Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America

alluvium. Usually a distinctive dark, and sometimes over-thickened, buried A horizon developed
in fine-grained vertical accretion deposits marks the contact between the prehistoric and historic
units within vertical stratigraphic exposures. Thirteen 14 C assays derived from the French Creek
floodplain and two tributaries suggest the prehistoric alluvial fills are multi-aged, a phenomenon
typical along laterally mobile, meandering streams.
Numerous archaeological sites and pedological data suggest a relatively stable floodplain
environment for the past several thousand years. The dark prehistoric soil that usually separates
the historic and prehistoric stratigraphic units, or is at other times the surface soil, may be the
product of Native American utilization of the floodplain environment. Although archaeological
and pedological evidence indicates some patches of pre-late Holocene alluvium exist, a lack of
widespread alluvium older than ~ 4-5 ka suggests that lateral migration has removed much of the
earlier Holocene fill. The removal of alluvium from the alluvial valley has thus hindered a thorough
understanding of geomorphic, paleoenvironmental and archaeological records.
29-7 3:50 PM Karsten, James W. [218698]
SAND TRANSPORT AND VEGETATION ON TWO LAKE MICHIGAN COASTAL BLOWOUTS
KARSTEN, James W., LEPAGE, Gabriel, MESSINA, Michael G., SHISLER, Daniel Jay,
and SMITH, Jory, Geology, Geography, and Environmental Studies, Calvin College, 3201
Burton St, Grand Rapids, MI 49546, jwk9@students.calvin.edu
Sand transport and vegetation are very important influences on blowout evolution, but not much
research has been done on how these two elements affect Lake Michigan coastal blowouts.
This study investigated the patterns of vegetation and sand transport on two large, saucer-type
blowouts in Fall 2012. The study location was Kitchel-Lindquist Dunes Preserve in Ottawa County,
Michigan, which is separated from Lake Michigan by a road and a row of houses. A variety of
methods were used including erosion pins, sand traps, GPS mapping, and observation and
classification of vegetation. The two blowouts are active, with significant sand movement over
the rims from the southwest in the direction of the prevailing winds. There was no sand observed
moving into the dune system from the west, so any sand transported was being reworked
locally. The wind patterns and areas of erosion and deposition within the blowouts were variable.
The floors of the blowouts were bare sand and the vegetation was concentrated on the rims
and leeward slopes. The vegetation observed was mostly American Beach Grass (Ammophila
brevilugata) and Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium). The plant communities suggest the
blowouts are relatively young(less than 200 years old) and the area was stable before blowout
development. The geomorphology of the Kitchel-Lindquist blowouts and others like them is
dynamic, and more study is needed to better understand the processes at work in these coastal
landforms.
29-8 4:10 PM Monaghan, G. William [218748]
MILLENNIAL-SCALE CYCLES OF COASTAL DUNE FORMATION DURING THE LATE
HOLOCENE, LAKE MICHIGAN
MONAGHAN, G. William1 , ARBOGAST, Alan F. 2 , LOVIS, William A. 3 , and KOWALSKI,
Daniel2 , (1) Glenn A. Black Laboratory of Archaeology, Indiana Univ, 423 North Fess Ave,
Bloomington, IN 47405, gmonagha@indiana.edu, (2) Geography, Michigan State University,
121 Geography Building, East Lansing, MI 48824, (3) Department of Anthropology, Michigan
State University, 354 Baker Hall, East Lansing, MI 48824
Published OSL (n=107) and 14C (n=123) assays from the northern and eastern shores of Lake
Michigan indicate that coastal dunes were constructed during six episodes that were identified
through a Probability Density Distribution (PDD) of the OSL ages. PDD peaks mark times when
dunes were more active. PDD lows represent intervals of dune stability. OSL PDD peaks are
cyclical on millennial scale (5.5, 4.3, 3.3, 2, 1, and 0.3 ka). The 14C ages were collected from
paleosols and archaeological sites stratified within dunes and mark intervals of dune stability.
A PDD of 14C ages was also created. OSL PDD peaks mark times of relative dune stability and
should be inversely associated with lows in 14C PDD if the coastal dune system is generally
regionally consistent. Comparing both PDDs shows that 14C PDD peaks only occur after peaks
(or within lows) of the OSL PDD, which indicates Lake Michigan coastal dunes are regionally
consistent.
The OSL and 14C PDDs were also compared to reconstructed middle and late Holocene lakelevel
hydrographs and to a composite 7000-year-long continous record of El Niño events from
coastal South America. These data provide clues about what drives the millennial-scaled cycles
of coastal dunes along Lake Michigan. Three of the dune-building events are associated with
significant rising lake level (transgressive) events (5.5, 3.3, and 2.3 ka) while others occurred
during regressive (4.3 and 0.5 ka) or uncertain lake level events. Although likely important, the
specific connection between water level change and coastal dune building is more complex than
just “transgressive or regressive.”
The link between El Niño events and dune activity is clearer. Comparison of OSL and 14C PDD with the El Niño record shows that dunes grew during intervals when El Nino events were
uncommon (i.e., 10-15 events/
century) and have greater oscillation. Collectively, these data suggest that dunes are built or
stabilized when a complex set of climate, water-level, and sand-supply factors intersect within the
coastal zones to create the proper conditions to construct dunes.
SESSION NO. 30, 1:30 PM
Friday, 3 May 2013
T7. Cultural Geology: Heritage Stone, Buildings, Parks,
and More (Heritage Stone Task Group of the IUGS)
Fetzer Center, Room 2040
30-1 1:30 PM Rose, William I. [218567]
BUILDING GRASSROOTS FOR A KEWEENAW GEOPARK
ROSE, William I. 1 , GOCHIS, Emily E. 2 , KLAWITER, Mark F. 2 , and VYE, Erika C. 2 ,
(1) Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Michigan Technological Univ, 1400
Townsend Dr, Houghton, MI 49931, raman@mtu.edu, (2) Geological and Mining Engineering
and Sciences, Michigan Technological Univ, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931
Geoparks are nationally or globally significant geologic areas which have identities similar to
national heritage areas. They are defined by spectacular geologic features and processes in
SESSION NO. 30
tandem with rich culture and history. They transcend boundaries of protected areas and operate
as a partnership of people and land managers to promote earth heritage through education
and sustainable tourism. Geoparks are numerous in Europe and Asia, but largely unknown in
the USA. In Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula and Isle Royale, with geology defined by Middle
Protoerozoic Rifting of Rodinia and Pleistocene to Anthropocene climate change, geology has
influenced human settlement and history in profound ways which makes the place ideal for a
Geopark.
Geopark development in the USA addresses an under appreciation (and perhaps ignorance)
of earth science which leaves America struggling to compete with the rest of the world in
issues such as energy resources, sustainability and global warming. These shortcomings in
earth science literacy have been addressed through an active NSF sponsored Math Science
Partnership focused on earth science education. University faculty, graduate students, middle
and high school teachers and students have made connections with national and state parks,
municipalities and citizen groups to develop geologic interpretations in order to engage the
public. These initial efforts include: 1. EarthCaches in our hometowns, 2. self-guided and android
Geowalks sponsored by local municipalities, 3.internships for Earth Science teachers in Midwest
national parks and 4. special recognition and educational applications for spots which capture
“sense of place”. Each of these activities has built local commitment to geological education which
resonates with communities where geology has historically driven and shaped culture. It is our
hope that these grassroots efforts will build a strong foundation for America’s first geopark.
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/~raman/Geopark http://mitep.mtu.edu/earthcache.php http://www.geo.
mtu.edu/~raman/SilverI/HoughtonEC
30-2 1:50 PM Freeman, V. Rocky [218728]
THE MATHER SURVEY COLLECTION AT MARIETTA COLLEGE: A RARE ASSEMBLAGE
OF EARLY NINETEENTH-CENTURY GEOLOGIC SAMPLES AND ITS IMPORTANCE IN
INTERPRETING NINETEENTH-CENTURY GEOLOGIC TERMINOLOGY
FREEMAN, V. Rocky1 , HANNIBAL, Joseph T. 2 , and BARTLETT, Wendy1 , (1) Marietta College,
Petroleum Engineering and Geology, 215 5th Street, Marietta, OH 45750, freemanv@
marietta.edu, (2) Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval Drive, Cleveland, OH
44106-1767
The first Ohio Geological Survey, known as the Mather Survey, produced two pioneering volumes
on Ohio Geology, both published in 1838. Geologic terminology has changed since that time,
however, resulting in some difficulty in determining exactly what these early Ohio geologists
meant by their use of terms such as buhrstone (used for manufacture of millstones), hornstone,
kidney and other types of iron ore, and hydraulic lime. Such items were of great economic
importance at the time of the Survey and some of them continued to be important into the
later nineteenth century. In February of 1842, a catalog of geological specimens collected by
the Mather Survey was submitted to the Ohio Legislature. This catalog listed labeled suites of
specimens, two of which were to be held in the State Cabinet, and the rest of which were to be
distributed to colleges in Ohio. Only one of these collections, the one sent to Marietta College, is
known to be extant. The Marietta College collection consists of 166 specimens from 16 counties
in Ohio. The Pennsylvanian Series is especially well represented; specimens collected in Jackson,
Tuscarawas, and Vinton counties account for close to half of the specimens. There are also
specimens from other areas of Ohio, however, and two specimens are from Indiana.
The specimens in the Marietta College collection provide objective evidence for early
nineteenth-century geologic terminology and rock and ore identifications. The Mather catalog
lists many additional specimens that may or may not still exist. Still, the catalog itself is important
as it contains locality information that complements the locality information in the 1838 Mather
Survey reports. Both the collection and the catalog are key elements in the interpretation of early
nineteenth-century geologic reports.
30-3 2:10 PM Saja, David B. [218636]
WELLINGTON DIMENSION STONE COLLECTION AT THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF
NATURAL HISTORY: A RARE EXAMPLE OF A WELL-DOCUMENTED COLLECTION OF 20TH
CENTURY DIMENSION STONES
SAJA, David B., Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval Drive, Cleveland, OH
44106-1767, dsaja@cmnh.org
The Department of Mineralogy at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History houses the Wellington
Dimension Stone Collection that contains just over 1,200 slabs of granite, diabase, gabbro, slate,
phyllite, marble, limestone, serpentine, travertine, and schists. There are 533 different slabs, some
with multiple samples that show different polished, honed and flame-etched surfaces, and a range
of available colors and patterns. Robert E. Wellington was an engineer and sales representative
of the Alberene Stone Company. A year after his death in 1987, the Museum acquired his entire
collection of papers and 1,137 sales samples. He was involved in the construction of over a
thousand buildings spanning a two decade period between 1967 and 1987. He sold products
from several stone companies including Georgia Marble, Green Mountain Marble, Tennessee
Marble, Alabama Limestone, Carthage Marble Corp., Georgia Granite Co., Vermont Structural
Slate Co., The Structural Slate Co., and Natural Slate Blackboard Co. His accounts covered
hundreds of orders from personal residences to Corporate Headquarters (e.g. Goodyear Tire,
Procter & Gamble), as well as churches, museums, hospitals, fire stations, city halls, universities,
high schools, restaurants, and cemeteries. Most of these buildings are located across Ohio, but
include others in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, West Virginia, Kentucky, Delaware, and
Texas. This collection is a significant resource for Historical Preservation, in addition to Economic
Geology, because it also contains the bills of sale and stone installation diagrams for nearly
every building for which he sold material. These sheets list dates of installation, dimension stone
names, number of panels, and even notes on their installation. The collection is also unique in
that it is one of only a few surviving major collections available for research in the United States.
Already scanned in high resolution on a flatbed scanner, we are preparing to put these images
online as a searchable internet database with images and both trade names and geologic names.
Eventually we will have digital copies of the building data and a thin section made to accompany
each sample. The collection is available at the Museum for viewing by researchers (academic and
industry alike) who wish to use it.
30-4 2:30 PM Hannibal, Joseph T. [217675]
QUANTIFYING TRENDS IN STONE USED FOR BUILDINGS, STATUARY, AND OTHER USES
OVER TIME WITH ARCHAEOLOGICAL SERIATION CURVES
HANNIBAL, Joseph T., Cleveland Museum of Natural History, 1 Wade Oval Drive, Cleveland,
OH 44106-1767, jhanniba@cmnh.org
Many publications have discussed trends in stone use over time, but such discussions have been,
for the most part, qualitative. Such trends can be shown in a quantitative manner using seriation
curves, a methodology commonly used by archaeologists and anthropologists, but underused by
geologists. The technique was originally developed for use in plotting changes in cultural items
2013 GSA North-Central Section Meeting 67