Basil Tikoff
University of Wisconsin – Madison
A terrane-based model for the formation of the Rocky Mountains: Transpressional deformation associated with oblique collision and margin-parallel transcurrent motion
Refreshments at 7:30 p.m., formal program at 8:00 p.m.
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The draft minutes of our last meeting, on 21 October 2026, are attached for members to evaluate. If you have any additions or corrections please email them to our meeting secretary, Karin Lehnigk, at karin.e.lehnigk[at]nasa.gov.
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Please join the GSW meeting at the Carnegie Earth and Planets Laboratory on Wednesday, Oct. 21. A poster session from 6:00-7:45 pm will precede the formal program. This is an opportunity for the GSW community to share their research in an informal setting. If you would like to present, please sign up using this link so we have an idea of the number of participants. Poster setup can begin at 5:30 in the Greenewalt Building (map here), with the poster session from 6-7:45. Posters should be maximum dimensions of 42×42 inches. Please sign up by Monday, October 19.
Formal Program:
Will Frazer, Carnegie EPL: Discontiguous underplating beneath the Hawaiian Islands
Jessie Bersson: Even Magma Gets the Bends: Crystallization During Ascent
Dylan Seal, Carnegie EPL: Expanding the Story of Mars: New Insights from a 1.3-Billion-Year-Old Meteorite
Refreshments at 7:30 p.m., formal program at 8:00 p.m.
Meeting at Carnegie EPL Campus in the Greenewalt Building
5241 Broad Branch Rd NW, Washington, DC 20015
To join by Zoom, click the link below, and check the email sent to your membership address for the passcode:
https://zoom.us/j/98049522256?pwd=h6wsvhUvOEH3y6R2XkwgPhSrL7aR5d.1
The draft minutes of our last meeting, on 7 October 2026, are attached for members to evaluate. If you have any additions or corrections please email them to our meeting secretary, Karin Lehnigk, at karin.e.lehnigk[at]nasa.gov.
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The draft minutes of our last meeting, on 2 September 2026, are attached for members to evaluate. If you have any additions or corrections please email them to our meeting secretary, Karin Lehnigk, at karin.e.lehnigk[at]nasa.gov.
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George Guice, Towson University: The Paleozoic Ocean Beneath Baltimore (And Beyond)
Michael Toomey, USGS: Extreme Potomac Floods at Washington D.C.
Moshammat Mijjum, Smithsonian: Old noble gases in young meteorites
Refreshments at 7:30 p.m., formal program at 8:00 p.m.
If anyone has announcements or informal communications they would like to share with the society, please e-mail Mike Ackerson (ackersonm@si.edu) ahead of time.
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Andrew Hoxey, George Mason University: Active faulting in western Nepal that segments the Himalaya
John Counts, USGS: An Overview of Some USGS Regional Provenance Studies in the Gulf, Atlantic, and Alaskan Coastal Plains
Ned Mamula, USGS: Organizing Science in Washington — The Legacy of John Wesley Powell
Refreshments at 7:30 p.m., formal program at 8:00 p.m.
If anyone has announcements or informal communications they would like to share with the society, please e-mail Mike Ackerson (ackersonm@si.edu) ahead of time.
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The draft minutes of our last meeting, on 13 May 2026, are attached for members to evaluate. If you have any additions or corrections please email them to our meeting secretary, Karin Lehnigk, at karin.e.lehnigk[at]nasa.gov.
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Dear Members of the Geological Society of Washington,
We are pleased to invite you to the Spring Geological Society of Washington Field Trip on Saturday June 6th to The Billy Goat Trail at Great Falls. The trip will be led by USGS geologists Alan Pitts, Peter Valley, Alex Gray… and any other fun folks we convince to come along.
The event will include an approximately 3- hour walking tour including the Great Falls overlook and the northern portion of the Billy Goat Trail (From the northern entrance near the Stop Gate until approximately TM-1 on the map below). The official trip will finish at TM-1 before the trail becomes more difficult, while any adventurous hikers are free to continue ahead on their own.
Please register by emailing Alan Pitts at pitts.alan@gmail.com
Trip Details:
Location: Great Falls Park, Maryland
Duration: approximately 3 hour-walking tour
Date: June 6th, 2026
Time: 9:00am to 12:00pm-ish
Meeting Point: Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center
Parking options: Parking inside the park is widely available
Safety and Trail information: Please note that the Billy Goat Trail portion of the trip will involve hiking over rugged and rocky terrain. We recommend sturdy footwear and trekking poles if balance is an issue.
Our guided trip will explore the first section of the Billy Goat Trail and turn around at the TM-1 point on the map. For any hikers who are planning to continue onward please see the information and link below from the National Park Service
The hike involves scrambling over angled rocks, boulders and climbing. Visitors in less-than-optimal health, visitors with small children, and visitors not experienced or properly outfitted should consider other trail options. The 1.7-mile hike takes most visitors 2-3 hours to complete. Along the trail are views of Mather Gorge and Potomac River. This trail can close due to fooding from the river. Link: Billy Goat Trail – Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)
Register by emailing Alan Pitts at pitts.alan@gmail.com
We look forward to seeing you!
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The draft minutes of our last meeting, on 29 April 2026, are attached for members to evaluate. If you have any additions or corrections please email them to our meeting secretary, Karin Lehnigk, at karin.e.lehnigk[at]nasa.gov.
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Hey GSW Members! You’re eligible for GeoCare insurance. GeoCare provides health, life and other insurance products to members of 10 geoscience societies, including GSW. From their home webpage (), just click on the GSW block to see your options.
Yep, that’s how GSW presidents do snow. ❄️🎿
Larry Meinert, PhD cross country skis on the National Mall today. Six inches of snow fell in D.C. @capitalweather
Preserved footprints in Kenya appear to record two different species of ancient humans walking over the same muddy lakeshore, probably within days of each other.
The Bledug Kesongo mud volcano in Indonesia 🌋
Second eruption today of Bledug Kesongo in Indonesia.
Another violent eruption occurred at ~16:30 this afternoon following from the spectacular eruption this morning.
