Geology Students
Prof. Gishlick and geology majors
at Lake Michigan, 2008
Each year, Geology Seniors undertake an independent research thesis. The topic is chosen and the background reading is done during the junior year, and research is usually conducted during the senior year. Below is a list of the 2008-2009 senior projects.
Completed research thesis is listed on the Research page.
Ben Christensen: "Strain Analysis of Archean Rocks from the Virginia Horn area, NE Minnesota."
My thesis focuses on metamorphosed greywackes and some conglomerates from the Virginia Horn area, a large folded structure within the iron formations of Northern Minnesota. My goal is to perform stain analysis on these rocks to possibly help explain the Horn's formation.
Kathryn Ladig: "A Study of the Geomorphology of Naran Khondii (valley), Deluun Nuruu, Mongolian Altai, Western Mongolia". Research for this project took place in a glacial valley in the Deluun Nuruu of the Mongolian Altai, in western Mongolia. The project consists of mapping, describing, and analyzing the valley based on its lithologic and geomorphic features. I will also be able to determine the recessional rate fluctuations of the glacier based on the current location of moraines in comparison to the ice margin. )
Dan Foley: "Pre Duluth Complex Metamorphism of the Biwabik Iron-Formation"
This thesis will focus on examining samples of the Biwabik Iron-Formation from geographically diverse areas of the Mesabi range. These samples will be studied in an attempt to decipher whether or not relict structures and minerals are present from an earlier metamorphic event.
John Leaf: "A chemical analysis of sediment sources in the Le Sueur River, southern Minnesota." Recently, it has been found that the Minnesota River is contributing a disproportionate amount of sediment to the Mississippi River basin and much of this comes from the Le Sueur River watershed. For my thesis, I am attempting to determine how much of the Le Sueur sediment comes from bluff, ravines, or topsoil using chemistry of rare-earth and trace elements as "fingerprints" on each source's sediment.
David Koppel: "Ravine Development and Bank Recession of Ravine "Z" in Seven Mile Creek Park".
The Seven Mile Creek watershed is in southwestern Minnesota where little is known about the types of fill present, or the general behavior of the erosional processes in the numerous ravines. I will attempt to measure the erosional processes occurring in an actively eroding ravine in the Seven Mile watershed, spurring from a drainage tile pipe. I plan to quantify the amount of fill in certain areas, along with the rate of recession of the head and walls, in order to understand what is controlling the erosional processes in the area.
Mikayela Munson: "Evidence of a Paleoriver Channel Prior to the Present Le Sueur River Channel in Mankato, MN". The purpose of this study is to understand a geological feature that occurred during the formation of the current Minnesota River Channel. It is evident that the current Le Sueur River had a previous channel, and at some point had avulsed to its current flow path. It is unknown when this had occurred, only a rough date after Glacial River Warren to possibly a few hundred years ago is estimated. This study will aim to find a better estimate when this avulsion happened. To do this, geographical and geological evidence, such as terraces, ravine slopes and erosion patterns, sediments, and alluvial fans are useful as possible indicators for a geological dating mechanism.
