the penrose cement plant’s quarry in the fort hays...

The Colorado Professional Geologist Spring 2017

Spring 2017 Volume 38, No. 2

American Institute of Professional Geologists—Colorado Section Colorado Section email: [email protected]

In this issue of the CPG:

President’s Letter ···························· p. 3 MSU Applied Geology program video ··· p. 3 Editor’s Remarks ····························· p. 4 Field trip······································· p. 5 Colorado Science & Engineering Fair ···· p. 6 Science Fair Winning Abstracts ··········· p. 7 Boy Scout Day ······························ p, 10

UNC Student Chapter Annual Report ··· p. 11 2017 Rex Monahan Memorial Scholarship Winners: Haipeng Li ································ p. 12 Stephanie Jarvis ·························· p. 13 Legislative wrap-up ························ p. 15

The Penrose Cement Plant’s quarry in the Fort Hays Member of the Niobrara Formation. David Abbott photo. See field trip details on page 5.


The Board normally meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 AM; all members are invited to attend. Please contact a Board Member to confirm time and location.

Letters, articles, announcements, ads, etc. must be received by the Editor by the end of the fourth full week of the month preceding publication. Letters, articles, ads, announcements, etc. accepted on a space available basis. Submission of articles, etc. via e-mail is the preferred method; copy can be accepted in most PC formats, but DOC or DOCX are preferred. Call or e-mail David Abbott for details on submission of copy or advertising at 303-394-0321, [email protected]. Copyright © 2017 by the Colorado Section, AIPG. Material may be reprinted with attribution. This is your newsletter, use it. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and not the Colorado Section officers unless clearly stated otherwise. Back issues: available in PDF at www.dropbox.com/home/CO AIPG/Colorado Professional Geologist

Change of email: change of email notices and other contact information changes for the CPG should be sent directly to:

AIPG National Headquarters 12000 Washington St., Ste. 285 Thornton, CO 80241 303-412-6205 Email: [email protected] (The National office maintains the address list for all Sections.)

President Tom Van Arsdale 1349 Josephine St. Apt . 6, Denver, CO 80206 901.268.3323 [email protected] President-elect Douglas C. Peters Peters Geosciences 825 Raptor Point Road, Golden, CO 80403 303.278.1540 [email protected] Vice-President Ronald W. Pritchett Independent Geologist 9522 Brook Hill Drive, Lone Tree, CO 80124 303.919.6848 [email protected] Secretary Thomas A. Harp LT Environmental Inc. 4600 W. 60th Ave., Arvada, CO 80003 303.433.9788 [email protected] Treasurer Mark B. Mathisen Roscoe Postle Associates 143 Union Blvd., Ste. 505, Lakewood, CO 80228 303.204.2464 [email protected] Editor David M. Abbott, Jr. Consulting Geologists, LLC 5055 Tamarac St,, Denver CO 80238 303.394.0321 [email protected] Leg. & Reg. Advisors Stephanie Ashley 12984 Wide Acres Rd., Golden, CO 80401 303.215.0942 [email protected] Louis Bull Waste Management Inc. 2400 W. Union Ave. Englewood, CO 80111 303.914.1400 [email protected] Susan Wager PO Box 260965, Lakewood, CO 80226 303.726.6431 [email protected]

2017 Section Officers

The Colorado Section of AIPG newsletter welcomes submission of technical or informational articles for publication. Articles may be submitted via e-mail to the editor at:

[email protected] (Microsoft Word format is preferred.)

David Abbott

5055 Tamarac St., Denver CO 80238

Contact David at 303-394-0321 for additional information.


President’s

Letter

Tom Van Arsdale

It has been nearly six full months of my tenure as President, and I have to say, time sure flies. It seems like yesterday that I was asking folks to join the CO-Section Board, and now it’s time for the President-elect, Doug Peters, to prepare for 2018. I certainly hope that our membership will positively respond if Doug asks for your assistance in Board participa-tion.

The current Board recently adopted, within our Bylaws, a protocol for preparing a “position paper” when a Board member(s) believes an issue deserves a response from our Section. Such an issue arose this legislative session when monies from the Sever-ance Tax was being tapped by legislators to cover other costs of government. Unfortunately, this prac-tice has become rather routine, and the Board ex-pects to address this same issue in the very near fu-ture. By setting the protocol, we will be in a position to inform the next legislative session that this prac-

tice is unacceptable to our Section, and that we are monitoring their actions. Being that AIPG National is a 501(c)(6) organization, its sections can be involved in lobbying efforts, and we plan to get involved. If any Section members have a concern, please bring it to the attention of the Section Board. Thank you.

On a somewhat lighter note, if you want to see a tru-ly “pure” limestone, I highly recommend the June 23rd field trip planned for the Portland Cement Plant and Niobrara Quarry. Back in 1979 I began my oil-patch work as a mud logger based out of Oklahoma City, and I’ve seen my share of limestones. However, I had never seen such a clean limestone as when I set a groundwater monitoring well in the Fort Hays Lime-stone just southeast of the then Cemex-owned Lyons Plant in 2006. I hit the sample with 10% HCL and there was absolutely no visible residue left. That truly astonished me, and it’s no wonder the formation is such a sought-after commodity. Hope you can attend the trip! See page 5 for details.

Metropolitan State University Denver has pro-duced a very interesting video advertising their Applied Geology program. Everyone should take a look at wonderful summary of why one should be a geology major, even if you don’t plan to attend MSU.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_oMTwwpNNg&feature=youtu.be


Editor’s Remarks David M. Abbott, Jr.

David Abbott , 2007 Section field trip to the Glory Hole and Caribou mines. Jim Russel photo.

Science should be free of politics. That was what the March for Science was supposed to be about. March for Science’s mission statement is, “The March for Science champions robustly funded and publicly com-municated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity. We unite as a diverse, nonpartisan group to call for science that upholds the common good and for political leaders and policy makers to enact evi-dence based policies in the public inter-est” (www.marchforscience.com).

But in reality, politics drives too much science. Con-sider House Bill 1366 introduced into the Colorado Legislature on April 27th. The bill proposed to create a position the duties of which are, “Development and periodic update of a climate action plan or similar document that sets forth a strategy, including specific policy recommendations AND MEASURABLE GOALS BASED ON THE BEST AVAILABLE SCI-ENCE THAT ARE AT LEAST AS AMBITIOUS AS THE GOALS ESTABLISHED BY THE GOVER-NOR'S EXECUTIVE ORDER D 004 08, THE ACHIEVEMENT OF WHICH WILL BOTH RE-DUCE COLORADO'S GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND INCREASE COLORADO'S ADAPTIVE CAPABILITY TORESPOND TO CLI-MATE CHANGE, ALONG WITH ASSOCIATED NEAR-TERM,MID-TERM, AND LONG-TERM DEADLINES TO ACHIEVE THE GOALS, that the state could use to address climate change and re-duce its greenhouse gas emissions;” (all caps in the original).

The phrase, “at least as ambitious as the goals es-tablished by the Governor’s Executive Order,” makes clear that a political goal decides what is acceptable “science.” The sponsors of this bill are Democrats Arndt and Winter. While this bill was postponed in-definitely at the end of the Legislative session, it could come up again next year. The Trump administration is not the only injector of politics into science.

The 2017 version of the Mineral Baby is out. The data is from 2016, the year previous to the date, as has been true of all Mineral Babies. Feel free to copy and distribute the picture. I wrote an article on how the mineral quantities pre-sented in the Mineral Baby picture are calculat-ed each year and examine the changes in the amounts of various minerals over several years. The article will appear in the June(?) issue of Mining Engineering.

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Tom Newman, CPG-7222, is leading a field trip on Friday, June 23rd, to the Portland Cement Plant and Niobrara Formation Quarry in Colorado. The AIPG National Executive Committee will also be joining the field trip while in Denver attending the Executive Committee meeting on Saturday, June 24, 2017.

The trip will leave the DoubleTree Hotel on the northeast corner of the intersection of 120th Avenue and I-25 at 8:30 and will

return by 5:00 . The trip is open to all Colorado Section members and guests and will not involve any strenuous hiking. Participants will be guided through Holcim's on-site quarries where limestone from the Cretaceous Fort Hays Member of the Niobrara For-mation is mined as the principal raw ingredient, and the Cretaceous Codell Sandstone is mined for use as a silica additive. Pyrite nodules and fossils may be col-lected from spoils piles of the Niobrara Formation.

The Fort Hays Member is the principal target of the horizontal drilling programs in the Denver Basin and the quarry provides one of the best local outcrops of the Fort Hays.

The tour continues as our group is guided through the cement manufacturing plant, or at least some of it (the kiln is being re-bricked) to see the massive blend-ing hall, corrective raw material silos, and rotary kiln. The highlight of the tour will be an open air elevator ride to the top of the pre-calcining tower where we will be treated to an aerial view of the plant and phenome-nal views of the High Plains to the east and the Sangre de Cristo Range to the west. The kiln burns worn tires.

Hardhats required, steel toed boots encouraged. AIPG does have hardhats available for use.

Registration includes transportation, lunch, snacks, and water. Registration ends June 22, 2017. To regis-ter, go to www.aipg.org. Select “Events” on the home page, the “Section Events” and scroll down to the “AIPG Colorado Section Field Trip.”


On April 6th two judges (Stephanie Ashley and Tom Van Arsdale), representing the Colorado Section, AIPG, attended the finals of the 2017 Colorado Sci-ence and Engineering Fair competition, held on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins. This was the third year the Section has been involved with the Fair and the judges were excited to see what the students had accomplished. Suffice it to say, the judges were quite impressed with a number of projects.

The process to whittle-down the number of pro-jects to a manageable number to judge began in mid-March when the competing abstracts were made avail-able. A total of 136 abstracts from both the Junior Di-vision (grades 6-8), and the Senior Division (grades 9-12), were reviewed within the categories of: Earth and Space Sciences; Energy; Environmental Sciences; En-gineering; and Chemistry. From those 136 abstracts, each judge chose a number of abstracts for considera-tion. The judges’ choices were then compared to ascer-tain the projects commonly chosen. This process re-sulted in four projects within the Junior Division, and four projects within the Senior Division.

On April 6,th the judges reviewed each of the eight projects and met with the individual student(s) to dis-cuss his/her/their project in detail. Of the participants interviewed, Colorado Section, AIPG, awarded a “Certificate of Excellence in the Geosciences” to two students in each division. A cash award was also sent to each Division winner ($100) and runner-up ($50).

The choice between the winners and runners-up was agonizing for both divisions. All four of these stu-dents had fantastic projects with outstanding presenta-tion skills and obvious passion for their topics. After much debate, the 1st Place Award recipient within the Junior Division was Scott Prieve, an eighth grader from North Middle School, Colorado Springs, for his project entitled, “To Rip or To Rap: How Does the De-sign of Erosion Control Methods Placed on a Creek Bend Affect the Bank.”

The Junior Division runner-up was Colorado Springs eighth grader, Nathaniel Brim, of the Classical Academy, for his project entitled, “Depuration Kinet-ics of Activated Carbon with Ion Exchange Resins, Poly Filter Pad, and Freshwater Bivalves in Aqueous Solutions Contaminated with Heavy Metals.”

The 1st Place Award recipient within the Senior Division was, Kyle Fridberg, a junior at Fairview High School, Boulder, for his project, “A Novel Method of Producing Colloidal Gold Nanoparticles from Gold Ore and Aqueous Sulfuric Acid.”

The runner-up within the Senior Division was, Isaac Jordan, a junior at Animas High School, Duran-go, for his project, “A Novel Approach for Sensing Seismic Events: Applications of Graphene Nano-flake Powder Composites.”

All of the Fair’s projects were winners, in that the students expended a great deal of time and effort to: collect field samples, conduct laboratory work, analyze the data, draw conclusions or determine more research was necessary, prepare their posters in a logical fash-ion, and present their projects with an oral presenta-tion. The judges commend all of the student partici-pants, and the organizers of this fun, and meaningful, event. For those AIPG members interested in review-ing abstracts to see what kind of projects these stu-dents are conducting (and maybe to see if there are any in your area you can help out), abstracts are available under the “Judges” tab of the CSEF website (www.csef.colostate.edu).

2017 Colorado Science and Engineering Fair

Colorado Section Science Fair Judges Tom Van Ars-dale and Stephanie Ashley in Fort Collins.


Scott Prieve, North Middle School, Colo. Springs To Rip or To Rap: How Does the Design of Erosion Control Methods Placed on a Creek Bend Affect Bank Deterioration? This project determined how the design of erosion con-trol methods affected bank deterioration on a creek bend. I hypothesized that if no rip rap, standard rip rap placed on a creek bend, rip rap placed on both sides be-fore a creek bend, rip rap flippers placed on both bank edges upstream of the creek curve, and rip rap terracing were placed in a simulated creek bed, then the rip rap placed before the creek bend would reduce erosion the most because real world observations showed that most erosion occurs upstream of the creek bend. In the exper-iment, the five different erosion control designs were placed in a simulated creek with a 90 degree bend. A continuous stream of water was directed into the simu-lated creek for five minutes and eroded sediment was collected and its mass measured. Each design was tested five times and the average amount of sediment collected was found for each design. The design that led to the least eroded sediment was the rip rap placed on both

Nathaniel Brim, Classical Academy Depuration Kinetics of Activated Carbon with Ion Exchange Resins, Poly Filter Pad, and Freshwater Bivalves in Aqueous Solutions Contaminated with Heavy Metals Zinc is an essential heavy metal, but in the environ-ment it is most often linked with cadmium. Toxic lev-els of zinc and cadmium cause lethargy, cancer, kid-ney failure and death in fish and invertebrates. Con-sumer demand for NiCad batteries, solar cells, and plastic products is contributing to an alarming in-crease in cadmium levels worldwide with up to 13,000 tons of cadmium entering our aquatic ecosys-tems every year. Ion-exchange and membrane filtra-tion are common methods used to remove heavy met-als from effluent but are costly and inefficient. I was curious if mussels would be an organic, cost- effective alternative. Mussels filter 80 gallons/hr, can live for 100 years, and can tolerate high levels of zinc. I de-cided to test whether mussels, poly-filter pad, or acti-vated carbon with ion-exchange resins would be more effective at removing zinc from contaminated water. Three of each filtration method were added to tanks with prepared zinc solutions(0.75ppm) leaving a con-trol without filtration. I collected 90 water samples at

sides before the creek bend which averaged 828 grams of sediment compared to the least effective design, the standard rip rap, which averaged 4476 grams of erod-

ed sediment. The experiment determined that rip rap placed on both sides before a creek bend was most effective at reducing creek bank erosion because, op-posed to the standard rip rap design which armored the curve, it armored the banks leading into the curve which were determined to be more susceptible to ero-sion.

First Place, Junior Division

Second Place, Junior Division

The experiment determined that rip rap placed on both sides before a creek bend was most ef-

fective at reducing creek bank erosion.

Scott Prieve sent the Section the following note: “Thank you so much for supporting me and the others competing in the CSEF. It means so much to me that you chose my project.


fixed periods over 72hours. Samples were tested on a GBC932+Atomic-Absorption-Spectrophotometer de-termining zinc levels at each interval. After three days, results revealed that mussels removed 87% of the zinc, poly filter pad removed 0%, and activated carbon re-moved 100%. Some areas of Monument Creek contain zinc levels 75% higher than Colorado Department of Health (CDH) Water Quality Standards. This investi-gation demonstrated that freshwater bivalves and acti-vated carbon could bring zinc levels into compliance to protect our rivers and streams demonstrating the need for further research into these amazing creatures.

Nathaniel Brim

I decided to test whether mussels, poly-filter pad, or activated carbon with ion-exchange res-

ins would be more effective at removing zinc from contaminated water.

First Place, Senior Division

Kyle Fridberg, Fairview High School, Boulder A Novel Method of Producing Colloidal Gold Nano-particles from Gold Ore and Aqueous Sulfuric Acid The purpose of this investigation was to identify the colored substance produced by the reaction of sulfuric acid and a vein of gold ore that I discovered in Boul-der, Colorado. The collected ore reacted with different concentrations of sulfuric acid to produce red and pur-ple solutions. No reference to this reaction could be found. All qualitative and quantitative analyses per-formed strongly supported the hypothesis that the ore and sulfuric acid react to create solutions of colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). Visible absorption spec-

tra of the colored solutions were nearly identical to absorption spectra of colloidal AuNPs. Furthermore, incrementally increasing the acid concentration of the solutions caused a gradual shift from red to purple, which is consistent with the color change exhibited by AuNPs when they aggregate. Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry and Transmission Electron Microscopy are currently being used to provide ana-lytical proof that the solutions contain AuNPs. Powder X-ray diffraction of the ore detected marcasite, which reacts with sulfuric acid to produce hydrogen sul-fide—a known capping agent for AuNPs. Previous studies have found AuNPs in weathered gold ore;

All qualitative and quantitative analyses per-formed strongly supported the hypothesis that the

ore and sulfuric acid react to create solutions of colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs).


however, this project provides the first evidence that they can be extracted. As natural AuNPs are irregularly shaped compared to spherical AuNPs produced in a lab, AuNPs produced by this method could be more efficient for applications where a higher surface area or less uni-form morphology is desirable. AuNPs are currently used in cancer treatment, catalysis, electronics, drug de-livery, and many other applications.

Uno. Any movement of the steel ball relative to the flat surface causes the ball to deform the sensor which causes a change in conductivity, resulting in a voltage change that is sensed by the Arduino. The voltage data was displayed on a computer for analy-sis. Sensor characterization shows that the sensor would be effective at detecting seismic waves with a detection range from sub-hertz to over 300 hertz, and is very sensitive. The sensor system has the benefit of being easy to produce and very cost effective with each unit costing less than $20 including electronics.

Second Place, Junior Division Isaac Jordan, Animas High School, Durango A Novel Approach for Sensing Seismic Events: Appli-cations of Graphene Nano-flake Powder Composites The goal of this project was to design a deformation sensor with optimal performance utilizing graphene nanoflake powder, having the potential to replace or rival current sensors on the market in a variety of fields such as heart rate sensors or seismic sensors. After testing many different designs, mixtures and tech-niques, it was found that the sensor with optimal per-formance was made by combining 0.2 grams of sili-cone rubber with 0.06 grams of graphene. The sensor required the additional step of applying voltage while in a semicured state to encourage proper orientation of the graphene nanoflakes. The sensor was tested by placing a piece of aluminum foil on a flat surface un-der the sensor. A steel ball bearing was placed on top of the sensor to act as an inertial mass. 5 volts DC was applied across the sensor via the steel ball and alumi-num foil and voltage was measured with an Arduino

Editor’s note on gold nano particles Kyle Fridberg’s abstract and presentation on col-

loidal gold nano particles caught my attention because of its significance in the origin of placer gold particles. For years the standard assumption was that gold was chemically stable in the surficial environment. This assumption is one of the reasons gold is characterized as a precious or noble metal.

The fact that placer gold nuggets can be larger that the particles of gold in the source veins never seemed to warrant much comment. In a 1931 Economic Geolo-gy paper, F.W. Freise described the re-generation of placer gold in areas of Brazil in areas associated with the decomposition of vegetable matter. G.A. Des-borough’s 1970 Economic Geology paper, p. 304-311,

describes silver depleted rims on placer gold grains based on microprobe analysis. The possibility of gold deposition rather than silver depletion was discounted.

A more recent paper by Reith, et al., 2010, Geology, no. 9, p. 843-846, describes the growth of gold parti-cles due to biofilms, bacterioform gold, and nanoparti-cles that play “a key role in mediating the mobility of Au in surface environments.” As Shuster and Southam conclude in the abstract of their 2015 Geology pa-per,no. 1, p. 79-82, “This laboratory model demon-strates that the biogeochemical cycling of Au can con-tribute to the formation of anomalous enrichments such as placer Au deposits.”

Fridberg’s study demonstrated similar results. He is to be commended for doing so.


Tom Van Arsdale Story and Pictures

After four consecutive years of experience, I can confi-dently state that, finally, the weather on Boy Scout Day at Dinosaur Ridge was absolutely delightful, and the Scouts came out in decent numbers.

Once again, the Colorado Section—AIPG had a booth at the event, and the Scouts, along with their adult supervi-sors, received lessons concerning: mineral identification; rock formation ages; everyday products produced from minerals, rocks, and petroleum; and the various disciplines within the geosciences, among other topics. They also asked many excellent questions. The AIPG volunteers (Ron Pritchett and Tom Van Arsdale) brought a number of min-eral, rock, and fossil specimens for the attendees to view, and handle. Ron also handed-out coal samples from central Utah for the Scouts to add to their collections. The Scouts readily identified a number of the specimens, but the Mio-cene whale vertebrae still perplexed many.

The Colorado Section consistently volunteers at Boy Scout Day, which is always Dinosaur Ridge’s first outdoor event, and is always held in early May. Another event that the Section attends is Girl Scout Day, which is always Di-nosaur Ridge’s last outdoor event, and is always held in Oc-tober. In the future, if a member wishes to volunteer for

our Section booth at a Dinosaur Ridge event, simply drop a line to [email protected].

Mr. Bones eats a scout.

Scouts at the Colorado Section booth.


The University of Northern Colorado’s Geology Club, an AIPG student chapter, has been quite busy this past year. Last semester, between August and De-cember our club met a total of nine times, with one hot chocolate fundraiser. We made enough to cover our costs, and look forward to hosting another fundraiser. A few of our officers visited a gem and mineral show in Denver last September and brought back some in-teresting specimens for the department display. A new officer position was created to help facilitate commu-nications and marketing of our club’s popularity and event turnouts. We titled this position marketing/ out-reach. Erin Nawacki currently holds this position.

This semester we have met a total of eight times which included a series of social events like bowling, guest speakers from professionals in federal industry, and in academia. Dr. Evanoff presented a talk to the club on Badlands in South Dakota. Dr.Good from our department presented on internship opportunities for our members. And we also had a presentation from the US Forest Service give expert advice on how to im-prove resumes and apply for federal jobs. In January, we attended the AIPG mentoring session and dinner in

Denver, CO at Metro State University. Club T-shirts were also created with original artwork from one of our members. We will be leading a club based field trip this month to Great Sand dunes national monu-ment, Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Bandelier National Monument.

In the future, we would like to collaborate with other university clubs including the student LEAF (student leadership for environmental action fund), Meteorolo-gy club, and perhaps set it up so that we may work with the AIPG student chapter at Metro State Univer-sity.

We held officer elections this April, since most of our officers are graduating this week. Erin Nawacki will be our new president, Ian Hoffman has moved up to vice president, Megan Ritter has become our treas-urer, Rusbel Contreras as our new outreach officer and Liam Cruz was elected to be our new secretary. There will be quite a bit of change with all of our new offic-ers, but we anticipate that the club will continue to grow and ideally help inspire others to take up an in-terest within the realm of Earth Sciences.

UNC Student Chapter Annual Report, May 2017

by Travis Neve, Adam Chumley, Ian Hoffman, and Linda Glickstein

Stockpiles for the Penrose Cement plant from the top of the plant’s tower. David Abbott photo.


Haipeng Li Why I Want to be a Geologist

Department of Geology and Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO, 80401

One common question being asked while I was still a young kid at primary school was “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Among all the possible an-swers, “become a scientist” seemed very attractive to me though I didn’t have a clear idea of what it meant to be. An accidental visit to Zhangye, a city in northwestern China, exposed me to the gorgeous and breathtaking Danxia Landforms (Figure 1). When back at home, the thought of becom-ing a scientist to study these colorful rocks kept occurring to me every now and then.

The time to choose a major finally arrived, and my childhood memories just ruled out other choices, leaving only geology in front of me. It soon turned out to be a smart choice, and I was captivated by the seemingly easy but complex problems such as why the

sea retains a relatively stable salinity. While geology itself covers a wide array of subjects, and each has its own charm, I didn’t have a clear vision for my future career until I started working on the gravity flow de-posits in a half-graben lake basin in Eastern China. Allowing me sufficient time to read and think, my undergraduate adviser Dr. Benzhong Xian success-fully helped me figure out the conflicting ideas about gravity flow deposits in literature and become ob-sessed in this relatively young and vibrant branch of sedimentology.

I then moved on to study sedimentology at China University of Geosciences, Beijing. My research fo-cuses on sequence stratigraphy and sedimentology of the unique extrabasinal calciclastic deposits in a half-graben lake basin. After long time of hard work and much careful thought, it became clear to me that the classic Exxon sequence model was poorly suited to lake basins and the proposed models by Bohacs et al. (2000) also failed to explain the high-frequency cy-cles found in the study area. The model proposed by Martins-Neto and Catuneanu (2010) seems to only

2017 Rex Monahan Memorial Scholarship Winners

Figure 1 A photo showing the breathtaking beauty of Danxia Landform in Zhangye, China. http://travelwithkally.blogspot.com/2015/11/zhangye-danxia-national-geological-park.html, accessed on Jan 20, 2017.

I was captivated by the seemingly easy but complex problems such as why the sea retains a relatively sta-

ble salinity.


explain part of the stratigraphic record in the study area. This complexity resulted from the multiple factors in-fluencing sequence generation in tectonically active lake basins. I myself put forward a hypothesis interpret-ing the complex sequences, but it still need more con-vincing evidence to be confirmed. This was the time when I realized nature is far more complex than models and I would like to dig deeper into its hidden laws.

After getting my master’s degree, I was lucky to be admitted into Colorado School of Mines and my ad-visor Dr. Piret Plink-Björklund gave me the freedom to explore between different topics. I gradually came to the understand that most, if not all, sedimentologists try to use preserved strata to infer Earth history, and they are most interested in changes in environmental varia-bles, which are called environmental signals. My cur-rent research focuses on interpreting environmental sig-nals from a source-to-sink perspective, and adopting the well-established open system theory from other disci-plines such as biology and physics. Some of the most fundamental and intriguing problems relating to envi-ronmental signal propagation, preservation and identifi-cation include the stability of autogenic processes, the influence of arrive patterns on signal propagation, and the interference between different signals. So far there are no systematic investigation into these problems and I plan to use physical experiments, combining with nu-merical modelling and outcrop data to tackle these problems.

The more I learn about our planet Earth (e.g., Tarnita et al., 2017), the more I am amazed at the way it works. Previous discussions with my colleagues re-veal two possible future research trends in Earth sci-ence: 1) more systematic and interdisciplinary research; 2) big data and data mining. Interpreting environmental signals in the source-to-sink framework is a good ex-ample of interdisciplinary research that is growing fast and it is one step forward towards combining geomor-phology and sedimentology. The desire to contribute more to our current understanding of the Earth system and discover the hidden rules governing nature’s phe-nomena is the strongest motivation for me to be a geol-ogist, and the excitement of discovering something new about our planet is the best reward I can ever think of.

Stephanie Jarvis Why I want to be a geologist:

A study of connections University of Colorado, Boulder

I used to answer the question of why I chose geolo-gy with the typical answers most of us give: a love of the outdoors, a childhood rock collection, the variety of topics that fall under the rather broad umbrella of “geology”, the strong relevance to society of those topics, a heavy dose of Wendell Berry and Edward Abbey during some very formative years, a curiosity that turned into fascination with more and more un-derstanding, etc. While all of those are still very true for me, I have taken a broader, more simplified, view of the reasoning behind my interest in the workings of the earth. For me, being a geologist is about study-ing connections—connections between the past, pre-sent, and future, between disciplines, and between

David M. Abbott, Jr. Consulting Geologist LLC

AIPG CPG, FAusIMM, EurGeol, PG-TX, UT, WY

evaluating natural resources, disclosures about them, Tel: 303-394-0321 5055 Tamarac Street

[email protected]

References: Bohacs, K. M et al., Lake-basin type, source potential, and hydrocarbon character: an integrated sequence-stratigraphic-geochemical framework. Lake basins through space and time: AAPG Studies in Geology, 46, 3-34 (2000). Martins-Neto, M. A., and Catuneanu, O. (2010). Rift sequence stratigraphy. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 27(1), 247-253. Tarnita C. E. et al., A theoretical foundation for multi-scale regular vegetation patterns. Nature. 541, 398–401 (2017).


biotic and abiotic processes. Working as an environmental consultant for 2.5 years

after my Master’s was incredibly important for devel-oping my self-confidence and sense of purpose. It al-lowed me to see how geology is applied in an industry setting and, at the same time, to take a step back and evaluate what it is about the field I am really drawn to. I quickly realized how much I missed research and teaching and I decided to pursue a career path that would allow me to incorporate both. The focus that this experience has given me is an incredible improvement from my perspective during my Master’s, and I have no doubt that going back to school for my Ph.D. was the right decision for me. I love challenging fieldwork and there is very little that makes me as happy as a pile of data to make sense of. I am excited to apply what I have learned and, most importantly, to learn skills that I do not already have.

I am interested in everything, but my current focus is on the interaction between the biotic and abiotic com-ponents of landscapes. My Ph.D. research is in ecohy-drology, a field that explores this interaction via hydro-logic fluxes. Specifically, I am studying how water use by trees impacts hillslope hydrology. This relationship is important for understanding ecosystem and hydro-logic response to climate change and for land manage-ment decisions. I am especially interested in methodol-ogy development for studying hydrologic fluxes and will explore the use of stable isotopes and geophysical techniques, in conjunction with more traditional ecohy-drological tools such as sap flow, to further our under-standing of how water moves through landscapes. I expect my research, focused on a relatively fundamen-tal question of the role of vegetation in the water cycle, to contribute to the geosciences by improving hydro-logic models. Such models generally assume a simple relationship between transpiration and streamflow that recent research has shown to not be correct. Given the importance of hydrologic models to land use decisions and water quantity projections, it is imperative that they be as correct as possible.

My dissertation topic is a great example of why I want to be a geologist. Thinking about the interactions between plants, water, rocks, fungus, and animals has inspired hours upon hours of geeking out since I was a child. The geosciences allow me to indulge in this pure curiosity in a way that is useful to others. By being a study of connections, geology is the connection be-tween my passions of science and societal responsibil-ity. Colorado Section email:

[email protected]

Use this email for registering for Section events and other communications.

Working as an environmental con-sultant for 2.5 years after my Mas-

ter’s was incredibly important for de-veloping my self-confidence and

sense of purpose. It allowed me to see how geology is applied in an in-

dustry setting and, at the same time, to take a step back and evaluate

what it is about the field I am really drawn to. I quickly realized how

much I missed research and teaching and I decided to pursue a career

path that would allow me to incorpo-rate both.

Thank You from Stephanie Jarvis I would like to thank you for awarding me the Rex

Monahan Geological Scholarship this year. I am hon-ored to be chosen as the recipient and am very grateful for the generous support.

My first year of graduate school has been quite busy, and my second field season is off to a quick start with a trip to Panama (before the semester officially ended!), where I currently am. I have wrapped up my field work here (coring trees for isotope analysis to look for water stress signals) and will have about a week back in Colorado before heading up to my other field site, the H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in Oregon. There I will be working on setting up an elec-trical resistivity survey to look at soil moisture pat-terns throughout the growing season. I will also be collecting water isotope samples and, hopefully later this season, conducting some shallow seismic surveys. In the middle of all of that, I will be attending the Uni-versity of Utah’s IsoCamp, a two-week course on sta-ble isotopes in the environment. Needless to say, I have a packed summer planned!

I hope all of you are doing well and have fun geo-logical adventures planned for the summer!


The State Legislature—What happened

to the bills listed in the last issue.

The State Legislature—What happened

to the bills listed in the last issue. The 2017 State Legislature considered a number of

bills that affected geoscientific practice in one way or another. The following bills have been identified as pos-sibly affecting geoscientific practice. This is what hap-pened to the bills listed in the Winter 2017 issue.

HB17-1008: Graywater regulation exemption for scien-tific research. To facilitate scientific research related to graywater uses and systems, the bill creates an exemption from the commis-sion's graywater control regulations for scientific research involving human subjects whereby a person may collect and use graywater for purposes of scientific research involving human subjects if the per-son: Seeks to conduct the scientific research on behalf of an institu-

tion of higher education; Utilizes a graywater treatment works system that incorporates

a secondary water supply to provide an alternative source of water if any portion of the system does not function properly; and

Collects and uses graywater in accordance with the terms and conditions of the decrees, contracts, and well permits applicable to the use of the source water rights or source water and any return flows.

The person is required to report to the water resources review com-mittee on an annual basis the results of periodic monitoring con-ducted to assess the continued functioning of the graywater treat-ment works system used in the project and the project's compliance with federal rules concerning the protection of human research sub-jects. Signed by the Governor 5/8/17. HB17-1016: Exclude value of mineral resources tax in-crement financing division. The bipartisan bill permits the governing body of a municipality, as applicable, to provide in an urban renewal plan that the valuation attributable to the extrac-tion of mineral resources located within the urban renewal area is not subject to the division of taxes between base and incremental revenues that accompanies the tax increment financing of urban renewal projects. In such circumstances, the taxes levied on the val-uation will be distributed to the public bodies as if the urban renew-al plan was not in effect. Signed by the Governor 3/8/17.

HB17-1033: Colorado Water Conservation Board grants loans dredge South Platte Basin reservoirs. The bill appro-priates $5 million from the Colorado water conservation board construction fund to the Colorado water conservation board to make loans and grants to enable the recipients to dredge existing reservoirs located in the South Platte river basin to restore the reser-voirs' full decreed storage capacity. Postponed indefinitely; killed. HB17-1076: Artificial recharge nontributary aquifer rules. Concerning rule-making by the state engineer regarding per-mits for the use of water artificially recharged into nontributary groundwater aquifers. Passed 3rd reading in the House and sent to Senate with no amendments; has bipartisan support. Signed by the Governor 3/30/17. HB17-1124: Local Government Liable Fracking Ban Oil And Gas Moratorium. The bill specifies that a local government that bans hydraulic fracturing of an oil and gas well is liable to the mineral interest owner for the value of the mineral interest and that a local government that enacts a moratorium on oil and gas activi-ties shall compensate oil and gas operators, mineral lessees, and royalty owners for all costs, damages, and losses of fair market val-ue associated with the moratorium. Assigned to the State, Veter-ans, & Military Affairs Committee, which is expected to kill the bill. Postponed indefinitely; killed. HJR17-1003: Water projects eligibility lists. Concerning approval of water project revolving fund eligibility lists administered by the Colorado water resources and power development authority. Signed by the Governor 2/21/17. SB17-002: Concerning the compulsory review of rules by each principal department, and, in connection therewith, establishing a triennial basis for each review to be con-ducted. Current law requires each principal department to review all of its rules, in accordance with a schedule established by the de-partment of regulatory agencies (DORA), to assess, among other things, the continuing need and cost-effectiveness of each rule. The

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bill repeals the DORA schedule-setting and instead requires a re-view and supplemental update to be completed every 3 years, com-mencing in 2017. Thereafter, the bill imposes a triennial schedule for reviews to be conducted. The bill further specifies that the public and certain state agen-cies must be accorded no fewer than 14 business days to provide input regarding an agency's rules during its review, and that any input received must be attached to the report setting forth the results of the rule reviews included in each agency's departmental regulatory agenda. Postponed indefinitely; killed. SB17-014: Concerning a prohibition against the imposi-tion of inspection requirements for underground petrole-um storage tanks or the charging of inspection fees for the inspection of underground petroleum storage tanks by a local government. The bill prohibits a local government from imposing inspection requirements for underground petroleum storage tanks or charging inspection fees for the inspection of under-ground petroleum storage tanks. Passed 3ed reading in the Senate with no amendments. Postponed indefinitely; killed. SB17-026: State Engineer Statutes Cleanup. Concerning requirements governing implementation of the state engineer's func-tions, and, in connection therewith, restructuring the fee that the state engineer may charge for rating certain types of water infrastruc-ture, repealing certain requirements, and updating language in the statutes regarding the division of water resources. Signed by the Governor 3/16/17. SB17-035: Tampering with Oil and Gas Well Equipment. There is a current crime of tampering with equipment associated with oil or gas gathering operations. The bill includes placing anoth-er at risk of death or serious bodily injury as part of the crime and increases the penalty from a class 2 misdemeanor to a class 6 felony. Postponed indefinitely; killed. SB17-036: Appellate Process Concerning Groundwater Decisions. Under current law, the decisions or actions of the ground water commission (commission) or the state engineer regard-ing groundwater are appealed to a district court, and the evidence that the district court may consider is not limited to the evidence that was presented to the commission or state engineer. Therefore, unlike appeals from other state agencies' decisions or actions under the 'State Administrative Procedure Act', a party appealing a deci-sion or action of the commission or state engineer may present new evidence on appeal that was never considered by the commission or state engineer. The bill limits the evidence that a district court may consider,

when reviewing a decision or action of the commission or state engi-neer on appeal, to the evidence presented to the commission or state engineer. Signed by the Governor 4/18/17. SB17-040: Public Access to Government Files. This bill modifies the Colorado Open Records Act regarding records that are stored as structured data, which the bill defines as digital data that is stored in a fixed field within a record or file that is capable of being automatically read, processed, or manipulated by a computer. See the bill for full provisions. Passed both House & Senate 5/10/17 SB17-049: Exempt Drains Designated Groundwater Re-quirements. To withdraw groundwater within a designated basin, current law requires a permit issued by the ground water commis-sion, and typically a portion of the groundwater must be replaced. The bill exempts a drain from the permit and replacement obliga-tions if the drain is for residential, commercial, or industrial devel-opment or utility lines installed to serve such development; the drain does not penetrate a confining layer; the removed groundwater is not put to any use other than collecting and removing groundwater from soils; and the removed groundwater is discharged essentially where the drain is located. Postponed indefinitely on 2/2/17. SB17-053: Asbestos Litigation Trust Transparency Prior-ities. Concerning requirements for asbestos litigation claims. The bill enacts the 'Asbestos Bankruptcy Trust Claims Transparency Act'. Federal bankruptcy law provides companies with asbestos-related liabilities the opportunity to reorganize and emerge from bankruptcy with protection from lawsuits. Asbestos trusts estab-lished as part of the bankruptcy process assume the debtor compa-ny's asbestos-related liabilities. The trusts then pay present and future asbestos-related claims, thus relieving the reorganized compa-ny of all present and future asbestos-related liabilities. Plaintiffs may also file asbestos-related personal injury actions against compa-nies that are still solvent and subject to suit in the civil system. The bill addresses this dual compensation system to give defendants ac-cess to information regarding all of a plaintiff's trust-related expo-sures and give fact finders information they need to properly assign fault. Lost in committee on 2/22/17. SB17-290: Would require that an engineer seal plans showing the specific description, nature, and location of underground facilities. This apparently was the bill introduced to require the accurate locate of all oil and gas pipelines, particularly those from a well site to a tank battery or gathering facility. Committee postponed indefinitely on 5/2/17.

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the penrose cement plant’s quarry in the fort hays...

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