Geological Society of Washington
Minutes for the 1585th Meeting
Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Video Conference via Zoom
President Kori Newman called the meeting to order at 20:03 EST.
Attendance
There were 38 attendees.
Minutes
The meeting began with the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting (1584th). The minutes of the 1584th meeting had been posted online and a Minute’s Minute was read aloud at the 1585th meeting. No corrections were noted, and the minutes were accepted.
Guests and New Members
Four new members were announced: Sophia Campbell, George Washington University; Jan Hellmann, University of Maryland; Valerie Finlayson, University of Maryland; and Janina Czas, Carnegie Institute of Science.
No guests were introduced.
Announcements
1. President Kori Newman announced local science fairs and urged members to contact her if interested in volunteering as a judge.
Obituaries
No obituaries were announced.
Informal Communication
There was no informal communication.
Formal Program
The formal program commenced at 20:10 EST and consisted of three speakers: Patricia Gregg, University of Illinois; Li Wei, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; and Emilie Beaudon, The Ohio State University.
Patricia Gregg, presented “Forecasting volcanic unrest and eruption potential through thermomechanical modeling and geodetic data assimilation.”
Dr. Gregg provided an example of how physical models combined with satellite observations can enable volcano forecasts analogous to weather forecasts. InSAR data collected from satellites was used to measure the inflation rate of the Sierra Negra Volcano in the Galapagos. These observations were used to tune physical parameters of a thermomechanical model and run hundreds of iterations. Using data collected prior to January 2018, the model forecasted an eruption in June-July 2018. Fortuitously, Sierra Negra experienced an eruptive event on June 26 preceded by a Mw 5.3 earthquake. After the eruption, the researchers used available data from satellite measurements to hindcast (or retroactively forecast) and improve their model tuning parameters.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Jamie Allen, National Science Foundation; Keith McLaughlin, Leidos; Larry Meinert, Colorado School of Mines; and Mike Walter, Carnegie Institute for Science.
Li Wei, presented “Reactive Transport Modeling of Microbial Dynamics in Marine Methane Hydrate Systems.”
Li explained how methane hydrate forms in deepwater sedimentary basins through complex microbially-mediated reactions. Sediment grain size exerts a strong control on methanogenesis; high porosity sand hosts many times more microbes than low-porosity mud. Extramicrobial enzymes migrate from sand to mud and convert primary organic carbon in mud layers to high-molecular weight dissolved organic carbon via hydrolysis. Dissolved organic carbon migrates from mud to sand and undergoes further hydrolysis and fermentation to form low-molecular weight dissolved organic carbon and eventually methane. The reactive transport model represents a detailed understanding of how methane hydrate forms and matches observations recorded in deepwater boreholes.
Talk length: 16 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Jamie Allen, National Science Foundation; George Helz, University of Maryland; and Larry Meinert, Colorado School of Mines.
Emilie Beaudon presented “The Paleoenvironmental Value of the Mineral Aerosol Record from the Oldest Tibetan Ice Core.”
Emilie explained mineral dust and how it affects and is affected by the global climate system. Understanding aeolian dust can inform paleoenvironment and climate models. The oldest (>120 thousand years) non-polar ice core in the northern hemisphere was collected from the Guliya glacier in western Kulun mountains of northwestern Tibet in 2015 at the respectable altitude of 6700 m. The well-preserved ice core recorded substantial variability in mineral dust and contained at least two populations discernable as diffuse brown layers and grey dust nodules. The dust samples were subjected to a battery of analytical techniques, including thermal and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis of trace elements, rare earth elements, and Nd and Sr isotopes; and mineralogical characterization by X-ray diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. Dust derived from the Taklimakan desert can be discriminated from other potential source areas, prompting additional work to characterize dust from neighboring regions such as the Qaidam basin and elsewhere.
Talk length: 23 minutes
Questions were asked by: Kori Newman, STR; George Helz, University of Maryland; Mark Tyra, NIST; and Maryann Malinconico, Lafayette College.
President Newman adjourned the meeting at 21:41 EST.
Respectfully submitted,
Graham Lederer
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes for the 1586th meeting
Wednesday, February 8, 2023
John Wesley Powell Auditorium, Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C.
President Kori Newman called the meeting to order at 20:03 EST.
Attendance
There were 26 attendees in person and 28 attendees online.
Minutes
The meeting began with the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting (1585th). The minutes of the 1585th meeting had been posted online and a Minute’s Minute was read aloud at the 1586th meeting. No corrections were noted, and the minutes were accepted.
Guests and New Members
Four new members were announced: Margo Regier, National Academy of Sciences; Isabel Baker, U.S. Naval Research Laboratory; Madison Sanders, STR; and Courtney Wagner, Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.
Several guests were introduced: Allen Lunsford, American University; Eni Awowale, NASA Goddard;
Francesco Civilini, NASA Goddard; Wendy Panero, NSF; Neal Sofge, NASA Goddard; Frank Lemoine, Nasa Goddard; Kabeer Hassan, Capital One Financial; Steve Baedke, James Madison University; and Zoe Wai, NASA Goddard.
Announcements
No announcements were made.
Obituaries
No obituaries were announced.
Informal Communication
An informal communication was presented by Tammy Bravo, Earthscope about the recent earthquakes in Turkey. A presentation is available at the Earthscope teachable moments (https://www.iris.edu/hq/retm). A question was asked by Michael Purucker, Nasa Goddard.
Formal Program
The formal program commenced at 20:20 EST and consisted of three speakers: Jay Pulli, Raytheon BBN Technologies/Weston Observatory; Jingchuan Wang, University of Maryland; and Danielle Sumy, EarthScope.
Jay Pulli presented “Citizen Seismology: How a $400 Seismometer Led to a 4600 Station Global Network.”
Ordinary citizens can participate in science . Seismometers are expensive ($7,000), however recently developed hardware (for example the Raspberry Shake) can be much cheaper to deploy ($400 to $1,200). Beginning with a prototype in 2016, there were 4700 operating seismometers globally in 2022, including in many high schools and in urban areas, such as Washington D.C. The quality of these instruments is comparable to more expensive traditional seismometers and capable of detecting the recent earthquakes in Turkey, blasting from local quarries, and lightning strikes. Using this data, several citizen seismology projects could be attempted such as measuring doppler shift from passing helicopters.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Michael Purucker, Nasa Goddard; Joseph Kanney, NRC; Ved Lekic, University of Maryland; and Neal Sofge, NASA Goddard.
Jingchuan Wang presented “Passive Seismic Monitoring Using Microseismic Noise Sources: Two Case Studies from Alberta, Canada.”
Oil and gas production and wastewater disposal contributes to induced seismicity in the Western Canada sedimentary basin. Continuous (passive) seismic monitoring offers a cheaper alternative to active seismic and higher quality data than intermittent sensors. This technique was used to identify a seismic source that coincided with hydraulic fracturing in the Duverney East shale basin. A second case study focused on monitoring a CO2 injection well experiment designed to test carbon storage and leakage in a shallow (300 m deep) reservoir.
Talk length: 21 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Keith McLaughlin, Leidos; and Francesco Civilini ,Nasa Goddard.
Danielle Sumy presented “Geocoding Applications for Social Science to Improve Earthquake Early Warning.”
Earthquake early warning, such as the ShakeAlert system for the United States, relies on the velocity differences between P- and S-waves to determine the location and likely magnitude of an earthquake and issue warnings. When presented with a warning, the general public requires knowledge of what actions to take (drop, cover, and hold on), but appropriate actions are not always taken. Videos of the 2018 Alaska earthquake illustrate ideal and less ideal behaviors. Video data of earthquakes sourced from social media and elsewhere can be geocoded using open access resources to derive precise coordinates (within 10 m). These locations can be cross-referenced with USGS “Did you feel it?” data to improve earthquake early warning methods and evaluate public response.
Talk length: 19 minutes
Questions were asked by: Michael Purucker, Nasa Goddard; Keith McLaughlin, Leidos; Frank Lemoine, Nasa Goddard; Ved Lekic, University of Maryland; and Kori Newman, STR.
President Newman adjourned the meeting at 21:47 EST.
Respectfully submitted,
Graham Lederer
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes for the 1587th meeting
Wednesday, March 8, 2023
John Wesley Powell Auditorium, Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C. / Hybrid Meeting via Zoom
President Kori Newman called the meeting to order at 20:06 EST.
Attendance
There were 38 attendees in person and 19 attendees online.
Minutes
The meeting began with the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting (1586th). The minutes of the 1586th meeting had been posted online and a Minute’s Minute was read aloud at the 1586th meeting. No corrections were noted, and the minutes were accepted.
Guests and New Members
One new member was announced: Francesco Civilini, NASA GSFC
18 guests were introduced: Rachel Maxwell, NASA; Saffat Shahid, UMD; Katherine Udell Lopez, UMD;
JoAnna Marlow, USGS/SI; Tyler Spano, Oak Ridge National Lab; Zac Hastings, USGS; Alaina Smith,
AGI; Andrea Scroggs, AGI; Austin Neaville, AGI; Jordan Zobel, AGI; Cindy Ebinger, Tulane/State Dept; John Conaty, Agnes Pasco Conaty, NASA; Austin Conaty, Leyla Conaty; Maria Michaela Ninni, U. Penn/Carnegie Institution; John M. Christoph, Smithsonian NMNH; and Michael Keen.
Announcements
Two announcements were made. Kori Newman asked for volunteers for local science fairs. Michael Purucker invited GSW members to participate in a meeting with Dr. Watkins of NASA.
Obituaries
An obituary for GSW member Dean Presnall was read.
Informal Communication
No informal communications were read.
Formal Program
The formal program commenced at 20:25 EST and consisted of three speakers: Laura Sammon, MathWorks; Michael Weber, University of Bonn; Francesco Civilini, NASA GSFC.
Laura Sammon presented “A Joint Geochemical-Geophysical Model for the Deep Continental Crust.”
Studying the composition of the crust is motivated by understanding plate tectonics, elemental abundance, and planetary evolution. Granulite and amphibolite facies metamorphic rock samples were studied because they are thought the represent the composition of the middle and lower continental crust. Earthchem data provided publicly available geochemical data and Perple_X was used to model physical and seismic properties of rocks. Using observed seismic velocities and modeled temperature enabled calculation of crustal composition. Composition was found to be correlated to the relative position within the crustal column (% of crustal depth) rather than absolute depth. Silica decreases with depth but is sensitive to the modeled temperature gradient. Trace elements composition are predicted from seismic velocities based on trace element correlation with silica.
Talk length: 22 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Liz Cottrell, NMNH; Jonathan Tucker, NAS; George Helz, UMD; Yasmina Martos, NASA; and John Christoph, NMNH.
Michael Weber, presented “Antarctic Ice-Sheet Dynamics - past variability and future projections.”
Sea level rise has been increasing since the industrial revolution, but the rate of sea level increase is not constant. Meltwater pulses and global sea level rise during the last glacial maximum show patterns relating deglaciation in the Northern hemisphere to rapid ice sheet melting in Antarctica. The ice-oceanatmosphere system is coupled between the northern and southern hemispheres. Dust records in the longest 800 ka record of Antarctic ice are tightly correlated to magnetic susceptibility of the ocean sediment cores. The ocean sediment cores can be used to extend the high-resolution chronology back to 4 Ma.
Talk length: 21 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Michael Purucker, Nasa Goddard; Cindy Ebinger, Tulane/State Dept; and Laura Sammon, MathWorks.
Francesco Civilini, NASA GSFC — “How to Train Your Lander: Automated Moonquake Detection Using Machine Learning.”
Quakes are rare events, which means most seismic records are empty noise. For planetary seismology, telemetry is necessary to transmit seismic data to Earth, but requires power and receiver time, highlighting the need for a algorithm that can distinguish between seismic signals and noise. The experiment presented here attempted to identify moonquakes using a lightweight, general, and adaptive algorithm trained on earthquakes. The difficult problem of detecting seismic events in a seismogram (amplitude vs. time) can be made simpler by converting the data into a spectrogram (frequency vs. time) using a Fourier transform. A convolutional neural network was trained on hundreds of using a three-layer model and yielded up to 98% accuracy. The pilot study demonstrated that the algorithm worked; and also enabled the first systematic catalog of moonquakes from a dataset collected in the 1970s.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Austin Conaty, NASA; Cindy Ebinger, Tulane/State Dept; Gabriella Farfan, NMNH; Jonathan Tucker, NAS; and Janina Czas, Carnegie Institution.
President Newman adjourned the meeting at 22:00 EST.
Respectfully submitted,
Graham Lederer
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes for the 1588th meeting
Wednesday, March 22, 2023
Video Conference via Zoom
President Kori Newman called the meeting to order at 20:00 EDT.
Attendance
There were 35 attendees online.
Minutes
The meeting began with the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting (1587th). The minutes of the 1587th meeting had been posted online and a Minute’s Minute was read aloud at the 1588th meeting. One correction was noted, and the minutes were accepted as amended.
Guests and New Members
No new members were announced.
Four guests were introduced: Dave Sheppard, NASA; Gordan Bjoraker, NASA; Rachel Maxwell, NASA; and Matt Purucker.
Announcements
One announcements were made. Kori Newman asked for volunteers for local science fairs. Michael Purucker invited GSW members to participate in a meeting with Dr. Watkins of NASA.
Obituaries
No obituaries were read.
Informal Communication
One informal communication was shared by Scott Johnson about UNAVCO and IRIS merging to become the Earthscope Consortium.
Formal Program
The formal program commenced at 20:22 EDT and consisted of three speakers: James Head, Brown University; Joseph Kirschvink, Caltech/ELSI; and Devin Smith, Ohio State University.
James Head presented “China’s Lunar and Planetary Exploration Program: Past Accomplishments and the Road Ahead.”
Unlike other countries, China’s space program consists of hundreds of individual organizations that operate efficiently. The Chang’e-5 through Chang’e-8 lunar missions were discussed as a prelude to human landing in 2030.
Talk length: 18 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Michael Purucker, NASA; and Cynthia Ebinger, Tulane University.
Joseph Kirschvink presented “The Archean Origin of Magnetofossils.”
Magnetite was first recognized as a biomineral in the 1970s by studying molluscan teeth in chitons that have hardness greater than limestone rock. Magnetite crystals have been observed in many different animal cells, including human brain cells. Magnetofossils have characteristic such as being chemically pure, defect-free lattice, and other properties. Recent genomic evidence suggests that magnetite-generating bacteria are among the oldest type of bacteria, likely evolving before the great oxidation event. A chert unit from the Barberton greenstone belt dated at 2.47 Ga contains magnetite with characteristic biological origin and overlaps in age with Martian specimens.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: George Helz, University of Maryland; James Head, Brown University; and Courtney Wagner, Smithsonian.
Devin Smith presented, “The Biogeochemistry of Intact, Degraded, and Deforested Irish Blanket Bog.”
A blanket bog is a peatland with more organic matter deposition than decomposition. Peatlands store about 30% of global soil carbon despite representing less than 3% of land area. The study catchment in Ireland contains intact, degraded, and afforested portions. After a rainfall event, the intact catchment experiences a prolonged period of flow, compared to the degraded catchment that experiences are shorter pulse of high flow. From upstream to downstream in the Fiddanduff River, bog water influence in the water chemistry changes to bedrock influence, as shown in Ca, Mg concentrations. The afforested catchment was
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: President Newman
President Newman adjourned the meeting at 21:40 EDT.
Respectfully submitted,
Graham Lederer
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes for the 1589th meeting
Wednesday, April 12, 2023
John Wesley Powell Auditorium, Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C.
President Kori Newman called the meeting to order at 20:02 EDT.
Attendance
There were 35 attendees.
Minutes
The meeting began with the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting (1588th). The minutes of the 1588th meeting had been posted online and a Minute’s Minute was read aloud at the 1589th meeting. No corrections were noted, and the minutes were accepted.
Guests and New Members
Five new members were announced: Sam Scher, LKI; Deborah Glickson, Rachel Maxwell, Katherine Peterson; Cynthia Ebinger, Tulane University/State Department.
Six guests were introduced: Darcy McPhee, USGS; Robert Tyler, NASA Goddard; Suzanne Kopich, NASA Goddard; Carsten Oertel, Mitre; Anna Bidgood, Carnegie Institute; and Jenny Riker, USGS.
Announcements
No announcements were made.
Obituaries
No obituaries were read.
Informal Communication
No informal communications were read.
Formal Program
The formal program commenced at 20:10 EDT and consisted of three speakers: Joshua Elliott, DARPA; Thomas Pratt, USGS; and Maria Honeycutt, ATKINS.
Joshua Elliott presented “AI for Critical Minerals Assessment.”
Secure supplies of critical minerals needed for national and economic security motivated the Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA) to work with the USGS to identify opportunities for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (AI/ML) to enhance mineral resource assessment workflows. The goal was to reduce the time required to conduct an assessment and enable scientists to make their analysis more transparent and reproducible. Georeferencing and digitizing geologic maps was identified as a major time constraint and formed the basis for two machine learning competitions. External performers competed for cash prizes and submitted solutions. The next steps of implementing proofs on concepts were discussed.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Michael Purucker, Nasa Goddard; Cynthia Ebinger, Tulane/State Dept; Kevin Marvel, American Astronomical Society; Ved Lekic, UMD; Mong-Han Huang, UMD; Linda Rowan, CRS
Thomas Pratt presented “Rocking and rolling in the east: Using precariously balanced rocks to constrain earthquake ground motions in the eastern U.S.”
Seismic records and written historical accounts extend only to a limited period of recent history. Precariously balanced rocks, or boulders that are susceptible to toppling during strong group motion, serve as natural instruments sensitive to seismic events that can be used to extend a seismic hazard record to the Pleistocene. The slenderness angle, or angle between contact points of a rock and its substrate, represents a key variable that can be calculated using three-dimensional photogrammetry. Peak ground velocity and peak ground acceleration are strong predictors of whether a boulder will topple and can be related to earthquake magnitude and distance from the epicenter. By measuring boulders across the Northeast, including a study site at the Peaks of Otter in Virginia, and modeling the ground motion required to topple it, a contour map of maximum earthquake magnitude experienced over the last 15,000 to 20,000 years was generated.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Cynthia Ebinger, Tulane/State Department; Mong-Han Huang, UMD; Ved Lekic, UMD; Madison Sanders, STR; Larry Meinert, USGS (retired); Rosalind Helz, USGS; Dan Doctor, USGS; Graham Lederer, USGS.
Maria Honeycutt presented “Playing the Long Game: The Fits and Starts (Mostly Fits) of Transforming National Flood Policy.”
Science ambassadors serve an important function in bridging the technical information scientists provide with the complex needs decision-makers have for information. Floodplain management represents an illustrative example, where 100-year floodplain maps are recognized as insufficient for policy-making needs owing to their inherent dependence on retrospective data and underestimation of risk associated with climate change. Simplistic recommendations, such as adding 2 to 3 feet of freeboard to 500-year floodplain maps are not easily implemented and do not utilize current science. From recent experience, there remains a need for maps and decision-support tools that consider the latest science data and projections to help organization such as HUD and FEMA implement informed policy.
Talk length: 22 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Keith Mclaughlin, Leidos; Cynthia Ebinger, Tulane/State Department; Ved Lekic, UMD; Sasha Malu, U.S. House of Representatives; and Dan Doctor, USGS.
President Newman adjourned the meeting at 21:56 EDT.
Respectfully submitted,
Graham Lederer
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes for the 1590th meeting
Wednesday, May 3, 2023
John Wesley Powell Auditorium, Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C.
President Kori Newman called the meeting to order at 20:00 EDT.
Attendance
There were 30 attendees.
Minutes
The meeting began with the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting (1589th). The minutes of the 1589th meeting had been posted online and a Minute’s Minute was read aloud at the 1590th meeting. No corrections were noted, and the minutes were accepted.
Guests and New Members
No new members were announced.
Seven guests were introduced: Gifford Wong (IDA), Olivia Cozette (High School science fair winner), Keaton van Bareren (mother of Olivia), Walter Clark (NOAA), Adam Smith, Tom Neumann (NASA GSFC), and Michael Croteau (NASA GSFC).
Announcements
Two announcements were made.
1. President Newman announced the winner of the GSW science fair award and presented her with a fine rock specimen for her collection.
2. Secretary Lederer announced a vacancy this fall for Meeting Secretary – interested parties may contact him directly.
Obituaries
No obituaries were read.
Informal Communication
No informal communications were read.
Formal Program
The formal program commenced at 20:12 EDT and consisted of three speakers: Walt Clark, U.S. National Ice Center; Michael J Croteau, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; and Tom Neumann, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
Walt Clark presented “Using Geophysical Environmental data to support operations in Sea & Lake Ice.”
The United States National Ice Center provides information and services that enable economic activity, naval operations, and ship-borne navigation in the oceans as well as the Great Lakes and Chesapeake Bay. Using satellite data and imagery, including passive microwave, visible, infrared, and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instrumentation allows for imaging of polar regions. SAR provides surface roughness, which can be interpreted as a proxy for ice thickness. For example, when imagery showed thicker ice in the southern part of Lake Erie ships could be routed north to save time and reduce the need for a Coast Guard icebreaker escort. Other case studies include polar ice monitoring, coupled modeling, ice thickness forecasts, and taconite and coal transportation in the Great Lakes.
Talk length: 22 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Mong-Han Huang, UMD; Larry Meinert, USGS (retired); Graham Lederer, USGS; Michael Purucker, Nasa Goddard; and Beth Doyle, NVCC
Mike Croteau presented “Weighing the Cryosphere and monitoring its changes with the GRACE Follow-On satellite mission.”
Earth’s gravity field changes through time as well as spatially, with highs observed in ice covered mountains. The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and follow-on missions involve a pair of satellites in synchronous orbit. As the lead satellite passes a gravity high, it accelerates, and the distance between the two is measured very precisely (e.g. microns over 100s of kilometers). The data series, beginning in 2002, provides a monthly snapshot of Earth’s gravity field at a resolution appropriate for observing basin-scale processes acting on the hydrosphere, cryosphere, and solid earth. For example, estimates from GRACE data show that Greenland is losing 266 Gt of ice per year while Antarctica is losing 150 Gt/y with potential for catastrophic loss of 1000 Gt per year if West Antarctica Ice Sheet melts. The GRACE missions provide the data needed to effectively “weigh” the ice sheets and quantify their contributions to global sea level rise.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Ved Lekic, UMD; Olivia Cozette, High School science fair winner; Mong-Han Huang, UMD; Jonathan Tucker, NAS; Larry Meinert, USGS (retired); Michael Purucker, Nasa Goddard; Greg Neumann NASA Goddard; Sam Scher, LKI Consulting
Tom Neumann presented “Measuring our changing Cryosphere one photon at a time.”
ICESat-2 uses lasers to measure distances and angles from space to Earth. The three-beams of green 532 nm-wavelength lasers have a footprint of 11 m spaced 70 cm apart. Measuring the 2-way travel time of photons reveals thick surfaces of returns which coincide with the land surface, water surface, bathymetry, and tree canopy heights. Two example applications were measuring the change in height through time of the ice sheet in Antarctica, as well as the height of sea ice above the water line.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Mong-Han Huang, UMD; Mike Weber, University of Bohn; Ved Lekic, UMD; Graham Lederer, USGS, Sam Scher, LKI Consulting; Jonathan Tucker, NAS; Michael Purucker, NASA Goddard; Greg Neumann, NASA Goddard; Mike Croteau, NASA Goddard; Larry Meinert, USGS (retired); Kori Newman, STR.
President Newman adjourned the meeting at 21:50 EDT.
Respectfully submitted,
Graham Lederer
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes for the 1591st Meeting
Wednesday, September 13, 2023
American Geophysical Union / Hybrid Meeting Via Zoom
President Kori Newman called the meeting to order at 20:08 EDT.
Attendance
There were 33 attendees in person and 29 attendees online via Zoom.
Minutes
The meeting began with the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting (1590th). The minutes of the 1590th meeting had been posted online and a Minute’s Minute was read aloud at the 1590th meeting. No corrections were noted, and the minutes were accepted as read.
Guests and New Members
Two new members were announced: Kuan-Yu Lin, University of Delaware; and Nitin Kadam, Smithsonian Institution.
Nine guests were introduced: Nick Kellermann, STR; Lisa Ritter, STR, Noah Fleischer, ECS; Sarah Hall, AAAS; Richard Lewis, DTRA; Chuck Estabrook, NOAA; Hunter Gabbard, DARPA; Anne Van Horne, University of Wyoming; Bob Kieckhefer, Thailand.
Announcements
One announcement was made.
1. Secretary Lederer announced a vacancy for Meeting Secretary – interested individuals may contact him directly.
Obituaries
No obituaries were read.
Informal Communication
No informal communications were read.
Formal Program
The formal program commenced at 20:20 EDT and with the Bradley lecture entitled “Precision Seismology, with Applications to Signal Old and New” delivered by Paul G. Richards of Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University.
Seismology is an observational science. When earthquakes occur, many types of seismic waves (P-waves, S-waves, etc.) are produced and travel through the earth. Detectors on the Earth’s surface, called seismometers, record the waves as they pass by, producing a record called a seismogram. Traditional methods measure the difference in time between the first arrival of the P-wave and the first arrival of the S-wave; because the waves travel through the Earth at different velocities, the time difference in the arrivals can be used to calculate the distance from the origin point of the earthquake. Using at least three seismometers, these distances can be triangulated to determine the location of an earthquake to within about 10 to 20 km. The traditional methods, however, are limited by three fundamental flaws: 1) only a small faction of the information in a seismogram is used, 2) the first-arrival signals are small, and 3) converting time to distance requires knowledge of the Earth’s interior. More precise seismological observations can be made by using the entire waveform contained in a seismogram. By studying earthquake doublets, which are seismic events that produce nearly identical seismograms, more information about the interior of the earth and more precise locations and timing of seismic events can be obtained.
Three applications of precision seismology were presented: 1) measuring the seismic anisotropy of the Earth’s solid inner core; 2) delineating faults in China; and 3) quantifying the timing of nuclear tests from historical seismic records. The existence of the Earth’s solid inner core was proposed by Danish seismologist Inge Lehmann in 1936. A theoretical consequence of the inner core consisting of a solid crystal of iron is that seismic waves would propagate faster in one direction than another, a phenomenon known as anisotropy. By measuring earthquakes originating in the South Sandwich Islands recorded on seismic stations in Alaska, and overlaying seismograms measured 15 years apart, Xiaodong Song observed that waves passing through the inner core arrived at different times, leading him to conclude not only is the inner core anisotropic, it rotates on timescales observable by humans. China experiences many earthquakes, which are clustered along major faults. By using earthquake doublets and full waveforms recorded over 20 years, individual fault surfaces were delineated to within 2 km. Similarly, using 5 years of data in Mongolia and “template” examples of large earthquakes allowed for the recognition of 33x more events, or microseisms, that are not easily discernable by the human eye. Some of these events are anthropogenic, such as those induced by chemical explosions from coal mining in Russia, and can be recognized by the time of day and day of week they occur. Lastly, many nuclear tests were conducted in the 1950s through 1970s prior to the test ban treaty and recorded by analog methods. By digitizing paper seismograms and using records from of the Trinity program in New Mexico, the precise origin time of the nuclear test was determined. The event has historical significance as the first test of the implosion principle of a plutonium core in 1945 and was previously recorded incorrectly by 1 hour owing to a misinterpretation of Mountain War Time.
Talk length: 50 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Liz Cottrell, Smithsonian; Larry Meinert, GSW past-president; Mong-Han Huang, UMD; Michael Purucker, NASA Goddard; Chuck Estabrook, NOAA; Ved Lekic, UMD; and George Helz, UMD.
President Newman adjourned the meeting at 21:47 EDT.
Respectfully submitted,
Graham Lederer
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes for the 1592nd meeting
Wednesday, October 4th, 2023
John Wesley Powell Auditorium, Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C
President Kori Newman called the meeting to order at 20:00 EDT.
Attendance
There were 53 attendees in person.
Minutes
The meeting began with the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting (1591st). The minutes of the 1591st meeting had been posted online and a Minute’s Minute was read aloud at the 1592nd meeting. No corrections were noted, and the minutes were accepted as read.
Guests and New Members
No new members were announced.
Ten guests were introduced: Robert Whitten; Julien Rojas, Carnegie Institution, Oded Elazar, Carnegie
Institution; Anna Bidgood, Carnegie Institution; Karin Lehnigk, Georgia Tech; John Christoph, NMNH; Ashley Gonzales, GWU; Elisabeth Herndler, Luxembourg Embassy; Sourabh Shubham, UMD; Jeremy Warner, NASA Goddard
Announcements
One announcement was made.
The GSW will also be having a daylong field trip on Saturday, Nov. 4, which will include a stop along the falls of the James River in downtown Richmond, VA.
Obituaries
No obituaries were read.
Informal Communication
An informal communication was presented by Greg Neumann about the Osiris-REx mission to the Nightingale landing site on the asteroid Bennu. A sample containing 250 g of material was recovered and successfully returned to Earth in 2023.
Formal Program
The formal program commenced at 20:20 EDT and consisted of three speakers: Yarieska Collado-Vega, NASA Goddard; Megan Mouser, Carnegie Institution; and Shoshana Weider, NASA.
Dr. Collado-Vega presented “Moon to Mars Space Weather Analysis Office: Support for NASA missions and the Artemis program.”
Space weather, predominantly influenced by the sun, involves factors such as solar flares and coronal mass ejections. Solar flares, which take 8 minutes to reach Earth, impact our magnetosphere, while coronal mass ejections result in geomagnetic storms, auroras, and disruptions like GPS signal loss and satellite interference. To observe and understand these phenomena, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is positioned at the L1 point, shielding the sun's glare. Solar energetic particles pose challenges for instruments and astronauts by affecting Earth's magnetosphere. The M2M Space Weather Analysis Office provides support for missions and collaborates with agencies like NOAA, operating around the clock for lunar missions under Artemis. They employ human-in-the-loop analysis to validate predictions. NASA's Space Radiation Analysis Group (SRAG) initiated a scoreboard for space weather analysis. Models utilize observations, some fully automated, while ISEP, a web tool with customizable layouts, aids in monitoring. The M2M office ensures model functionality and handles anomaly assessments. Solar activity varies, with periods of calm during solar minimum and turbulence during solar maxima. The R2O2R pipeline is responsible for developing tools and models to enhance space weather analysis and prediction.
Talk length: 21 minutes.
Questions were asked by John Christoph, Smithsonian; Mong-Han Huang, UMD; Brooks Hanson, AGU; Greg Neumann, NASA; and Jonathon Tucker, National Academies.
Dr. Mouser presented “Exploring early planetary formation processes using high-pressure, hightemperature experimental techniques.”
The magma ocean hypothesis suggests that rocky bodies like Mercury were either partially or fully molten due to the heat generated by the decay of 26Al and 60Fe, as well as impacts. Cooling led to differentiation, resulting in compositional variations. Compositional information is obtained through magnetic field observations, indicating a liquid outer core, and seismic data revealing details about the mantle. Experimental petrology can investigate the effects of high pressure and high temperature on samples, such as Mercury's composition with or without sulfur. The Moon possesses a flotation crust of plagioclase, and Mercury may have had a graphite crust. Meteorites provide evidence of differentiation in non-planetary-sized bodies. Experiments involving silicate and iron metal show that at lower temperatures, metal remains immobile, while at higher temperatures, it becomes mobile.
Talk length: 18 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Mike Ackerson, Smithsonian; Larry Meinert, USGS retired; John Christoph, Smithsonian; and Jonathan Tucker, National Academies.
Dr. Weider presented “Mercury Exploration: Past, Present, and Future.”
Mercury, challenging to observe due to its proximity to the Sun, was initially dismissed as uninteresting, with early missions covering only 45% of its surface. The Messenger mission (2011-2015) changed this, equipped with various instruments like magnetometers and spectrometers. It revealed Mercury's substantial core and high metal-to-silicate ratio, which conflicted with the giant impact hypothesis, and utilized XRF for planetary mapping. This uncovered geochemical terranes independent of geomorphologic ones, whose significance remains uncertain. The upcoming BepiColombo mission (arriving in 2025) is equipped with a diverse instrument payload, aiming to address these mysteries and take surface images, record mineralogy, magnetism, and seismology. The low reflectance of Mercury's surface may be due to graphite, making landing missions with imaging capabilities a possibility.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by Larry Meinert, USGS retired; George Helz, UMD; and Victor Zabielski, NVCC
President Newman adjourned the meeting at 21:36 EDT.
Respectfully submitted,
Graham Lederer
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes for the 1593rd meeting
Wednesday, October 25th, 2023
Video Conference via Zoom
President Kori Newman called the meeting to order at 20:00 EDT.
Attendance
There were 47 attendees online.
Minutes
The meeting began with the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting (1592nd). The minutes of the 1592nd meeting had been posted online and a Minute’s Minute was read aloud at the 1593rd meeting.
Guests and New Members
Two new members were announced: Mara Cox and Robert Blandford
No guests were introduced.
Announcements
One announcement was made about the upcoming GSW fall field trip to Richmond area.
Obituaries
No obituaries were read.
Informal Communication
No informal communications were read.
Formal Program
The formal program commenced at 20:20 EDT and consisted of three speakers: Geoffrey S. Ellis, USGS Denver; Jack Conrad, Nasa Marshall Space Flight Center; Kathryn Watts, USGS Spokane.
Geoff Ellis presented “Geologic hydrogen: an overlooked potential primary clean energy resource.”
Although natural hydrogen in the subsurface of the Earth is well documented in a variety of geologic environments, economic accumulations of natural hydrogen have generally been assumed to be nonexistent. Recent discoveries in Africa and elsewhere have challenged this notion, and there is a growing acknowledgement that geoscientists have not looked for natural hydrogen in the right places with the right tools. Model predictions based on the known behavior of hydrogen in the subsurface and geologic analogues indicate a global resource potential in the millions of megatonnes (Mt), a fraction of which could meet projected demand for hydrogen for hundreds of years. While much is known about the occurrence of subsurface hydrogen (e.g., generation mechanisms, consumptive processes, etc.), there is currently a lack of understanding of the processes and settings that are most conducive to the formation of significant accumulations of hydrogen. To develop effective strategies for exploration and assessment of geologic hydrogen resources, a comprehensive framework is required that could lead to the discovery of economic hydrogen accumulations.
The U.S. Geological Survey has developed a “hydrogen system” model for understanding the potential generation of economic accumulations of geologic hydrogen based on the “petroleum systems” concept. The essential components that make up the models (e.g., source, migration pathway, reservoir, seals, etc.) are the same but the details of each of the components vary and may not be directly comparable. Given our nascent understanding of geologic hydrogen, many components of the hydrogen system are highly uncertain. However, the uncertainty associated with each of the essential components of the hydrogen system can be estimated and used to assign risk. This presentation will discuss what is known about the potential for natural hydrogen resources, the geologic model for natural hydrogen accumulation that has been developed, and the major gaps in our current understanding. Additionally, details of ongoing efforts to map hydrogen prospectivity across the US and plans for further research to refine the hydrogen system model, improve geologic hydrogen prospectivity mapping capabilities, and reduce the associated uncertainty (i.e., risk) will be presented.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Maryann Malinconico, Lafayette College; John Christoph NAS, Bill Burton, USGS emeritus; Jamie Allen, NSF
Jack Conrad presented “Sampling geologic properties of Mars’ crust with secondary crater clusters.”
When a meteorite impacts into a planetary surface, most of the material thrown out through the force of the impact rains back down and generates many thousands to millions of other impact craters. Those secondary craters, while an annoyance for those who count craters to determine surface ages, present an opportunity to directly measure crustal property differences of bordering geologic units. Statistics of secondary crater clusters that cross geologic units allow us to collapse crater scaling equations to depend on just the differences in crustal properties like strength and porosity. We have applied this technique to a few areas on Mars, but the sharpest contrast we measured was at the boundary between a geologically young volcanic plain and the landslide deposits of Olympus Mons. A cluster of secondaries show an average diameter difference of ~1.5:1 with the smaller craters in the landslide deposit. This points towards comparatively higher porosity in the landslide with a minimum porosity of ~40% in the upper hundred meters. Finding more locations to apply this technique could help solve the missing middle problem of Mars and other inner solar system worlds.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Bill Burton, USGS emeritus; Victor Zabielski, NVCC; Graham Lederer, USGS; Mark Tyra, NIST
Kathryn Watts, USGS Spokane presented “Mining the science of the Nation’s rare earth element deposit at Mountain Pass, CA.”
For over fifty years, the Mountain Pass rare earth element deposit has been at the forefront of technological revolutions. From color television sets to cell phones, to permanent magnets, rare earth elements (lanthanides) have filled essential applications that cannot be replicated by other parts of the periodic table. Given their importance to the Nation's economy and vulnerability to supply disruption, the rare earth elements constitute about a third of the USGS 2022 Final List of Critical Minerals (Federal Register notice 87 FR 10381). USGS science on the Mountain Pass deposit dates back to its discovery in the Mojave Desert in 1949. Economic rare earth element mineralization is hosted in a carbonatite stock associated with a belt of ~1.4 Ga alkaline silicate intrusions in southeastern California. Bastnäsite, a light rare earth element-bearing fluorocarbonate mineral, LREE(CO3)F, is the dominant ore mineral. Integrated USGS research on the geology, geophysics, geochronology, petrology, and economic geology of the Mountain Pass deposit is yielding new insights into its formation and geologic context.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Larry Meinert, USGS retired; Bill Burton, USGS; Jamie Allen, NSF; Dalton McCaffrey, USGS
President Newman adjourned the meeting at 22:02 EDT.
Respectfully submitted,
Graham Lederer
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes for the 1594th meeting
Wednesday, November 8th, 2023
John Wesley Powell Auditorium, Cosmos Club, Washington, D.C
President Kori Newman called the meeting to order at 20:00 EDT.
Attendance
There were 55 attendees.
Minutes
The meeting began with the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting (1593rd). The minutes of the 1593rd meeting had been posted online and a Minute’s Minute was read aloud at the 1594th meeting.
Guests and New Members
No new members were announced.
Fifteen guests were introduced: Elisa Alonso, USGS; Dalton McCaffery, USGS; John Ryder, USGS; Max Frenzel (HZDR); Laura Buarque Andrade (HZDR); Carola Emkou (U. Kansas); Claudia Carabajal, NASA; Ross Salerno, USGS; Joshua Martin, GSA; Damien Gaul DOE; Allen Lunsford, NASA; Kumiko Matsui, Smithsonian; Robert Whitten; Carina Poulin, NASA; Pierre-Phillipe Racine, Michelin.
Announcements
One announcement was made about the reinvigoration of the Association for Women Geoscientists - DMV Chapter. Please contact Bev Walker.
Obituaries
No obituaries were read.
Informal Communication
Dan Doctor read an informal communication about the GSW fall field trip to the Richmond area, including the North Anna Battlefield Park and other geological points of interest.
Formal Program
The formal program commenced at 20:16 EDT and consisted of three speakers: Jason Dworkin (NASA); Jack Connerney (NASA); and Anna Behrensmeyer (Smithsonian Institution).
Jason Dworkin presented, “OSIRIS-REx delivered a sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth.”
NASA’s New Frontiers mission OSIRIS-REx was selected in May 2011 and launched in September 2016. It arrived at near-Earth asteroid Bennu in December 2018 and spent two years studying the small asteroid before collecting a sample in October 2020. OSIRIS-REx returned the sample to Earth in September 2023 to begin decades of scientific analysis of this organic-rich ancient fragment of the early solar system. The presentation will describe the mission implementation, what it found, what the sample has started to tell us, and what the plans are for the future.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Bill Burton, USGS; Mong-Han Huang, UMD; Victor Zabielski, NVCC; Mike Purucker, NASA; John Christoph, Smithsonian; Keith McLaughlin, Leidos; Mark Tyra, NIST; Karen Leonard, Georgia Tech; John Rapetski, USGS.
Jack Connerney presented “The Juno Magnetic Field Investigation: Dust from Mars, the Zodiacal Light, and a Comet Discovered in Flight.”
The Juno Magnetic Field Investigation carries dedicated nonmagnetic star cameras with the boom-mounted magnetic sensors to provide accurate attitude information at the sensor. One of our star cameras was programmed to look for luminous objects traveling across the field of view that were not among those in the on-board star catalog. This functionality serendipitously allowed the Juno spacecraft traveling from Earth to Jupiter to record the impact of interplanetary dust particles throughout its journey to Jupiter. This provided the first measurement of the dust population responsible for the Zodiacal light and identified a surprising source of these particles. We also recorded a singular burst of interplanetary dust impacts attributed to passage through the extended tail of a comet. That comet has now been identified as the recently discovered Jupiter family comet P/2019 S3 PanSTARRS (SPKID 1003641), affording a unique opportunity to characterize the dynamical motion of the dust tail. Dust impacting the spacecraft orbits under the influence of radiation pressure forces and gravity (ratio b = ~0.05), escaping the comet nucleus ~2 years prior to impact and ~1 year post comet perihelion. Impacting dust, with an implied radius of ~10 microns, escaped the comet nucleus with a radial velocity of ~120 ms-1 , appropriate to a comet with a radius of a few km.
Talk length: 22 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Mike Purucker, NASA; Mike Ackerson, Smithsonian; Kori Newman, STR; John Christoph, Smithsonian;
Anna K. Behrensmeyer presented “What is Taphonomy, and why does it matter?”
Nearly all the organisms that have ever lived were recycled into new life rather than fossilized. How do paleontologists turn limited samples into broad understanding of evolution and ecology over time? Taphonomy was originally defined as the study of the “transition from the biosphere to the lithosphere”, with the larger goal of using knowledge of fossil preservation to reconstruct plant and animal communities through geological time. Since its beginnings in the 1940’s, the field has generated a wealth of new understanding about taphonomic processes and biases in both modern ecosystems and fossil-bearing strata through 3.5+ billion years of life on our planet and is contributing to the search for life on Mars. In human evolution, taphonomy provides evidence and perspectives on how and where our ancestors lived and died, their changing ecological roles, and our recent emergence as a global-scale ecosystem engineer.
Talk length: 20 minutes.
Questions were asked by: Bill Burton, USGS; Graham Lederer, USGS; Mike Purucker, NASA.
President Newman adjourned the meeting at 19:45 EDT.
Respectfully submitted,
Graham Lederer
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes for the 1595th meeting
Wednesday, December 6th, 2023
American Geophysical Union / Hybrid Meeting via Zoom
President Kori Newman called the meeting to order at 20:00 EDT.
Attendance
There were 55 attendees.
Minutes
The meeting began with the approval of the minutes from the previous meeting (1594th). The minutes of the 1594th meeting had been posted online and a Minute’s Minute was read aloud at the 1595th meeting.
Guests and New Members
No new members were announced. Four guests were introduced: Steve and Lynn Shirey, Carnegie Institute of Science; Anne Pommier, Carnegie Institute of Science; and Wriju Chowdhury, Smithsonian Institute.
Announcements
Kori Newman, outreach chair, announced a request for surplus swag from AGU to give as prizes for science fair awards.
Obituaries
No obituaries were read.
Informal Communication
No informal communications were read.
Formal Program
The formal program commenced at 20:16 EDT with First Vice President Dan Doctor introducing President Kori Newman. President Newman delivered her President’s Address entitled “Geoscience Applications Supporting Improvements to Landmine Detection Systems.”
Land mine detection has evolved from simple methods involving the use of sticks, metal detectors, and trained rats, to sophisticated instrumentation, like that deployed on Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles. The U.S. military utilized MRAPs, such as the Husky, to lead vehicle convoys in areas like Afghanistan where land mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) present a threat to vehicle movement. Vehicles are equipped with different types of sensors that detect anomalies indicative of the presence of land mines in real time while the convoy advances at a slow rate. One type of sensor used detects hyperbolic shapes in the subsurface and is sensitive to soil moisture. Another type of system uses sound and vibration imaging (SAVI) which involves a loudspeaker causing a land mine to vibrate at a particular resonant frequency and a laser to measure the vibration. Improvements to these technologies require better knowledge of the subsurface conditions, such as soil moisture, consolidation of sediment, and seismic imaging techniques. Geoscientists, therefore, have knowledge, skills, and experience that can directly benefit the development of defense applications.
Talk length: 54 minutes.
As per GSW tradition, no questions were asked after this Presidential address. President Newman adjourned the meeting at 19:10 EDT.
Respectfully submitted,
Graham Lederer
Geological Society of Washington
Minutes for the 131st Annual Meeting
Wednesday, December 6th, 2023
American Geophysical Union / Hybrid Meeting via Zoom
DRAFT MINUTES – WILL BE APPROVED AT THE 2024 ANNUAL MEETING
The 131st Annual Meeting of the Society was called to order at 9:15 P.M. by President Kori Newman following her presidential address, Geoscience Applications Supporting Improvements to Landmine Detection Systems.
REPORTS
Council Secretary
Beth Doyle reported that the GSW Council held a hybrid meeting on December 4; attendance was excellent. Council approved the minutes of the last council meeting. Discussion centered around ways to increase membership. A motion was made and accepted to have a dedicated social media and outreach committee. It was also agreed to have a dedicated Graybook Revision committee. Council approved the slate of officers and the meeting dates. The current planning for 2024 meeting formats is for the Bradley Lecture and the President’s Address/Annual Meeting to be hybrid. The rest will be either virtual or in-person. Meeting locations will be primarily at the Cosmos Club. A least one, in April will be at the Carnegie Institution for Science. This April meeting is tentatively set to be a student showcase with posters or lightning talks to draw in new members and entice them with monetary awards.
Meeting Secretary
Graham Lederer reported the following statistics of the ten meetings
of the Society in 2023:
|
Min |
min. mean max. |
||
|
attendees |
30 |
46.6 |
62 |
|
guests |
0 |
7.8 |
18 |
|
announcements |
0 |
1 |
2 |
|
Informal comm. |
0 |
0.4 |
1 |
|
questions |
6 |
13 |
24 |
|
length (min.) |
91 |
105.5 |
122 |
www.gswweb.org
The format of four meetings were in-person, three were held virtually and the remaining three were hybrid. Mike Purucker took the honors of Grand Inquisitor, narrowly beating out Larry Meinert. Lederer said that if question uniqueness was weighted, then Purucker extends his lead and other questioners, like Kori Newman climb in the ranks.
Treasurer
Mark Fuhrmann reported the finances of the Society for the fiscal year ending June 30th, 2023, as follows:
|
Total Income |
|
$12,805.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
Costs |
|
|
|
Meetings |
|
7,627.30 |
|
Speaker Dinners |
|
1,439.34 |
|
Bradley Lecture |
|
486.00 |
|
Awards |
|
385.00 |
|
Insurance |
|
653.00 |
|
AGI |
|
100.00 |
|
MSA Back-Office |
|
3,396.45 |
|
PayPal |
|
303.73 |
|
Miscellaneous |
|
10.28 |
|
Web Upgrade |
|
8.72 |
|
Total |
|
14,409.82 |
|
|
|
|
|
Surplus/ Deficit |
|
-1,604.82 |
|
|
|
|
|
Invested Funds |
|
|
|
Bradley Fund |
|
79,591.24 |
|
Endowment fund |
|
146,729.23 |
|
Total |
|
226,320.47 |
|
|
|
|
|
Bank Statement |
|
11,533.04 |
Audit Committee
Andy Campbell reported that he audited the treasurer’s report and that it was found to be verifiable. Roz Helz moved that the auditor’s report be adopted; this passed without objection
Membership Committee
Dan Doctor presented Sarah Penniston-Dorland’s report that total members have declined slightly from 234 to 223; student members commonly do not renew; early career members have increased from 10 to 19. As a means of increasing member engagement, Doctor said that his intent as president will be to hold in-person meetings as often as possible. He will also be sending out membership renewal reminders. He thanked Penniston-Dorland for this report.
Public Service Committee
Kori Newman reported that the winner of the Northern Virginia Regional Science Fair presented her poster at the May 3rd meeting.
Awards Committee
Keith McLaughlin presented the following awards:
· The Bradley Prize for the best formal scientific talk was to Anna K. Behrensmeyer of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History for her talk on November 8th, What is Taphonomy, and why does it matter?
· The prize for second-best formal talk was to Shoshana Weider of NASA for her talk on October 4, on Mercury Exploration: Past, Present, and Future.
· The Great Dane Award for the best informal communication to the Society of timely or newsworthy events was to Tammy Bravo of EarthScope for her update on the destructive magnitude 7.9 earthquake in Turkey.
Tim Mock presented the Sleeping Bear award for genuine good humor at meetings to Hmong-Han Huang and Ved Lekic, both of the University of Maryland. Honorable mentions were awarded to Jim Head of Brown University and Graham Lederer of the U.S. Geological Survey.
BUSINESS OF THE DAY
Nominations
Larry Meinert, as chair of the Nominations Committee, presented the following slate of officers, as approved by the Council on December 4th:
President: Dan Doctor (U.S. Geological Survey),
First Vice President: Ved Lekić (University of Maryland),
Second Vice President: Mike Ackerson (Smithsonian),
Meeting Secretary: Mike Purucker (NASA Goddard),
Council Secretary: Beth Doyle (Northern Virginia Community College),
Treasurer: Mark Fuhrmann (Nuclear Regulatory Commission, ret.),
Continuing Councilor: Ioan Lascu (Smithsonian),
Continuing Councilor: Jonathan Tucker (National Academies), and
Continuing Councilor: Maryann Malinconico (Lafayette College)
New Councilor: Pat Carr (National Geospatial Intelligence Agency),
New Councilor: Mark Tyra (NIST), and
New Councilor: Anne Pommier (Carnegie)
There were no nominations from the floor, and the slate was elected by acclamation.
The President for 2024 will be Dan Doctor (U.S. Geological Survey), elected last year as the first vice-president. Kori Newman (Systems & Technology Research) is on the Council as the past president.
The gavel was passed to President Doctor, who closed the meeting at 9:57 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Elizabeth O. Doyle,
Council Secretary