Call for contributors

Lately, it seems I have to start each post with an apology, because it has been too long since the last one. Work and life conspire to prevent full-time blogging. Besides, the last thing this page needs is a personal stream-of-consciousness coming from a single alumnus (me) working in one portion of the geologic community (gold exploration and mining).

So, I have an idea (as scary as that may be). *We* need a few people who'd like to write for this page. There are no minimum number of posts per week/month required. No credentials other than being an alumus or affiliated with the ECU Geology Department in some way. Pay is commensurate with requirements. Jim Watson is in to represent departmental news and happenings. If you'd like to take a shot at a post or two, give me a shout at patrick.mallette [a-t] newmont.com; I'll set you up. (If you can't figure out my email address from the way I wrote it - hopefully to foil spam bots - well, I guess I won't hear from you.)

I am at home, on a break from Mexico field work, and had the pleasure to attend Geology's Friday Noon Seminar yesterday. Dr. David "Spike" Mallinson and Dr. J.P. Walsh gave talks on their respective backgrounds and past and current research. I sat in the audience, asked a few unintelligible questions, didn't get thrown out, and had a great time hanging out once again, after all these years, in Graham #309 for some stimulating geological discussions. Stan Riggs, Steve Culver, Jim Watson, Dick Mauger, Dave Lawerence, Mike O'Driscoll, students ... the gang is alive and doing very well. If you get a chance to stop by Graham building one Friday, do it!

You'll find a schedule for the Friday Seminar Series here on the department's web site.

A long way down with no way out

For those of you who have spent some time underground - whether in a cave, or in a mine - you know that you can never experience more complete blackness than when you turn off your lamp. Your eyes strain to pick up one stray photon ... but there are none. It is a strange uncommon sensation.

As I write this, there are 6 men underground in a Utah coal mine who may be experiencing that same blackness. If so, that's a good thing, because it means they're alive. Yesterday there was a cave-in at the Crandall Canyon coal mine; it happened at the same time that a moderate earthquake was registerd in the area. Right now there seems to be an argument as to whether the cave-in was responsible for the seismic shock, or an earthquake resulted in the mine collapse. For the six men down below, the answer to that is the least of their worries.

Rescue workers at the surface estimate it will be three more days before they can reach the area where the men are thought to be. Five days (total) is a loooong time to be alone in the dark, with nothing to do but wait and think.

About all any of us can do is to remember that these and other miners put their lives at risk every day to give us - individuals and society - the raw materials to live comfortably and prosper. Think about these coal miners and their families next time you flip the switch on a light or an appliance.

Thanks guys. We're cheering for you.

And speaking of caves ...

Photo copyright Javier Trueba (Madrid Scientific Films)/Geology

It's been a while since we've seen a post on these pages. Apologies ... but the "day job" has been calling loudly as of late.

Anyway, the last post on Dr. Jean Lowry got me thinking about caves. In particular the Cueva de Cristales (Crystal Cave) located in Chihuahua, Mexico. Take a look at the photo above. Yes, that is a full-grown human man standing atop a selenite crystal. No photoshop. I had the priveledge of visiting the Cueva de Cristales myself last year. I'm usually not one to pick favorites, but I think I can safely say that this was the most impressive, fantastic, breathtaking, awe-inspiring natural wonders I've ever seen in my life.

The Cueva de Cristales is located 1200 feet underground, near the town of Naica, in Chihuahua state, Mexico. In April 2000, Javier and Eloy Delgado discovered the adjacent Cave of Swords during mining of Industrias Peñoles Naica lead-zinc-silver mine. One month later, another group of miners broke into the Cueva de Cristales. Crystals in both caves have been designated as the largest ever encountered anywhere in the world. Individual crystals are up to 4 feet in diameter and 50 feet long.

After traveling from the surface down through the blackness to the level of the Cueva de Cristales, we came to a locked steel door guarding the entrance. The temperature in the mine was warm, but fairly comfortable. The door was unlocked and we climbed a short flight of steps; immediately in front were plexiglas panels sealing the cave from the ambient environment of the mine. The panels were fogged but it was apparent that something hugely spectacular lay behind. The plexiglas door was then opened and we stepped inside to an air temperature of 150 degrees farenheit and 100% humidity. The experience defined "shock and awe" as one's mind did somersaults trying to make sense of the scale, and the body's alarms went to full red alert due to the heat and humidity. You only get about 5 or 6 minutes inside ... any longer and they'd be dragging you out unconscious. Photography was next to impossible for us "tourists" as water vapor would condense instantly on any glass surface. The photograph above was made by a team of professional photographers using preheated cameras and wearing water-cooled suits that allowed them extra time inside the cave.

¡Fantastico!

Dr. Jean Lowry - Pioneer

Jean Lowry, a founder of the Wytheville Grotto, in Nebo Cave. Photo by Wayne Whitt.

In the comments section of an earlier post, Scott H suggested a link to a web site that references Dr. Jean Lowry's participation in the "Wytheville Grotto", a spelunking club that operated in spectacular caving country of western Virginia from 1950-1958. The article is from a tape recorded interview Jean gave in which she talked about her introduction to spelunking, adventures and mishaps in Virginia caves, and the founding of the Wytheville Grotto "organization".

Jean pioneered cave exploration and mapping in the Wytheville, VA, area prior to her teaching career - first in the Geography Department, and later as the first faculty member in the newly formed Geology Department - at East Carolina University.

In the mid-1900's, women were not supposed to study geology at Yale; women were not supposed to crawl through the mud and muck of caves by night, and then show up for work the following morning at the Virginia Geological Survey.

But Jean did. The word "conventional" was never part of her vocabulary.

In case you missed it, or in case you would like to read it again, S. Snyder wrote a very nice piece on Dr. Jean Lowry in the 2004 Alumni Newsletter, following her death on November 16, 2003. You can find Scott's tribute here, if you scroll down to the third article.

It is impossible for a group of ECU geology alums from the late '60s to early '80s to get together and not share laughs and smiles over Jean Lowry stories and tales. People such as Jean inspire us and enrich our lives.

That we all might be so lucky as to be remembered so fondly.

(Thanks to J. Watson for the link to the Wytheville Grotto article!!)

On Shaky Ground in New Hampshire?

The folks in New Hampshire were treated to a couple of earthquakes over the past weekend. I say "treated" because I actually like to feel the earth rumble. Not too much, mind you; just enough to remind me of the processes taking place within the earth's crust. It is not only naive to forget the earth's dynamics, and how geologically instantaneous events contribute much of what we observe in the geologic record, it can be very dangerous and costly.

Last weekend's events in New Hampshire were small - magnitude 1.4 and 1.9 - and many people probably didn't even notice them. A magnitude 5.5 quake that rocked the area in 1940 likely drew a bit more attention. Historic earthquakes have been recorded as far back as 1663.

The eastern passive margin of North America doesn't compete with the western active margin in terms of earthquake frequency. Still, those on the east coast get to feel the ground shake occasionally. I've felt quite a few mild earthquakes having lived and worked in places like Nevada, California, Montana, and in the Andes of Peru, but the first quake I experienced occurred in Raleigh, NC. And then there was that magnitude 7.3 rock-n-roller that caught the attention of Charleston, SC, in 1886.

I can't claim to have experienced any large, or even moderate, quakes. Probably magnitude 3 ... maybe 4 ... max. I felt the 1989 earthquake that hit San Francisco and interrupted the World Series. I was at the office in Reno, Nevada.

Who has their own memorable earthquake experience? Post 'em in the comments below!

You've been challenged!

Down in the comments section of our first blog post I found this from Scott H:

"I will donate $1 to the ECU Geology Century fund for each legit new alumnus or current grad student who posts a comment for the month of June! How's that for an incentive?"

Consider yourselves challenged! Hmmm ... maybe that didn't come out quite right. How about "How to Make a Donation to the ECU Geology Century Fund While Using Scott's Money". Yeah, that sounds better. And all you have to do is leave a comment - what the heck, leave multiple comments, we'll get some discussion going - on any of the posts you find here in the month of June. Schweeeet.

Of course, we will also consider accepting your money as well as Scott's. Both are considered legal tender here. If you haven't done so yet, or don't know how, contact Dare or Steve in the Geology office. Or, leave a comment - thereby spending some of Scott's money ... heh heh - and we'll contact you.

I'll put together a post soon to let you know in detail how these donations are used. It really is for a good cause, folks. Remember when you were a starving student trying to get a leg up?

A leg up ... maybe I'll just stop right here.

Like a Hurricane

Low tide on the beach at Corolla, NC (photo © P. Mallette)

"If we had a Katrina-sized storm, 75 percent of these islands could be gone," says Stan Riggs, a geologist at East Carolina University who has studied the Outer Banks for four decades. "You can count on it cleaning the clock."

A series of stories on hurricane hazards appeared on the news wires recently. Interesting reading, though these stories hardly qualify as "news" to ECU geology alums who cut their teeth on this stuff, or to the current faculty and students who continue the tradition of trying to educate the public on the folly of building mega-dollar homes on mobile ribbons of sand.

Stan Riggs is quoted in the story by AP writer Mike Baker - "THE OUTER BANKS: '75 percent of these islands could be gone'". Scroll down ... you'll find it toward the bottom of the page.

[Edit: The link to the story was corrected on 1-June. --Pat]

Minutes from the May 4th GAC meeting

Notes from the Fourth ECU Geological Sciences Advancement Council Meeting
May 4, 2006

Present: Steve Culver (Chair), Scott Snyder, Scott Hartness, Pat Mallette, Steve Benton, Ron Crowson, Jim Watson also attended at Culver's request.
Absent: Mike Amsbaugh, Brent Chambers, C.Q. Brown, Jerry Dominey, Wink Winkler, Lynn Sutton

1. Culver called the meeting to order and welcomed the alumni.
2. Culver reviewed action points from the third GAC meeting. Watson contributed information re web site development activities.
3. Hartness and Crowson reported on past activities of the Geological Alumni Society (GAS) and led discussion of future plans.
4. Wide-ranging discussion occurred on fund-raising efforts, past and present.
5. The following action plan was agreed to.
a) Crowson and Mallette will meet in the next few weeks to design and construct a GAS web site or blog.
b) Old slides/images are to be forwarded to Culver who will organize scanning and storage on a departmental server. Selected images will be rotated onto the departmental web site and GAS web site/blog.
c) Names of potential new Alumni Council members will be forwarded to Culver by end of May, 2007.
d) The president of Sigma Gamma Epsilon will be invited to future GAC meetings.
e) Hartness and Crowson to organize funding of the Jean Lowry plaques immediately upon receipt of the final quote from Jim Watson.
f) Culver to provide the contact information of all alumni donors over the past three years to Hartness. Hartness, Crowson, Mallette and Benton will call the donors to thank them and to ask them to consider organizing regular donations and estate planning to include the Department of Geological Sciences.
g) Culver will ensure that the 2008 departmental newsletter will include information on estate planning.

Following business, the meeting was adjourned, and all made their way to Richard Spruill's front 40 to celebrate the recent geology graduates with friends and families, fine eastern NC BBQ, and golden beverages.

The Graying of the Guard

During a recent conference in Miami, held by the Latin American Mining Congress, a middle-aged speaker began her presentation by asking the crowd, "Do you remember when we were the youngest people in the mining industry?" After a pause, she answered her own question: "Well ... we still are!"

Today, there is very little young talent entering the mining and exploration business from US schools. The will be a shortage of highly trained geologists to fill leadership roles in US- and Canadian-based companies in the near future.

Most of the young geologists that I work with these days speak spanish ... as their native language.

The problem is not restricted to the United States. Australia is feeling a similar pinch, as outlined in this story by Gregory Webb at OnlineOpinion.com.au.

Old Timers' Club

left to right: Ron Crowson, Steve Benton, Jim Watson, Pat Mallette; 2004.

If the first post to a new blog is not the hardest ... well, I guess that would mean that we are in for minimal content here.

It is time to push forward ... to gain momentum.

We - the members of ECU's Geology Alumni Society (GAS) - have been looking for ways to communicate with you - the alumni of the ECU Department of Geological Sciences (yes, the department has a new name). During our annual GAS meeting in early May, Pat Mallette suggested that we create a blog page ... "It's easy! It's cheap! Everyone can participate!", he said. So, following that dumb comment flash idea, I am here working on this first post.

Where we go with this blog is anyone's guess. Honestly, if it flies, it will be everyone's guess ... everyone's ideas. I'll look to you for feedback and suggestions. And, I'll be very generous with handing out administrator privileges ... if you'd like to share the duty fun of posting here.