The presentation uses core, sediment, and peat samples from the Woburn site, newspaper articles from the Boston Globe and Woburn Daily Times Chronicle, recent and historic photographs, exhibits presented at the trial, and scientific evidence to show what scientific concepts and principles the jury had to comprehend in order to make an informed decision. Much of the scientific evidence is reformulated and presented using EXCEL spreadsheets and results from a ground water flow model developed by the USGS and modified by graduate students at Ohio State to facilitate pathline and travel time analysis. The trial and its aftermath are used to demonstrate why the homily "Without Theory, There Is No Practice" rings true for professional geologists and private residents in these litigious times rife with environmental abuses and pro-active citizens.
A sneak peek of some of the materials to be presented can be seen on the world wide web on a homepage developed for a new undergraduate course at Ohio State titled "Science in the Courtroom" at http://www.geology.ohio-state.edu/courtroom.
Dr. Bair has been a member of the faculty in the
Department of Geologic Sciences at Ohio State University since 1985.
He received his B.A. degree in geology from the College of Wooster and
his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Pennsylvania State University. (Although
he and Don Siegel both went to Penn State, Scott is much younger!)
Prior to returning to academia, he worked for six years at Stone &
Webster Engineering Corp. He is an associate editor of the journal
Ground Water, serves on the Ohio Hazardous Waste Facilities Board and the
Ohio Geology Advisory Council, and holds a WAE appointment with the USGS.
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Bair to the Glen Loch on Thursday, November
13, 1997.
President’s Message by Meg Harris
I have sadly accepted the fact that the field trip season is very quickly coming to a close. I think it was when I was standing with my class at the brink of Chittenango Falls with driving wind and sleet pelting us in the face. There are only a very few who will voluntarily participate in field work in this kind of weather. Those are the ones who will end up majoring in Geology. Geologists are often those who were hooked on the field experience, rain or shine, and if we’re lucky, we now get paid to do it on occasion.
There were great opportunities for all of us to get back into the field this fall. Even the weather was spectacular for the NYSGA! I saw many old friends during the two day Tully Valley extravaganza and there seemed to be an expert to answer any question imaginable.
For those of you that participated in the volunteer field work organized by Bill Kappel in the summer of 1993, things have changed dramatically. The mudslide’s features have been softened and springs have sprung up and shifted about below the scarp, which no longer looks quite so imposing. The mud boils have continued to pop up here and there......... But the view from the top of Bear Mountain remains the same, and at its most spectacular with the fall foliage. The rocks seem to remain unchanged as well. I am reminded of all the different temporal planes we operate on when doing geology. We sometimes watch processes change the landscape in a matter of days, months and years. Other changes proceed at a glacial pace in periods of hundreds and thousands of years. The big picture continues to be drawn over millions and billions of years.
Getting out in the field is always inspiring. It provides food for thought and reconnects us with the object of our fascination. It also develops a camaraderie among those that participate, a shared adventure. We all have our stories to tell! They tend to get taller every time they are retold!
We would like to organize at least one field trip for the group this
spring. We need your input. Do you have a special spot to share
with the group? Is there a place you have always wanted to see?
Please communicate your ideas to the board. Let’s get out together
as a group this Spring and breath a little fresh air into our program.
The CNYAPG World Wide Web page seems to be gaining in popularity. We recently received an inquiry about New York State geology from the United Kingdom. A fellow British geologist was doing research on the internet and was having no luck finding information about remote imaging of New York City. He found our site and asked for assistance. We provided him with some names and phone numbers and he is now continuing his project.
Be sure to check out our web page at http://www.dreamscape.com/cnyapg. You can find a membership application, the meeting schedule, and links to other web sites of geologic interest. Please give us suggestions and commments so that we can continue to improve our web site.
Compiled by
Nancy Gensky
MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL TIME IS
HERE
by Gerry Gould
CNYAPG members, it’s time to renew your memberships. Membership renewals are still a low $10 per year.
As you may recall, all CNYAPG memberships expire on December 31st. All current members should be receiving renewal forms with this newsletter. The forms will contain the information we currently have on file for you and your membership expiration date. Please make necessary additions or changes to the forms and return them with your dues payable to CNYAPG.
Those of you that previously paid for mult-year memberships will also receive a renewal form. Please check the expiration date and make any additions and corrections to your personal information that are necessary. If the information is correct and your dues are paid, you need not return the form.
If you do not receive a form or know of a potential new memberthat needs
a memvership application form, you may download it from our World Wide
Web site at www.dreamscape.com/cnyapg or call Gerry Gould at 437-1142 or
fax a request to 437-1282.
The Penn Dixie Site is an abandoned shale quarry, located southwest of Buffalo in the town of Hamburg, New York. An important and fossiliferous section in the Middle Devonian Hamilton Group is exposed in this quarry.
The geologic importance of these exposures is expressed in these excerpts from a letter written by Dr. Carlton Brett, University of Rochester, in 1990. "... Many beds are shown here particularly well because of the low angle at which the quarry has been beveled. ...weathered exposures at the north end of the old quarry have revealed an abundance of fossil crinoids which are not found commonly in the upper Wanakah Shale at other localities. The section of grey Windom Shale on the opposite side of the road is arguably the best, and most complete outcrop of this unit in the state. It is also still highly fossiliferous and contains some fossils which cannot be found at any other localities for example, some pyritized sponges and also blastoids which are yet undescribed. The rim of the quarry on the south side is one of the best exposures of a fossil bone bed in the state. This stratum, the North Evans Limestone,... is a particularly interesting stratum from a variety of standpoints. ... The unit also contains some of the only well preserved fossil fish remains found in western New York. In the northeast corner of the quarry is a very important limestone ledge, the Tichenor Limestone which show evidence of having been a marine erosion Surface during the Devonian Period.
In short, there are a number of very important geological features that are particularly well displayed in the old Penn Dixie Quarries. This is an invaluable teaching and reference location for professional geologists. Many students have learned their paleontology at this locality already.
It would be a great loss to the geology of western New York if this site were destroyed. I would argue, in fact, that this is one of the 5 or 6 most important geological sites in the Niagara Frontier area and its loss would mean considerable setback in terms of study of Devonian geology in eastern North America. It should be noted that the northwestern region of New York State, in particular, is world-renowned as a reference section for the Devonian strata. Penn Dixie is one of the classic sections that people from Europe, the Soviet Union, Australia, and others have come to visit in the recent past..."
Two articles that include descriptions of the geology of the Penn Dixie Quarry appear in New York State Geological Association field guidebooks: 1974, Trip G, Biostratigraphy and Paleontology of the Windom Shale Member (Moscow Formation) in Erie County, New York by Carlton E. Brett; and 1982 Trip A1, Upper Moscow-Genesee Stratigraphic Relationships in Western New York: Evidence for Erosive Beveling in the Late Devonian by Carlton E. Brett and Gordon C. Baird.
In 1996, the town of Hamburg purchased the 56-acre quarry property and
deeded 32.5 acres of the property to the Hamburg Natural History Society.
Later in 1996, volunteers cleaned rubbish from the quarry. Future
plans include the construction of a nature trial, pond improvements, the
installation of telescope pads for astronomy programs, and construction
of a building from education programs and classes. In addition, volunteer
field trip leaders were trained and now offer guided field trips for students
in elementary through high school levels as well as amateur geologists.
You can become a member of the Hamburg Natural History Society to help
sustain and further develop the Penn Dixie Site. Membership
dues are: $10, individual; $15, family; and $100, corporate. Send
inquires to Hamburg Natural History Society, Jerold Bastedo, President,
P.O. Box 277, Hamburg, New York 14075.
One of the largest Tyrannosaurus rex fossils has ben discovered on a Montana cattle ranch. University of Notre Dame paleontologist Keith Rigby discovered the fossil and is in the process of identifying it. There is a possibility that the fossil is not a T-Rex, but rather a completely new variety of dinosaur. Now the question is who owns the land where the fossil was found. (Taken from The Post Standard, September 17, 1997)
A Rock Park will be created to show the geological variety of New York
State, using large rock specimens. This park will be located immediately
east of the New York State Museum in Albany, New York. The general
concept of the park includes approximately 50 rock monoliths with appropriate
descriptions on weather proof markers and a corresponding pamphlet.
The pamphlet will provide a discussion of both the geologic and economic
significance of the rock and mineral products of the state. The monoliths
will be oriented in a manner corresponding to the geologic map of the state.
To date, the New York Geological Survey has access to approximately
25 monoliths. The survey is looking for suitable large specimens
from quarries, mines, road construction sites, etc. Their goal is
to show representative rock types, minerals, fossils, textures, and structures.
Rock type varieties will come from four broad regions: sedimentary rocks
from areas west of the Taconics, metamorphic sequences across the Taconics,
high grade rocks form the Adirondacks, and a variety of types from southeastern
New York. The survey would prefer "thin" monoliths up to 6 to 8 feet
tall. Any suggestions, please reach Yngvar Isachsen at the survey
via phone (518) 474-5819, fax (518) 486-3696, and e-mail yisachse@museum.nysed.gov.
(Taken from the New York State Geological Survey What’s New Web Page).
The New York State publication "Geology of New York: A Simplified Account"
will be revised during fiscal year 1997-1998. The planned revisions
include numerous stereo pair illustrations and a stereo viewer. Subjects
of the stereo-pairs will range from crystals and fossils, to outcrops,
to landscapes, to aerial photographs. Any suggestions for items that
would best be viewed in stereo can be e-mailed to yisachse@museum.nysed.gov.
(Taken from the New York State Geological Survey What’s New Web Page).
National Ground Water Association
http://www.h2o-ngwa.org
National Environmental Information Service (searchable CFR 40) http://www.neis.com
EPA Region 5 News http://www.epa.gov/Region5/epanews.html
EPA Envirofacts http://www.epa.gov/enviro/html/ef_home.html
New York State Museum http://www.nysm.nysed.gov
The Geoogical Society of America
http://www.geosociety.org
November 4 Dr. Ann Meltzer, Lehigh University, "Walk up a naked mountain - the Nanga Tarbot experiment", 4:30 p.m. in 1120 Snee Hall, Cornell University.
November 5 Symposium on the professional licensing of geologists in New York State, sponsored by NYDCPG and CNYAPG, Registration /Sign In at 2:30 p.m., Embassy Suites Hotel, Syracuse New York.
November 11 Dr. Bruce Watson, RPI, "Fluids as agents of change in the crust and upper mantle", 4:30 p.m. in Snee Hall, Cornell University .
November 14 Dr. Scott Bair, Ohio State University, "Contamination of Wells G & H: The Science Behind the Tragedy at Woburn, Massachusetts, 113 Heroy Hall, Syracuse University, time TBA.
March 19-21, 1998 Northeastern GSA Section Meeting, Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland, Maine,Call for Papers, Abstract Deadline: November 14, 1997, Submit Abstracts to: Marc C. Loiselle, Maine Geological Survey, 22 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0022, (207) 287-2801
The Thursday, November 13 CNYAPG meeting will be held at the Glen Loch. A cash bar will open at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30. Our guest, Dr. Bair, will speak at 7:30. Dinner is $13 (if reserved 24 hr in advance) or $15 at the door.Make your reservations today by calling O’Brien & Gere Engineers at (315) 437-6100 ext. 2656.See you there!
If you have events that you would like to include in the CNYAPG
calendar, please contact Bill Gabriel of O’Brien & Gere Engineers at
(315) 437-6100.
PRESIDENT
Meg Harris 469-2477
VICE PRESIDENT
Chris Gachowski 437-6100
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT
Steve Crook 437-1429
SECRETARY
Gerry Gould 437-1142
TREASURER
Sean Pepling 445-2554
IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT
Dave Palmerton 446-9120
DIRECTORS
Vita DeMarchi 446-9120
Greg Flick 454-2000
Bill Gabriel 437-6100
George Kelley 469-2476
CNYAPG
PO Box 567
Dewitt, NY 13214