Research and Instrumentation

We regard research as an integral part of our department's educational program because it inspires scientific creativity and teaches rigorous thinking. The faculty is engaged in research and the students have opportunities to be involved. Nearly every class includes research questions and problem solving. The 'capstone' course of the Geology Department is GEO 392-393 Geology Research, a two-semester research course taken during the junior and senior years. Students are encouraged to pursue their own research questions or to help with faculty members' on-going projects, some of which are listed below.

Students may do research projects independently prior to the Geology Research course. Students present results at the spring Sigma Xi Research Symposium; several have delivered papers at regional and national meetings of the Geological Society of America and the American Geophysical Union. There are opportunities for both on-campus and off-campus funding for research including the Youngquist Fund (Geology Department) and First-Year Research Experiences (college). Our majors have been successful in gaining positions on other Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) projects throughout the country, funded by the National Science Foundation.

Instrumentation available in the Geology department

• Inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometer for elemental analysis of rock and sediment
• UV-visible spectrophotometer for elemental analysis of water and solutions
• Total organic carbon analyzer for high-precision measurement of carbon in rock and sediment
• Cathololuminescence microscope for identification of mineral phases, textures and alteration in rocks
• Laser diffractometer for measuring sediment grain sizes down to the sub-micron scale
• Petrographic microscopes for identification and description of minerals in rocks and sediments
• Rock crusher, rock saws, rock polishers for sample preparation
• Muffle furnace for sediment analysis and to perform lithium borate fusions

Faculty research

Current faculty research areas are in the subdisciplines of metamorphic petrology, geomorphology, human impacts to earth systems, and the environment and evolution of life on the early Earth. Active research areas include:

• tracing sources of sediment pollution in the Minnesota River
• studying the co-evolution of life and environment during the Proterozoic Eon (2500 to 542 million years ago)
• exploring deep-earth processes through studying metamorphic rocks in the Pioneer Mountains, Idaho
• investigating the biogeochemical cycle of silica in the Platte River (Nebraska)
• describing the environment, chemistry and life of the 1.9 billion year-old Gunflint Iron Formation
• determining how best to search for fossil traces of life in the rocks of Mars
• mapping landslides along the Minnesota River valley, in order to understand landslide risk and prevention

Please contact the individual faculty members to learn more about their research projects.

Student research

Titles of student research projects, 2019

Titles of student research projects, 2018

• Syntectonic Deposition of Plio-Quaternary Sediments in the Santa Rosalia Basin of Baja California Sur, Mexico, Abigail Michels
• The Taphonomy of Small Rodent Fossils in the Meade Basin (Kansas), Mariah Werner
• A Geochemical Investigation of the Influence of the Hot Springs on the Fall River in Hot Springs, SD, McKenzie Perry
• UAV-Derived Imagery Permits Quantification of Ice Volume Loss on Tropical, High Altitude Glacier, Casey Decker
• Does Increased Rainstorm Intensity Pose Risks to County Infrastructure? A Study from Nicollet and Sibley Counties in Minnesota, Caitlin (Clause) Substad
• Comparing Joint Orientation in the Sioux Quartzite and Oneota Dolomite, Keenan Day Diggins
• Assessing Differences in Ravine Erosion in Seven Mile Creek Park and the Surrounding Area: Implications for Sediment in the Minnesota River, Laura Danczyk
• Microscale Features in Modern Stromatolites from Hamelin Pool, Australia and Exuma Cays, Bahamas, Sarah Bruihler

Titles of student research projects, 2017

• Monitering and Mitigating Agricultural Pollution in the Seven Mile Creek Watershed for Healthier Streams, Connor Smith
• River Terrace Mapping of Rush River, Sibley County, MN, Kyle Pinke
• Heavy Metal Concentration Analysis for Gastropods off the Red Sea, Egypt, Michael Erving
• Comparing Tributaries of the Minnesota River, Megan Luick
• Mitigation of Ravine Hillslope Erosion in Southern Minnesota Using Infiltration Basins and Hydrologic Models, Patrick Day
• Relationships Among Morphology, Texture, and Chemistry in Stromatolites of the Green River Formation (Eocene, Wyoming, USA), Lindsey Reiners
• Distinguishing Till Members in Minnesota Using Trace and Rare Earth Elements, Russell Krueger
• Rover Instrumentation: Identifying Extraterrestrial Biosignatures, Ruby Schaufler
• Looking into the Past with Lacustrine Sediment Sequences, Skuyler Ward
• Explosive Hydrothermal Brecciation; Connecting Chemistry, Emplacement and Exploration (Thomson Formation, Paleoproterozoic, Northeastern, MN), Tanner Eischen

Titles of student research projects, 2016

• Water Quality Monitoring in Seven Mile Creek, Elizabeth Frödén
• Analysis of Stromatolite Reservoir Potential using Computed Tomography, Grant Noennig
• Applying New AHP and GIS Methodology to Modeling Landslide Susceptability in Scott County, MN, Robert Marshall Bell
• Alteration of Sediment in a Ravine during Storage and Transport, Rachel Mohr
• Pore Network Connectivity in Microbialites of the Green River Formation (Wyoming, USA): Analogs for Petroleum Reservoir Potential, Zack Martinez

Titles of student research projects, 2015

• History and Taphonomy of Bison Bones From the Des Moines River, Dominic Delmont
• Effectiveness of Remediation Processes in Eutrophic Water Conditions of Crystal Lake, Hennepin County, MN, John Berger
• Measuring Kinckpoint Migration in Ravine Z, Seven Mile Creek Park, Nicollet County, MN, Michael Dickens
• Sodic Amphibole in Metavolcanics: Newton Lake Formation, Scott Hauer
• Structural Analysis of Victoria Crater: Implications for Past Aqueous Processes on Mars, Serenity Mahoney
• Decoding the Sediment to Understand Ravine Processes at Seven Mile Creek Park, Nicollet County, Minnesota, Zachary Severson
• Stratigraphy of Mount Sharp and Gale Crater: Implications for Martian Paleoenvironment, Zachery Van Orsdel

Titles of student research projects, 2014

• Sediment mobilization in ravines draining Minnesota cropland, Andrew Choquette
• Mercury dynamics in sub-Arctic lake sediments across a methane ebullition gradient, Lance Erickson
• Sediment mobilization: Le Sueur River, Minnesota, Emily Ford

Titles of student research projects, 2013

• Oxygen isotopic analysis of belemnites: Implications for water termperature and life habits in the Jurassic Sundance Sea, Amanda Adams
• Evaluation of the potential trace metal contamination in an abandoned shooting range, Jeffrey Allen
• Geomorphic and sedimentologic origins of a terrace in Seven Mile Creek Park, Nicollet County, Minnesota, Jacob Bruihler
• Analyzing and presenting resistivity data from Emerald Mound archaeology site in attempt to discover a Mississippian trail, Michael DeLucia
• Using conondonts to determine the depositional variability within the Decorah Formation of eastern Minnesota and Iowa, Matt Illies
• Identification of a landform in Seven Mile Creek Park, Nicollet County, Minnesota, Adam Lund
• Mapping depth to bedrock in a tropical pre-montane wet forst, Rachel Oien
• Qualitative and quantitative assessment of taphonomic patterns in modern algae and cyanobacteria: Implications for identifying Precambrian fossils, Tara Selly
• A comparison of biogenic silica analysis using ICP-MS and UV-VIS, Zachary Wagner

Titles of student research projects, 2012

• The Spatial Distribution and Fate of Trace Metals in Ombrotrophic Peat Bogs, Nick Alverson
• Microfossils and the Depositional Environment of the Gunflint Iron Formation, Joe Curran
• Sediment Exchange between a Marsh and an Adjacent Submersed Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) bed in Chincoteague Bay, MD, Andrea J. Eglinton
• Strain Analysis of Archean, Metasedimentary Rocks in the Virginia Horn, Northeastern Minnesota, Rober Holder
• Comparison of marine and terrestrial climate models to geologic data from the Permian-Triassic boundary, Todd M. Kremmin

Titles of student research projects, 2011

• Petrologic Investigation of a Graphitic Breccia Pipe in Proximity to the Tamarack Cu-Ni-PGE Deposit; Carlton County, Minnesota, Michael Hendrickson
• Effects of the Invasive Species Phragmites australis on the Biogeochemical Cycle of Silica in the Platte River, Nebraska; Carson A. Smith

Titles of student research projects, 2010

• Geology and Geomorphology of Seven Mile Creek Park, Jeremy Bock
• Geologic map of Seven Mile Creek Park

Titles of student research projects, 2009

• Strain analysis of Archean rocks from the Virginia Horn area, NE Minnesota, Ben Christensen
• Mineralogy and Metamorphism of the Stromatolite-Bearing Layers of the Biwabik Iron Formation, Dan Foley
• Geomorphology of Naran Khondii (Valley), Hoh Serh Range, Mongolian Altai, Western Mongolia, Kathryn L. Ladig
• A chemical analysis of sediment sources in the Le Sueur River, Southern Minnesota, John Leaf
• Evidence of a Paleochannel Prior to the Present Le Sueur River Channel in Mankato, MN, Mikayela Munson
• The Stratigraphy of Seven Mile Creek Park, Elliot A. Peterson

Titles of student research projects, 2008

• Magnetic Interactions and the Mossbauer Effect in Coated Ferrihydrite Nanoparticles, Anna K. Lindquist
• Sedimentary Analysis of the New Ulm Till and its Importance for Understanding Ice Flow on a Deforming Bed on the Des Moines Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, Jessica Hill

Titles of student research projects, 2007

• Climate During the Last Glacial Maximum in the Wasatch Mountains Inferred from Glacier Mass-Balance and Ice-Flow Modeling; Eleanor A. R. Bash
• Till Genesis and Moraine Deposition during Pleistocene Glaciations in the Uinta Mountains, Utha; Todd Kohorst

Titles of student research projects, 2006

• Petrologic And Petrographic Analysis of Ancient Submarine Hydrocarbon Seep Deposits (Late Cretaceous) From the Tepee of Colorado; Julia Anderson
• Thin Section Evidence OF Sulfate-reducing Bacteria On Ancient Whale Falls; Justin Burum
• Mass Wasting of Hillslopes in the Minnesota River Vally From Mankato To Le Sueur; Jonathan D. Carlson
• Reconstruction of Pleistocene Glaciers in Rhoades Canyon and Lake Fork Vally in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA; Kathryn Lawson
• Glacial Geology and Climate during the Last Glacial Maximum in the Wolf Creek Basin, Western Uinta Mountains; Andrew J. Rishavy

Titles of student research projects, 2005

• A New Ichnospecies of Aquatilvipes from the Albian-Cenomanian Dakota Formation of Northeastern Utah; Owen Anfinson
• Water Table and Overbank Flow Frequency Changes due to Suburbanization-Induced Channel Incision, Virginia Coastal Plain, USA; Evan Christianson
• Geochemical Variations in the Upper Cherty Member of the Biwabik Iron Formation: Investigating Iron in the Proterozoic Banded Iron Formations of Northern Minnesota; Alison Cordie
• Geologic Controls on Bedrock Springs in the St. Croix River Valley, Northern Washington County, MN; Andrew Leaf
• The Buckhorn Conglomerate: Implications for Sevier Foreland Basin Development; Alec Nord
• Identifying the Cambrian-Ordovician Boundary in St. Peter, Minnesota through the Occurrence of Raphistoma minnesotensis; Mark Schlagel
• Reconstructing ELAs and Approximating Climate Change from Smiths Fork Recessional Moraines within the Yellowstone Quadrangle of the Uinta Mountains, Utah; Tom Westlund

Titles of student research projects, 2004

• Measurement of Contaminated Groundwater Discharge to Surface Water at Seven Mile Creek, Nicollet County, Minnesota; Sam Johnson
• Tropical Storms of Southeastern Minnesota: Analysis of Late Cambrian flat-pebble conglomerates in the St. Lawrence Formation; Nathan Suurmeyer

Titles of student research projects, 2003

• Magnetic Analysis of a Lake Tanganyika Core; Joe Malkovich
• Blue Earth Siltstone: Extent, Description, and Processes of Origin; Joe Beer
• Ichnofossils of the Cedar Mountain Formation (Northeastern Utah) and Their Paleoenvironmental Implications; Emily Tremain
• Depositional Process of the New Ulm Till; Adam Long
• The Reptile Fauna and Depositional Environment of a Wellington Formation (Lower Permian) Fossil Site; Jim Foote

Titles of student research projects, 2002

• A Stratigraphic and Sedimentological Study of Cretaceous Strata at Flandrau State Park, New Ulm, Minnesota; Dylan Blumentritt
• Geochemical Study of an Altered Shear Zone near Granite Falls, Minnesota; Christine Carlson
• Growth Patterns of Aulopora Corals of the Upper Devonian Era; Jeffrey Ford
• Correlation of Radon Soil Gas Concentrations with Sediment Type in the St. Peter Area; Michael Bland
• Nature and Origin of Buried Ice Within a Recessional Moraine, Matanuska Glacier, Alaska; Justin Johnson

Titles of student research projects, 2001

• Reaction Zones of Metamorphosed Ultramafic Rocks: Marble Mountain Terrane, Siskiyou County, California; Amy (Iverson) Horn
• A Stratigraphic and Sedimentological Study of the Minnesota Valley Minerals Inc. Cretaceous Clay Mine near Courtland, Minnesota; Gregory D. Joslin
• Microstructure Analysis of a series of Brittle-Ductile Shear Zones near Granite Falls, Minnesota; Ryan Erickson
• Orientation of quartz veins in the Virginia Horn area, Minnesota; Timothy R. Sundby

Titles of student research projects, 2000

• Sedimentation Analysis and Implications at the Rapidan Dam; Mary Finch
• Interpretation of Glacial Outwash Fan, Portage County, Wisconsin; Paul Grittner
• Glaciotectonism at the Des Moines Lobe Margin and Origin of Ice-Contact; Sheryl Horton
• Description and Analysis of Wisconsin Age Till Deposits on the Watunwan; John Lindstrom
• Geochemical Implications of Tectonic Setting for the Powell Creek Volcanics, Southwestern British Columbia; Nicholas Pester
• A Reevaluation of the Permian Reptile Dictybolos; Erin Rasmussen
• Paleotopography of the Cambrian-Ordovician Contact near Mankato; Andrew P. Smith
• Downstream Variation in Outwash Clast Characteristics from an Active Glacial Margin: Application to Ancient Deposits; Brooke Swanson

Titles of student research projects, 1999

• Permian Vertebrates of Oklahoma: A Background Paper for Summer Research; Susan Joy
• Post Settlement Alluvium (PSA) in the Rush River Valley; Devika Mohabir
• Description and Analysis of an Outcrop of Metagabbro cut by shear zones and Malic Dikes in Granite Falls, MN; Michael Durfee

Titles of student research projects, 1998

• The impacts of agricultural ditching on the hydraulic geometry of streams, Kristin Anderson
• Description, pollen analysis, and structural analysis of a fossiliferous diamicton near New Ulm, Minnesota, Scott Brown
• Boulder pavement under the New Ulm till, southern Minnesota, Sheryl Filby
• Tempestite deposition in the Ordovician Decorah Formation at the Spring Grove underpass, Charles Lessman
• A fossiliferous till found in New Ulm, Minnesota; Amy P. Moe

Titles of student research projects, 1997

• Colluvial fan at Unimin Plant, Ottawa, MN, Tim Armato
• Character of the old gray till, Sally Gramstad
• Correlation of tills found in south-central Minnesota with those found in north-central Minnesota, Janet Mann
• Geology of the Good Thunder quadrangle, Jason Meek
• Origin of Minnesota Valley terraces, Jared Smith
• Structure contour map of the Jordan Oneota contact, Jon Turner

Titles of student research projects, 1996

• Glacial Lake Lind: Superior Lobe Retreat Rates Based on Varve Thickness Correlation and Identification of Trace Fossils; Kristin L. Addis
• Depositional History and Paleoclimatic Implications of a Collubial Fan near Ottawa, Minnesota; Tim Armato
• Geology of the Good Thunder quadrangle, Jason Meek
• Relationship between gold and silver mineralization within felsic porphyry of the Greenstone Belt in northeastern Minnesota, Michele Mykris
• Petrology of selected Archean rocks, Wade Schulz
• Origin of Minnesota Valley terraces, Jared Smith
• Structure contour map of the Jordan Oneota contact, Jon Turner

Titles of student research projects, 1995

• Paleomagnetism of varve sedimentation in western Minnesota and eastern Wisconsin, Kris Addis
• Colluvial fan at Unimin Plant, Ottawa, MN, Tim Armato
• Geologic Map of the Minnesota River valley, Jon Blaha
• Paleomagnetism studies of Pleistocene varves in northwest Wisconsin, Lisa Ferber
• Paleohydrology and sedimentology of River Warren, Brian Kraatz
• Blue Earth Clay, Tom Marks
• Stomatolite Morphology and Depositional Characteristics of the Lower Ordovician Prarie Du Chien Group, Willow River Member; Andrew McGrath
• Ancient bedrock valleys in southern Minesota and the relationdship of preglacial drainage, Geoff Goodwin
• Mafic Dikes of the Virginia Horn Region; Micheal Don Schlagel

Titles of student research projects, 1994

• Discharge of River Warren calculated from large bedload clasts, Bryan Bear
• River Warren flood deposits near St. Peter, Minnesota; David M. Davis
• Petrographic description and interpretation of the Hornblende-bearing granitoid rocks contained in the Giants Range Batholith, near Virginia, Minnesota, Julie Fitzke
• Stromatolites of the Shakopee Dolomite, Andrew McGrath
• Proterozoic mafic dikes of the Virignia Horn region, Mike Schlagel
• Origin of the New Ulm till. Molly Swenson
• Interpretation of the structural deformation in lake sediments above the Old Gray till, Andrew Tarara

Titles of student research projects, 1993

• Relationship between particle size and slope angle, Kathy Bonnifield
• The Nature of the Depositional Environment of the Hager City Member of the Oneota Formation in the Mankato Area, Southeastern Minnesota, Hans Neve
• The Paleoecological Significance of the Receptaculitid Concentration of the Galena Formation, northeastern Iowa, Anissa Mediger
• The Relationship of a Quartz Porphyry Intrusion to Regional Deformation of Archean Metasediments of the Virginia Horn, Minnesota, Nathan Stamm
• Investigation of Sand and Gravel Terraces of the Minnesota River Valley, St. Peter, Minnesota, David M. Davis
• Alluvial Fan development in the Minnesota River Valley, Cara Larsen