, and narrow canyons. The chalk yields some of the most impressive fossils of our state with the likes of mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, marine birds, and other oceanic critters. Although the park is open to the public, we encourage folks to stay on the trails to avoid damaging this fragile landscape.
https://ksoutdoors.com/State-Parks/Locations/Little-Jerusalem-Badlands

This week we'll look at top geology sites you should check out in Kansas. All these sites are accessible to the public and serve as a great introduction to the geologic stories of Kansas.
First, we have Schermerhorn Park near Galena! Schermerhorn has the oldest exposed layers of rocks across the state, dating to the Mississippian Period. These rocks were formed from an ancient ocean millions of years ago and yield fossils of animals that lived in these seas. You can check out Schermerhorn Cave and marvel at the limestone pattern on the ceiling. The Southeast Kansas Nature Center is free to the public and sits on top of a hill that overlooks the landscape. Schermerhorn Park is also located in the Ozarks which barely covers the SE corner of the state and hosts a variety of plants and animals not seen anywhere else in Kansas.
https://galenaks.gov/directory/schermerhorn-park/

Good work Bruce!

https://www.opb.org/article/2024/06/27/all-science-no-fiction-oregon-coast-diatoms-fossils-soil-cores-marshland-tsunamis/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1Xi9EuDZ3E4E5PPCdzs2pdk75sje-jnaaFOvZ69_ABX-IQjoqWcaM0Eys_aem_kQjtkTfD9V6YrJ54X_IxVQ

How tiny fossils in Oregon’s coastal marshes could help us prepare for big earthquakes When the Cascadia subduction zone earthquake hits, the Oregon coast will literally sink, heightening the effects of tsunamis and permanently altering the coastline. Now scientists are trying to learn just how much the land will subside and how far a tsunami could wash inland. They’re doing this by...

Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation has two positions open in their Marine Lab. See:

https://sccf.org/about/employment-internships/

Coming Soon: The 2024 Geothermal Collegiate Competition (with $36K in Prizes!)

Geothermal Collegiate Competition The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Geothermal Collegiate Competition invites teams from collegiate institutions to develop real-world geothermal solutions while competing for cash prizes and gaining resume experience in the renewable energy industry.

Rain or shine, and sometimes both…

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GSA/Chevron Field Trip Grant Are you a geology student or early career professional with a passion for exploration? Apply for the GSA/Chevron Field Trip Grant and unleash your inner explorer on a field trip associated with GSA Connects 2024 in Anaheim, California! GSA’s field trips provide valuable hands-on learning experienc...

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A team of nine Wichita State students is in the finals of the NASA SUITS design challenge in Houston this week. Their mission is to help astronauts mitigate risk on a trip to Mars. 🚀 Go Shockers! wsu.news/WSUNASASUITS

Congratulations to the Geology Club for being awarded "Outstanding Engagement Program of the Year" for their Environmental Science Career Fair at the 2024 Student Engagement, Advocacy, and Leadership Awards Ceremony.

Its that time of the semester!! Come out for Pet Rocks for Stressed Shocks! *Make* a friend, even if it is only an inanimate object. This Wednesday, May 1 from 1-3pm in RSC264

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Back to the field this morning! Structural geology class along US54 near Augusta, KS.

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Come and see the new geology displays created by students participating in the Museum Studies class.

Today is the Day!!! Please plan to stop by and see these wonderful new exhibits!

Last week, Parcell’s research group ventured to Wyoming for an early season research trip. Wyoming lived up to its reputation for unpredictable weather, but the trip proved very productive. Graduate and undergraduate students are researching critical minerals in Cretaceous coal seams, microbialites in the Jurassic Sundance Sea, and chemostratigraphy in the dinosaur-rich Morrison Formation.

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We'd love to see high school students 16 and older attend our geoscience camp. The deadline to register is May 15! Offered weekdays from 9 a.m. - noon, June 17- 28, students who complete the camp will also receive a $500 stipend. This free program is supported by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR First Award Grant through ARISE and the Department of Geology.

Come support our students and see some outstanding exhibits in both Neff Hall and Geology Building. There will be refreshments in Neff. April 23rd from 2-5

A LONG overdue cleanout of Geology building!!

Interesting read on intraplate earthquakes.

Something very weird is happening to the planet's earthquakes. Here's why — BBC Science Focus Magazine Earth-shattering seismic events can occur away from the fault lines between tectonic plates. And there’s no easy way to predict when or where they’ll hit. April 03, 2024 When it comes to earthquakes, always expect the unexpected. That’s the message coming from seismologists Prof Éric Calais, ...

Cleanup can be boring. Make it more interesting by turning it into a GeoClub party!

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For the first time since 2020, NASA is accepting applications for new astronauts. Hesitant! Then read “Moonshot: A NASA Astronaut's Guide to Achieving the Impossible” by retired Astronaut Mike Massimino.

Astronaut Candidate Astronaut candidates will spend approximately two years training on the basic skills required to be an astronaut - from spacewalking and robotics to leadership and teamwork skills. Upon completing training, they will join the active astronaut corps and become eligible for spaceflight assignment. Unt...

Forget bunnies. It's Geology's spring dinosaur egg hunt! The Geology Club is hiding them around campus today. Find yours this week!! The eggs are filled with information on Fall 2024 geology classes and prizes any self-respecting geologist will love.

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Applications for our summer science outreach intern are due in two days! This is a great way to develop your science communications skills. If you are interested, follow this link to our job website and fill out your application: https://employment.ku.edu/jobs/staff/kgs-science-outreach-internship/27120br

New high school advocacy program

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This program offers students an immersive experience in research and advocacy, focusing on community disaster resilience and equitable solutions. It covers topics like Radar technology, Machine Learning, GIS, and community resilience, with an emphasis on natural disasters prediction, mitigation and social equity in community resilience. The program fosters multidisciplinary learning, professional development, and data analytics skills, preparing students for future studies and careers in Geoscience. Supported by the Kansas NSF EPSCoR First Award Grant through ARISE, it offers mentorship from Wichita State University faculty from six colleges and is ideal for students interested in Geoscience. Participants receive a $500 stipend for the two-week program.

Event Timing: June 15th-30th, 2024
Event Address: 1845 N Fairmount Ave Wichita, KS 67260
Contact us at (316) 978-7245 or email: [email protected]
Must be 16 years of age or older.

Event registration This high school advocacy program offers students an immersive experience in research and advocacy, focusing on community disaster resilience and equitable solutions. It covers topics like Radar technology, Machine Learning, GIS, and community resilience, with an emphasis on natural disasters predic...

Latest Speaking of Geoscience™ blog post about the shared interests and collaborative efforts between geology, archaeology, and anthropology!

Wichita State Department of Anthropology
Lowell D Holmes Museum of Anthropology
Archaeology of Food Laboratory - Wichita State University

In the latest Speaking of Geoscience™ blog, Claire Gibson, 2023 Science Communication Intern spoke with Timothy Beach, a professor of geology at the University of Texas at Austin, Molly Carney, an assistant professor of anthropology at Oregon State University, and others about the science and the humans behind the field of geoarchaeology. Learn more about Beach, Carney and geoarchaeology here: tinyurl.com/2ycnhv4n

Good luck with your finals Shockers! Thank you for a great semester!!

Lots of shocks making pet rocks today!

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