Geological Insights & Event News

Dr. Lesli J. Wood’s talk explores dynamic Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway shelf processes, showing that low net:gross sands such as the Frontier, Mancos B and Gallup were widely dispersed, with unusually large and pervasive hummocky cross stratification driven by powerful waves and plumes. This talk precedes her field trip, “The Tocito, El Vado and Gallup Sands of the San Juan Basin,” which departs tomorrow. In his Prez Sez column, President John Youle thanks officers for their work and urges members to volunteer for vacant officer positions in the Society and Foundation.

Four FLC students present their Senior Theses projects. Adam Robert Parker shows that sand depositional porosity varies mainly with sorting, but grain source also drives ~10% differences, with St. Peter sands lowest and Animas River sands highest. Rachel E. Kinney identifies freeze thaw–formed involution structures in Mesa Verde, indicating past periglacial conditions as low as 2,400 m. Joshua D. Mudge links volcanic clasts in the Telluride Conglomerate to an eroded Laramide volcanic center. Elizabeth Anastasia Hedrick digitizes Camp Bird Mine data to build 3D models for future studies.

Tim Rynott highlights renewed interest in Upper Cretaceous sandstones in the onshore Gulf of Mexico driven by large, deep, high porosity Tuscaloosa discoveries such as the Highlander well, where subsalt imaging and improved completions suggest multi TCF potential. These results are linked to the earlier Davey Jones well and to basin scale sediment pathways that may open 1,000–3,000 sq mi of new exploration. In his column, President John Youle urges members to contribute to the upcoming Oil and Gas Fields of the Four Corners, 1983–2017 volume. A San Juan Basin field trip is announced.

Dr. Julia Wellner’s abstract describes how Antarctic sediment cores, geophysical surveys, and radiometric dating reveal past ice sheet extent, retreat rates, and links to high CO₂ climates. She contrasts diachronous ancient retreats with today’s rapid, widespread change. Her team integrates 3.5 kHz geophysical profiles, multibeam bathymetry, and sediment cores to reconstruct former ice sheet extent, flow speed, and retreat style. A new field trip is announced in early June: The Tocito, El Vado and Gallup Sands of the San Juan Basin with Dr. Leslie Wood.

The August 2016 FCGS newsletter highlights the annual summer picnic and announces fall talks by Marsha W. French, Cat Campbell, Steve Cossey, and Ian Walton. Election results name Rebecca Helms as President, with new and returning officers for both the Society and Foundation. Regional field trip opportunities include the Colorado Groundwater Association’s Manitou Springs Mineral Waters trip and AEG RMS’s Colorado Springs Landslides and Debris Flow Hazards tour.

Dr. Katherine Potter presents results from the 1912 m Kimama core, showing continuous mafic volcanism on the central Snake River Plain for 6.4 Ma, with basalt, loess, and fluvial sands recording steady accumulation and variable magma sources . In his Prez Sez column, President John Youle outlines 2016 goals: a spring field trip in the San Juan Basin, a new FLC research mapping feature, and launching Oil and Gas Fields of the Four Corners, Vol. IV . Regional news includes upcoming meetings, workshops, and the June Tocito, El Vado & Gallup Sands field trip led by Dr. Leslie Wood.