2023 December Outcrop by The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

Volume 72 • No. 12 • December 2023

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OUTCROP | December 2023

Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

730 17th Street, B1, Denver, CO 80202 • 720-672-9898 The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) is a nonprofit organization whose purposes are to promote interest in geology and allied sciences and their practical application, to foster scientific research and to encourage fellowship and cooperation among its members. The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the RMAG.

2023 OFFICERS AND BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT

2nd VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT

Ben Burke bburke158@gmail.com

Jason Eleson jasoneleson3@gmail.com

PRESIDENT-ELECT

SECRETARY

Mike Tischer mtischer@gmail.com

Sandra Labrum slabrum@slb.com

1st VICE PRESIDENT

TREASURER

Ronald L. Parker parkero@gmail.com

Anna Phelps aphelps@sm-energy.com

1st VICE PRESIDENT-ELECT

TREASURER ELECT

Lisa Wolff lwolff@bayless-cos.com

Holly Lindsey holly@energyfunders.com

2nd VICE PRESIDENT

COUNSELOR

Matt Bauer matthew.w.bauer.pg@gmail.com

Steve Crouch scrouch@whiteeagleexploration.com

RMAG STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Bridget Crowther bcrowther@rmag.org OPERATIONS ASSISTANT

Kimberly Burke kbure@rmag.org LEAD EDITOR

Nate LaFontaine nlafontaine@sm-energy.com CONTRIBUTING EDITORS

Elijah Adeniyi elijahadeniyi@montana.edu Marlee Cloos marlee.cloos@bpx.com Danielle Robinson danielle.robinson@dvn.com

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The Outcrop is a monthly publication of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists DESIGN/LAYOUT: Nate Silva | n8silva.com

Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

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Outcrop | December 2023 OUTCROP

2024 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

MICHAEL TISHER

MATT BAUER

STEVE CROUCH

PRESIDENT

PRESIDENT ELECT

COUNSELOR

LISA WOLFF

NATE LA FONTAINE

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT ELECT

JASON ELESON

ALI SLOAN

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT SECOND VICE PRESIDENT ELECT

HOLLY LINDSEY

ASTRID MAKOWITZ

DREW SCHERER

TREASURER

TREASURER ELECT

SECRETARY

Thank you to all the dedicated candidates who ran for the 2024 RMAG Board of Directors. Your commitment to the association is greatly appreciated.

OUTCROP Newsletter of the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists

CONTENTS FEATURES

DEPARTMENTS

30 Member Corner: Katerina Yared

6 2024 RMAG Summit Sponsorship Packet

10 RMAG November 2023 Board Of Directors Meeting

41 In The Pipeline

14 Lead Story: The Utahraptor Megablock Fossil Project

10 Outcrop Advertising Rates

41 Welcome New RMAG Members!

12 President’s Letter

48 Advertiser Index

26 Hybrid Lunch Talk: Zane Jobe

48 Calendar

34 Book Review: The Great Basin Seafloor–Exploring the Ancient Seas of the Desert West

28 Hybrid Lunch Talk: Michael Rigby

36 Engaging in Geoscience! 2023 Educational Outreach for the RMAG 42 Mineral Of The Quarter: Axinites

ASSOCIATION NEWS 2 RMAG Summit Sponsors 4 RMAG 2024 Board of Directors 11 RMAG Networking Events 13 DREGS & RMAG Happy Hour 25 RMAG Monthly Coffee Hour

COVER PHOTO

Utahraptor ridge from the air. The fossil-bearing block (bright white) and a slide track can be seen near the center of the photo, just below the two main cliff-forming intervals toward the top of the ridge. Photo by Jim Kirkland.

IN 2023 YOUR SUMMIT SPONSORSHIP DOLLARS SUPPORTED: MEMBERS

1,200

EVENT ATTENDEES

2,000

WEBSITE VISITORS

8,000

OUTCROP READERS

8,500

COMMUNITY CONTACTS

5,000

EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS

3,500

NETWORKING EVENTS

CONTINUTING EDUCATION EVENTS

FIELD TRIPS

OUTCROP | December 2023

Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

October 20, 2023

Geoscience Community: We greatly appreciate every Summit Sponsor and Event Sponsor that has contributed to RMAG over the last year. We could not exist without your support. The Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists celebrated a year of remarkable achievements, bringing together a global community of over 300 geologists for the Helium Conference for one of the first events exploring Helium production from exploration to processing. Monthly Women's Coffee, Membership Happy Hours, and thematic luncheons provided a supportive networking environment. In these gatherings, experts delved into diverse subjects, with topics that spanned from landslides to the intricate geology of the Permian Basin. RMAG also offered classes on oil and gas property valuation, enriching the skill set of members. A core workshop facilitated hands-on learning, and field trips to quarries, crater impacts and other geologic marvels ignited the spirit of exploration. Notably, the association extended its community impact through outreach at community festivals and classrooms across the Denver Metro area, emphasizing our dedication to advancing geological understanding and appreciation. 2024 brings new opportunities for RMAG. Your sponsorship dollars will help RMAG bring to fruition an extensive calendar of continuing education opportunities, an exciting Field Trips season, and a dynamic list of luncheon speakers on topics ranging from the state of the industry to hydrogen and more. These dollars will allow RMAG Members impact the next generation at outreach events throughout the community and provide opportunities for the geoscience community to connect and build their network. Your sponsorship dollars will also support our excellent publications including the monthly Outcrop newsletter and the quarterly Mountain Geologist journal. We recognize your financial commitment with inperson signage, and website and publication advertising, as well as through social media before each online event. With a LinkedIn group of almost 3000 members, we make our sponsors visible to the geoscience community for both virtual and in person events. Thank you to those who are already a Summit Sponsor, we look forward to your continued support in 2024. If you are not already a sponsor, please look at the many complementary benefits included with the sponsorship levels. If our annual sponsorships don't make sense for your company, or you want to sponsor something specific, ask about our single event sponsorship opportunities. Please feel free to contact our staff with questions about sponsorship by email: bcrowther@rmag.org or by phone at 720-672-9898 ext. 102. We and the staff of RMAG thank you all for your continued support and look forward to seeing you in 2024. Michael Tischer 2024 RMAG President

Bridget Crowther RMAG Executive Director

P: (720)672-9898 staff@rmag.org www.rmag.org Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

730 17th Street, B1 Denver, CO 80202

OUTCROP | December 2023

RMAG ANNUAL

SUMMIT SPONSORSHIP PLATINUM, GOLD, & SILVER SPONSORSHIP LEVEL

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RMAG WEBSITE BENEFITS Company Logo on Summit Sponsor Page of www.rmag.org

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OUTCROP | December 2023

Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

RMAG 2024 SUMMIT SPONSORSHIP Payment Options

All sponsor benefits event tickets follow RMAG event registration deadlines. All benefits end 12 months after registration. RMAG 2024 ANNUAL SUMMIT SPONSOR OPPORTUNITIES Platinum Sponsor Gold Sponsor Silver Sponsor

Summit Sponsorship benefit term is for 12 months! Specify type of payment on signed form, and send logo and advertisements to staff@rmag.org Company: Company Representative: Address: City:

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Signature: ACH: contact the RMAG office at staff@rmag.or for directions. Mail Checks payable to RMAG: Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists (RMAG) 730 17th Street, B1 Denver, CO 80202

RMAG events are subject to change. Cancellation or rescheduling of events does not give the sponsor the right to refund. Summit Sponsors will receive benefits at any new events added into the RMAG schedule.

Thank you for your generous support! P: (720)672-9898 staff@rmag.org www.rmag.org Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

730 17th Street, B1 Denver, CO 80202 9

OUTCROP | December 2023

RMAG NOVEMBER 2023 BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING By Sandra Labrum, Secretary slabrum@slb.com

the Cloridorme Formation, Quebec, Canada: Implications for Horizontal Well Prediction. The Membership committee is continuing to host monthly events. Be sure to join us for Rockbusters is back this year on December 1st, get your tickets today! The Publications Committee is still hard at work making sure there is high quality content for both the Outcrop and the Mountain Geologist. The Educational Outreach is forming a steering committee to decide the future of the committee to determine the most effective use of their time. On the Rocks, is most of the way through the great field trips planned this year. If you have a great idea for a trip next year, please let us know. Finally, Diversity and Inclusion committee has been hard at work bringing you member corners in each Outcrop as well as cohosting the women’s group coffee. I hope you all have a fantastic December and Happy Holidays! Until next time (for the last time!)

Hi everyone! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and happy rest of the holiday season. As we are winding down for the year, we are so grateful for your continued interested in all of the RMAG activities! The November Board of Directors meeting took place November 15th, 2023, at 4:00pm online. All board members were present except one. We also had 10 new members join. Welcome! We are happy to have you! The Finance committee started off the meeting with an overview of the financial standing in October. The finances in October saw a net operating loss but fortunately we have started receiving membership renewals as well as Summit sponsorships. Other good news is that our operating expenses are continuing to flatten which is setting us up for a strong 2024. The Continuing Education Committee is continuing to host hybrid lunches at our new home, DERL. Please join us in December for Zane Jobe’s talk on Lateral Heterogeneity of Basin-Plain Turbidites of

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Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

2024 NETWORKING EVENTS MARK YOUR CALENDARS

JANUARY

JULY

FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY

7 6 3 1

AUGUST 7 SETEMBER 11 OCTOBER 2 NOVEMBER 6

JUNE

DECEMBER 4

HAPPY HOUR TUESDAY 4PM *THURSDAY

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY JUNE

18 22 21 18 16 20

JULY 18 AUGUST 15 SETEMBER 19 OCTOBER 17 NOVEMBER 21

LUNCHEON WEDNESDAY 12PM

JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL MAY

11* 27 26 30 21

JUNE

JULY 30 AUGUST 27 SETEMBER 24 OCTOBER 29 NOVEMBER 19

COFFEE HOUR

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THESE EVENTS AND TO SEE WHAT ELSE IS COMING VISIT: www.rmag.org/events Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org 11

THURSDAY 10AM

OUTCROP | December 2023

PRESIDENT’S LETTER By Ben Burke

A Lump of Coal in My Stocking? Yes, Please.

OUTCROP | December 2023

The symbolic gesture of receiving coal serves as a lighthearted way to humorously admonish or tease children for their misbehavior while emphasizing the importance of being good. It’s not meant to be a serious punishment but rather a playful element of the holiday season. Over time, the tradition has evolved, and today, the lump of coal is often made of candy or other materials to maintain the festive and humorous spirit of the tradition. Naughty children in Colorado in the mid nineteenth century could well have received coal in their stockings since coal was a locally-mined resources in some parts of the state. Coal mining in Colorado has a rich and complex history that dates back to the late 19th century. The state’s coal deposits were first discovered in the 1850s, but it wasn’t until 1872 that the first subsurface production coal mine, the MicKissick Mine, was established in Firestone. The rapid expansion of the railroad network during this period facilitated the transportation of coal, contributing to the growth of the industry. Colorado has a storied energy history not only with coal but with the prolific oil and natural gas resources that continue to be extracted from the subsurface in the DJ, Raton, and Piceance Basins just to name a few basins and areas. Colorado can have a storied energy future that includes hydrogen, helium, geothermal, carbon capture and storage, and other forms of energy that have a subsurface component. Where there is geoscience in the Rockies, there is the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists. I have been honored to be your President this year. I leave you in the capable hands of the 2024 President, Mike Tischer, and a new Board, and, as ever, the excellent leadership and organizational abilities of Executive Director Bridget Crowther.

‘Tis the season for holiday parties and seasonal get-togethers, both quiet and festive. I am writing this missive to you on the heels of the Rockbuster’s Ball. The Colorado School of Mines Museum of Earth Science was a fitting venue for beverages, heavy appetizers, the traditional silent auction, and an excellent band. I am proud to have led one of the few professional geoscience organizations whose members would be excited to receive a lump of coal in their stockings(!) The tradition of putting a lump of coal in a stocking as a Christmas gift has its roots in folklore and cultural practices. The idea is often associated with the figure of Santa Claus and the concept of rewards and punishments based on behavior. In Western cultures, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom, there is a longstanding tradition where Santa Claus (or Father Christmas) is believed to bring gifts to children on Christmas Eve. According to the tradition, children who have been “naughty” or behaved poorly throughout the year might find a lump of coal in their stockings instead of the usual presents.

Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

COME FOR HAPPY HOUR!

RMAG & DREGS HAPPY HOUR Join fellow local geoscientists for Happy Hour

T H U RS D AY JA N U A RY 1 1 , 2 0 2 4 4 TO 6 PM CO D A BRE WIN G CO . 15965 S G o ld en Rd . c 2 Go l de n , CO 80 40 1

RSVP

www.rmag.org/happyhour Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | December 2023

LEAD STORY

THE UTAHRAPTOR MEGABLOCK FOSSIL PROJECT A history and progress report By Don DeBlieux, Utah Geological Survey, Salt Lake City, UT, geology.utah.gov

would become an incredible dinosaur discovery. A few years earlier Jim had recommended that Matt study the sedimentology and fluvial architecture of the Poison Strip Member of the Early Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation in eastern Utah. Matt took Jim’s advice and did his master’s thesis research on the type area for the Poison Strip Member. The Cedar Mountain Formation is one of the richest dinosaur fossil-bearing formations in the world, and Jim OUTCROP | December 2023

had told Matt to keep his eye out for fossils while doing his masters field work. After Matt’s reported bone sighting, Jim was intrigued and asked Matt to send some photos from the site. It turned out that the site where Matt saw the bone was near the top of a steep slope of Yellow Cat Member below a vertical cliff of Poison Strip Member sandstone. Jim visited the site with ace fossil hunter Scott Madsen, then of Dinosaur National Monument. With Matt’s photos in hand, they spent several hours combing the slope searching for the elusive fossils, with no luck. Discouraged and ready to give up, they gave it one more go — trying to line up the landmarks in the photos with the terrain around them. Their persistence paid off and they eventually found fossil bone eroding from the slope.

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HIS 2004 CONVERSATION BETWEEN UTAH STATE PALEONTOLOGIST JIM KIRKLAND AND UNIVERSITY OF NORTHERN ARIZONA GRADUATE STUDENT MATT STIKES was the beginning of what

“Did you find any bone?” “No, not really, but there was this one place with some white bone sticking out of the hill that almost looked like a human arm bone.”

ABOVE: Don DeBlieux jack hammers as Scott Madsen mucks out the debris during excavation of the Utahraptor Megablock in 2013. LEFT: The first Utahraptor jaw discovered by Jim Kirkland during the initial site evaluation in 2005.

Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | December 2023

LEAD STORY

Mike Rowe adds plaster to a field jacket while Don DeBlieux and Jonah Choiniere give instructions during the filming of an episode of Dirty Jobs in 2011.

OUTCROP | December 2023

from the UGS paleontology team, our colleagues from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri began excavating the site. In a typical dinosaur excavation, rock is removed until a bone is found, and then rock surrounding the bone is removed until the bone is left sitting on a pedestal of rock. The pedestalled bone is covered in a protective jacket using either a plaster medical bandage if it is small, or casting plaster and burlap if it is large. After the jacket hardens, the pedestal is undermined, flipped over, and the bottom side is jacketed. Sometimes though, bones are so tightly packed that it is impossible to isolate individual bones for jacketing and larger blocks need to be excavated. That summer, we excavated many fossils, including a roughly 1,000-pound jacketed block that was

A year later, a few of us returned to the site to do a preliminary exploration that involved digging into the hill, following exposed bones, to see what was buried just under the surface. One of the first rocks that Jim split open contained the front end of a Utahraptor lower jaw with all the teeth intact. The preservation of delicate in-place teeth meant that the jaw had not traveled far, if at all, after the death of the animal. As we dug further, we realized that there were many well-preserved fossils at this site. Now known as the Stikes Quarry, this location turned out to be one of the most remarkable and important dinosaur sites that Utah Geological Survey (UGS) paleontologists have ever worked on. In summer 2006, with encouragement and help

Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

LEAD STORY

TOP: The Utahraptor Megablock in 2013 on a pedestal ready for the construction of the transport frame. BOTTOM: Assembling the frame under the Utahraptor Megablock in November 2014.

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OUTCROP | December 2023

LEAD STORY For the next several years we worked the site whenever possible to collect more of these important fossils. Each day at the site began with several trips up and down the steep slope carrying supplies such as plaster and water on our backs. One of our main tasks was to separate bones to make the size of the jackets manageable. Using small hand tools such as ice picks and dental tools, we began to separate individual bones. We soon realized that many of the bones were just too tightly packed to isolate them in the field, and that the only hope of not damaging the bones would be to try and collect them in one enormous block. Separating the block was straightforward because the bone-bearing mass was restricted to an isolated blob of green sandstone surrounded by red mudstone. The shape of the blob made it easier to isolate without

slid down the slope on an old car hood and taken to St. Louis for preparation. The bones from this block became the subject of a master’s thesis by Washington University student Karen Poole. Regrettably, the Washington University group was unable to continue their work at the site. We returned in summer of 2007 and found that several large blocks of rock had fallen from the cliff above, knocking off a chunk of bone-bearing rock that had been jacketed the year before. We salvaged what we could, including jaw and skull sections of a large adult Utahraptor, and then re-jacketed the damaged area. The very real threat of continued erosion was a wake-up call for us. We realized that we needed to make working the site a high priority if we hoped to preserve the priceless fossils we knew existed there.

Track hoe pulling the Utahraptor Megablock down Utahraptor Ridge in November 2014.

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LEAD STORY

A section of the north side of the Utahraptor Megablock in 2023. The scale bar is 10 cm.

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OUTCROP | December 2023

LEAD STORY Jobs at Stikes Quarry. The show aired that fall, and though it was quite popular, no offers for helicopters were forthcoming. Recognizing that we would have to find an alternative, we enlisted the help of Don Brummel from Ames Construction to build a track up to the site that could be used to drag the block off the mesa with heavy equipment. This road would also facilitate the transport of materials and equipment necessary to build a frame around the block to support it during the removal.

having to cut through bone. However, the resulting block would be one of the largest fossil blocks ever collected, and certainly one of the largest from such a difficult location. We initially tried to secure a heavylift helicopter to fly the block off the hill. We worked hard to publicize the project with the hope that an outside entity might contribute the use of a helicopter since our budget would not allow us to pay for such an expensive piece of equipment. In 2011, we filmed an episode of the Discovery Channel program Dirty

Scott Madsen preparing the Utahraptor Megablock at the Museum of Ancient Life in 2017.

OUTCROP | December 2023

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LEAD STORY

TOP: A tiny Utahraptor premaxilla (front of upper jaw) from the Utahraptor Megablock. BOTTOM: A pack of Utahraptor dinosaurs feed on a mired iguadontian dinosaur in a reconstruction of the Stikes Quarry illustrating the quicksand hypothesis. Illustration by Julius Costnvy.

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LEAD STORY

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help Phil manufacture a frame that could be disassembled, transported to the site, and reassembled in place under the block. It took two weeks of full-time work to manufacture the frame, which consisted of 10 x 10-inch and 8 x 8-inch wooden beams up to 10 feet long that were bolted together and reinforced by large metal hardware. Dan Harrison and his son Bo, of High Desert Excavating in Green River, Utah, offered the use of a bulldozer and a track hoe to complete the track to the site so that the heavy frame parts could be taken to the site. In November 2014, everything was in place to begin final assembly of the frame under the block. It took two weeks of steady effort to trim the block to accommodate the frame, assemble the frame under the block, remove the pillars from under the frame, plaster and shim the underside of the block, and strap it to the frame to ready it for the precarious drag down the mesa. It was an exciting day when Dan and Bo’s track hoe arrived to begin the move. Our nerves were on edge as the big machine began to pull and we heard the frame creak as it ground over the rocky surface, but the frame stayed rigid and secure as the 18, 000 pound block moved from its resting place for the first time in 135 million years! Despite a few hiccups, we successfully dragged the block off the mesa and loaded it onto a semi-truck for transport to Salt Lake City. The realization of our goal would not have been possible without the labors of many students and volunteers who spent hundreds of hours assisting us. With the block collected, our next hurdle was to find a space large enough to prepare the fossils—the UGS preparation lab was much too small for this 10foot by 9-foot by 5-foot block. The Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah agreed to provide a space in their preparation lab. Unfortunately, just as we had this treasure trove of fossils in a lab where we could begin the delicate process of preparing the bones out of the rock, oil prices plummeted, taking revenues that help fund the UGS down with them. This meant that a quarter of our staff was laid off, including the Paleontology Program’s

A rough preliminary track was completed in 2012, and in the fall of 2013 a volunteer provided an ATV to bring supplies to the site. We spent several weeks using an electric jackhammer powered by a gas generator and air hammers powered by an air compressor to remove tons of rock from around the block. The power tools sped up the process, but the work was still very strenuous, and we had to muck out our trenches by hand. We covered newly exposed surfaces with plaster and burlap to stabilize them, adding many hundreds of pounds of plaster to the block. By the end of the 2013 field season, we were able to tunnel underneath the center of the block so that it was sitting on two large pillars with the top, sides, and bottom all jacketed in plaster. In 2014, veteran Utah Friends of Paleontology volunteer and mechanical engineer Phil Policelli helped design a wooden frame to place under the block that would also serve as a sled to be pulled down the slope. Jim Cross of Cross Marine Projects, Inc., a long-time supporter of the UGS Paleontology Program, provided space, supplemental material, and manpower to

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LEAD STORY

Scott Madsen preparing the Utahraptor Megablock in the Raptor Bay in 2020.

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2020 to transform the Utah Core Research Center’s (UCRC) slabbing shed into a fossil preparation lab. On February 26th, 2020, with the help of our longtime supporter Jim Cross, UGS employees, contractors, and volunteers, the Utahraptor Megablock was successfully relocated from the Museum of Ancient Life to the new fossil preparation lab, named the Raptor Bay. Having the block on-site at the UCRC allows UGS paleontologists, staff, and university students and researchers to work more closely and frequently to extract and prepare bones and fossils, as well as increase public access and exposure. The timing was fortuitous because just a few weeks later, the Museum of Ancient Life had to shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. By having the block in its own space, we were able to continue work on the megablock throughout the pandemic shutdown. In addition to fossil preparation, we have photographed the block to make three-dimensional (3D) models using photogrammetry. These models preserve a record of the position of each bone and will one day be used to generate a 3D map of the entire

Scott Madsen who, as one of the world’s experts in micro-preparation, was going to be vital to the preparation effort. To keep Scott on the project we had to turn to other sources of revenue. With the help of graphic designer and Utah Friends of Paleontology volunteer BJ Nicholls, Scott put together a Utahraptor Project Facebook page and started a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe. In a 2017 article, the New York Times explored the use of crowdfunding to support scientific research featuring the Utahraptor Project. The publicity from this article led to a substantial contribution from a private donor. Between the GoFundMe campaign and other fundraising, we were able to purchase equipment and to pay Scott for several thousand hours of preparation on the block. After five years at Thanksgiving Point’s Museum of Ancient Life, the museum needed their lab space for other projects, so again we went searching for preparation space. We decided that it was time to bring the 18,000 pounds of Utahraptor and other fossils closer to home. With the support of UGS Director and State Geologist, Bill Keach, construction began in January

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LEAD STORY working with various researchers to explore the scientific questions the fossils in the block can help to answer. We are working on a description of an adult Utahraptor braincase recovered from the block. One of the big questions is, are all the adult and juvenile theropod dinosaurs in the block Utahraptor, or are there other, possibly new, species of dinosaur in the block? We have some suspicion that the latter might be the case. We also found a small patch of what we think is dinosaur skin and are working with a team to study this further. Even with all the preparation tools of a paleontology lab at our disposal it may not be possible to separate all the tightly packed bones in the block. We think that some of the bones will have to be taken out in blocks and run through a micro-CT scanner. This will give us the shape data of the bones and allow them to be studied digitally. This powerful technique is gaining popularity in modern paleontology. The drawback of this method is that the few scanners large enough to accommodate our blocks are located far from Salt Lake City, so we would need to package the blocks carefully for a road trip across the country! Although the going is slow, we are excited for the next chapter of research into this incredible treasure trove of dinosaur fossils.

block. Some of these models can be viewed on the web at the UGS paleontology page on Sketchfab (https:// sketchfab.com/dondeblieux/models). Research on the site and its fossils has been ongoing. We published a paper in 2016 (Kirkland et al., 2016) detailing the geology of the Stikes Quarry. Based on the geometry of the sediments and by comparing them with modern analogs, we hypothesized that the site represents a dewatering feature, essentially quicksand that trapped, killed, and preserved the animals found there. Some of the adult Utahraptor skull bones from the megablock have been added to the material used in the initial description of Utahraptor from the Gaston Quarry and have been used to make an updated skull reconstruction. Some of the bones from the block have been added to the collections of the Natural History Museum of Utah. We are also working with a team of geologists and geochemists to get more accurate geochronologic data for the site. A paper was recently published (Joeckel et al., 2023) using detrital zircon and carbon isotope geochronology at the megablock site, which has now been named Utahraptor Ridge. The results of this work indicate that upper Yellow Cat Member rocks are approximately 135 million years old (Valanginian age), which is about 10 million years older than previously thought. This means that the meat-eating dinosaurs in the megablock are some of the oldest raptors (dromaeosaurs) known. So, where does the project stand now in the fall of 2023? After a 40-plus year career in paleontology and 7 years of dedicated work preparing fossils in the Utahraptor Megablock, Scott Madsen has decided to move on to retirement. We are actively searching for additional funding so that we can hire a new preparator or two to continue working on the block. We are

REFERENCES

Joeckel, R. M., Suarez, C. A., McLean, N., Möller, A., Ludvigson, G. A., Suarez, M. B., Kirkland, J.I., Andrew, J., Kiessling. S., and Hatzell, G.S., 2023, Berriasian–Valanginian geochronology and carbon-isotope stratigraphy of the Yellow Cat Member, Cedar Mountain Formation, eastern Utah, USA. In G. A. Ludvigson, R. M. Joeckel, & M. B. Suarez (Editors), Special Issue: Terrestrial paleoclimatology and paleohydrology of the Cretaceous greenhouse world: MDPI. https://www.mdpi. com/2076-3263/13/2/32 Kirkland, J.I., Simpson, E.L., DeBlieux, D.D., Madsen, S.K., Bogner, E. and Tibert, N.E., 2016, Depositional constraints on the Lower Cretaceous Stikes Quarry dinosaur site: upper Yellow Cat Member, Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah. Palaios, v. 31, no. 9, p. 421-439. https://doi. org/10.2110/palo.2016.041

Well Log Digitizing • Petrophysics Petra® Projects • Mud Log Evaluation Bill Donovan

Geologist • Petroleum Engineer • PE

(720) 351-7470 donovan@petroleum-eng.com OUTCROP | December 2023

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COFFEE HOUR MONTHLY, THIRD THURSDAY @ 10 AM

JANUARY 18, 2024 VIBE COFFEE 1490 CURTIS STREET DENVER, CO 80202

INTERESTED IN SPONSORING? LET US KNOW! EMAIL STAFF@RMAG.ORG

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OUTCROP | December 2023

HYBRID LUNCH TALK Speaker: Zane Jobe Date: December 6, 2023 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Lateral Heterogeneity of BasinPlain Turbidites of the Cloridorme Formation, Quebec, Canada Implications for Horizontal Well Prediction Presenter: Zane Jobe, Colorado School of Mines Formation utilizes drone photogrammetry, centimeter-scale graphic logs, and handheld gamma-ray scintillometry data to better understand the detailed turbidite and hybrid-event-bed architecture in a basin-plain setting. While most beds in this outcrop study can be traced for 500 meters or more in a down-current direction, our results indicate significant intra- and inter-bed lateral complexity, including changes in bed thickness, grainsize distribution, and mud content. The quantification of these lateral changes and comparison with other well-constrained outcrop analogs refines the environment of the Cloridorme Formation and aids in the prediction of subsurface heterogeneity in conventional and unconventional hydrocarbon reservoir systems through reservoir model parameterization as well as characterization of lateral heterogeneity important for horizontal-well geosteering and completion strategies.

Facies models for basin-plain turbidite systems often depict very simplistic event-bed geometries that are tabular at the kilometer scale. However, recent studies have demonstrated more complex facies architectures, including rapid changes in eventbed thickness and facies composition. This lateral event-bed heterogeneity can have a significant impact on reservoir heterogeneity prediction in basin-plain turbidite systems developed for hydrocarbon production, carbon sequestration, or geothermal energy. Coastal outcrops on the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec expose the Middle Ordovician Cloridorme Formation, a synorogenic ‘flysch’ turbidite system developed in the Taconic foreland basin. The formation is interpreted to occupy a basin-floor position due to long-distance (10s of kilometers) correlations of bedsets in the direction of paleocurrent. This outcrop-based study of the Cloridorme

DR. ZANE JOBE is a research professor at Colorado School of Mines and the Director of the Geology Center of Research Excellence (CoRE). Dr. Jobe completed his Ph.D. at Stanford University (2010) and his B.S. at the University of Texas at Arlington (2004). Dr. Jobe also spent 6 years at Shell Oil Company. His research interests aim to better understand the stratigraphic architecture, scaling relationships, and sediment budgets for clastic depositional systems, with an emphasis on submarine environments. He also enjoys cycling and hunting, and thinks that copious amounts of yard work can be cathartic. OUTCROP | December 2023

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CALL FOR PAPERS

ABSTRACT DEADLINE: February 29, 2024

PETROLEUM HISTORY INSTITUTE

2024 ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM AND FIELD TRIP May 20-22, 2024

Canmore, Alberta, Canada

Investors and other interested parties at the Dingman #1 wellsite, Turner Valley, 1914 REGISTRATION AND EVENING RECEPTION Monday, May 20, 2024 PRESENTATIONS – ORAL AND POSTER – Tuesday, May 21, 2024 Proceedings to be published in the 2024 volume of Oil-Industry History

The theme for the Symposium is Exploration in the Canadian Rocky Mountain Foothills: From Drilling the Bumps to Deeper Insights. Papers on all aspects of the history of the petroleum industry in Canada and around the world are welcome.

FIELD TRIP TO BOTH TURNER VALLEY AND THE MUSEUM OF MAKING – Wednesday, May 22, 2024 HEADQUARTERS HOTEL – Chateau Canmore Hotel info and event registration form will be posted soon at.www.petroleumhistory.org ABSTRACTS BEING ACCEPTED NOW Please send to Dr. Clinton Tippett at clintontippett88@gmail.com

We look forward to hearing from you.

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QUESTIONS? Contact Rick Green: vrgreen1@telus.net

OUTCROP | December 2023

HYBRID LUNCH TALK Speaker: Michael Rigby Date: January 10, 2024 | 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

The Energy and Carbon Management Commission and the State of Energy Presenter: Michael Rigby, ECMC pipeline study, a geothermal regulatory study, and a subsurface injection study. The ECMC is working hard to engage stakeholders, build regulations, and complete studies to provide safe and protective permitting and regulatory pathways for emerging industries under its purview. The Division will leverage its existing processes, database, and staff expertise as it expands and incorporates these new directives.

Through the passing of SB23-016 and SB23285, the COGCC has been converted into the Energy and Carbon Management Commission. Historically, the ECMC has regulated oil and gas development in the state of Colorado. These laws expand the Division’s authority into CCUS, deep geothermal, and underground gas storage. Additionally, several studies are required including a CCS safety study, a state geothermal resource assessment, a hydrogen study, a

MICHAEL RIGBY: A geologist by background. Started his career working for 3 different oil companies in operations and development in several basins across the country with a specialty in petrophysics and structural geology. For the last 5 years, he has been with the COGCC, now the ECMC, working on a variety of issues. Most recently, he has been leading the effort to address legal and regulatory barriers and considerations for emerging industries such as CCUS, deep geothermal, underground gas storage, and more. He has a passion for creating legal and regulatory pathways for emerging industries in order to position Colorado as a leader in safe and protective natural resource development.

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Confluence Resources is an upstream exploration and production company Confluence Resources is an confluenceresources.com upstream exploration and production company confluenceresources.com

Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

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MEMBER CORNER

Meet Katerina Yared Energy Science Professional, Owner of Okra Switch Solutions, LLC HOW DID YOU END UP INVOLVED IN GEOSCIENCES? I grew up in Italy close to the majestic Alps. Monte Rosa was always smiling down at me. Going to visit family in Greece every summer I experienced earthquakes on a regular basis, and I was fascinated by them from day one. I went to university initially to study physics but found my calling through geophysics and then structural geology and petroleum geology when I was done with it all. Life is a journey, isn’t it?

WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST JOB?

My first job was as a LWD field engineer in Germany. My first hitch was going to the rig at night and my sleeping quarters was a medieval castle in the vicinity of Hamburg. But soon after I found myself on an offshore rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Quite a change of atmosphere.

WHAT DOES YOUR CURRENT JOB ENTAIL?

My current job entails subsurface analysis for the purposes of carbon storage and geothermal reservoir evaluation. Really exciting stuff and I am very grateful to be a part of these new energies.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO (FOR A CAREER) IF YOU WERE NOT DOING THIS?

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I would be singing and touring the world… seriously, one day I will do that. 

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WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING PART OF YOUR JOB?

RMAG’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee is featuring a monthly Member Corner. We hope you’ll enjoy learning about the diverse community of Earth scientists and wide variety of geoscience disciplines that comprise our membership. If you would like to appear in an upcoming column, or if there is someone you would like to nominate, please contact staff@rmag.org.

I love my job as I want to be an active member of the climate action crew. The climate is changing, and humans have the power to change the outcome of the climate scenario that lies before us. Like so many things, it doesn’t require much for us to make a small impact but as a community we will make waves. Like many before me have said: Humanity didn’t evolve from the stone age or bronze age because we ran out of rocks or bronze, but because our intellect helped us to innovate and make things better for us and the generations to come. We hold the key!

only once, and you need to live like it is your last day every day. I love unconditionally because everything else is a waste of time in my opinion. So, love what you do at work and love your family. I aim to be behind every decision I make with passion.

WHAT IS THE BEST CAREER LESSON YOU HAVE LEARNED SO FAR?

The best career lesson for me has always been to keep learning; keep your curiosity alive and sharpen your skills every day. Rely on your instincts and have them guide you through uncertain times.

WHO INSPIRES YOU?

Young people inspire me, not only my three kids but also students. They are a fountain of inspiration and motivation for me, to do better and be a better person. Their positivity inspires me to wake up every day and be the best I can be.

WHERE WAS YOUR FAVORITE FIELD TRIP IN SCHOOL?

I was fortunate to be part of amazing field trips at the RWTH Aachen. My favorite one was the month we spent in Australia. We explored the ore-richness of that continent. Camping under the clear night skies and seeing the Milky Way and the Capricorn ring in full brightness; I can still remember it as if it was yesterday.

HOW ARE YOU IMPACTING THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU?

I am a positive person and people say my smiles are contagious, so watch out!

WHAT IS THE GREATEST RISK YOU HAVE EVER TAKEN?

WHAT 3 TRAITS BEST DESCRIBE YOU?

I took the biggest risk leaving my comfort zone and setting sail to the U.S. very early in my career. No family, nobody I knew lived here. I came to the U.S. with one backpack and one duffel bag. I started from scratch…no credit history, no family or friends to tell me anything about real life in the US. I learned the hard life lessons, survived, and built a life here from the ground up that I am very proud of. And as they say…”The rest is history!”

Reliable, optimistic, and empathetic.

DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES?

HOW DO YOU BALANCE WORK & FAMILY? That is a question I get a lot. I expand the use of the 24 hours I have each day to the fullest. You live

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I argue I have too many hobbies, but people and our technical communities are some of my (many) hobbies…It’s all volunteer work. Another hobby is singing and performing on stage with my band. That is a very exciting experience with a wonderful group of people. We play rock from the 1970’s to 2000’s and people can find us at Moe’s BBQ off Broadway or Fraco’s Bar in Littleton. Next performance is December 16th!

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MEMBER CORNER

IF YOU COULD HAVE A SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Help alleviate suffering in the world. It sounds cliché, but I always like to help those that have been less fortunate in their lives. Energy injustice, plus gender and geographic inequity, are still widespread and increasingly dividing the world more and more.

IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?

I like turquoise. It is a very calming and soothing color.

WHAT KIND OF MUSIC DO YOU ENJOY LISTENING TO?

Reggaetón, Laika (Greek), Pop, Rock and Roll (80’s rock is my favorite), anything that has a beat to which you can move.

WHAT TV SHOW/MOVIE IS YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE?

I really don’t have much time for shows.

WHAT IS YOUR SPIRIT ANIMAL?

WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEING COMPLIMENTED ON?

CAT! If it’s not a cat I don’t know why I have so much love for these animals. I have been fostering cats and kittens the last 6 years and I swear they talk to me. 

I don’t really.

WHAT FOOD DO YOU DISLIKE THE MOST AND WHY?

OUT OF THE FOUR SEASONS, WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ONE AND WHY?

Trippa – animal (sheep, goat or cow) intestines. My Greek side of the family loved that stuff…so I still smell it in my mind. Thinking about it makes my stomach go crazy.

Spring, because everything wakes up again and gives life a try one more time.

IF YOU COULD MEET ANYONE IN THIS WORLD TODAY, WHO WOULD YOU MEET?

WHAT IS THE WEIRDEST THING YOU HAVE EVER EATEN?

My German grandpa; he died in World War II so I never met him.

Lamb brains. And I liked it!

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Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | December 2023

BOOK REVIEW

The Great Basin Seafloor: Exploring the Ancient Seas of the Desert West By Frank DeCourten Reviewed by Rasoul Sorkhabi, University of Utah, Salt Lake City

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From a spacecraft one can easily spot the Great Basin, but that is not how this region was discovered. Native peoples inhabited the region for millennia and a few European and Spaniard explorers journeyed around or across it in the 1700s and 1800s (as detailed in Gloria Cline’s classic work, Exploring the Great Basin, University of Oklahoma Press, 1963, and more recently by Richard Francaviglia in Mapping and Imagination in the Great Basin, University of Nevada Press, 2005). However, the first person to map and name the Great Basin was John C. Frémont who crisscrossed the region in various directions from 1842 to 1854. Frémont noticed that this vast tract of arid land between Sierra Nevada on the west and the Rockies on the east had no fluvial outlet to the Pacific. This physiographic and hydrologic basin, which covers the western half of Utah, almost all of Nevada as well as parts of Oregon (Harney Basin) and California (Mojave Desert), was later explored and mapped for its rock exposures by the United States Survey geologists. The Great Basin is covered with young sediments but the outcrops of sedimentary rocks of various geologic periods indicate that the region had a long protracted geologic history. Further geological investigations found that the geologic structure of the Great Basin – a series of north-south trending valleys (basins) bounded by rugged mountains and normal faults – is indicative of crustal extension (thinning and stretching of the continental crust) – hence term the Basin-and-Range province has also been given to this region.

In a new book, The Great Basin Seafloor, recently published by the University of Utah Press, Frank DeCourten describes the marine sedimentation records of the region from nearly one billion years ago to the Jurassic period. DeCourten is well positioned to write this book. For many years he worked as a curator for the Utah Museum of Natural History and later as a geology professor at Sierra College in California. He has previously published three fabulous books related to the region - Dinosaurs of Utah (1998),

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BOOK REVIEW

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late Devonian to the end of the Mississippian period (383-232 Ma) the Great Basin region witnessed a mountain-building event – the Antler belt (Chapter 6), which uplifted the central part of Nevada and created a new deep basin in front of the mountain belt (in eastern Nevada, filled with shale and sandstone), although limestone deposition continued in eastern Utah. Chapter 7 describes the Pennsylvanian (323-299 Ma) sedimentary formations. Chapter 8 discusses another mountain-building event – the Sonoma belt, created when a small continental block (from the Pacific side) collided with the Antler belt. This happened during the Permian period (299-252 Ma). Then we enter the Triassic period (252-201 Ma) whose sediments have preserved abundant fossils of ammonites, bivalves, fishes, and reptiles. This is where the book ends. From the Jurassic onwards, the geologic story of the Great Basin region was closely associated with the formation of the Rockies (by crustal thickenings) followed by the Basin-andRange (by crustal thinning and stretching), which would require its own book. Books of this nature draws a large number of research papers; DeCourten has managed to distill this vast literature, to which geologists from geological surveys and universities in Utah and Nevada have largely contributed, in a succinct and readable style. A chapter on the history of geological studies of the Great Basin would have been informative as well. The Great Basin Seafloor will be of much interest to geology buffs who may also visit the Great Basin. The book is written in a non-technical language and is profusely illustrated with 143 figures and maps. A bibliography of over 300 references at the end of the book offers ample sources for in-depth research by geology students and researchers.

The Broken Land: Adventures in Great Basin Geology (2003), both published by the University of Utah Press, and Roadside Geology of Nevada (coauthored with Norma Biggar, Mountain Press, 2017). The Great Basin Seafloor consists of eight chapters. Chapter 1 is a crash course on sedimentary geology. The rest of the book follows in a chronologic order the sedimentation history of the Great Basin as a locus of an ancient oceanic environment. The story begins in the Rodinia supercontinent at about one billion years (Chapter 2) when the Great Basin region was situated in the interior of the supercontinent. Rodinia was later fragmented into several continents including North and South Americas. For the past 540 million years, the Great Basin region was subjected to tectonic, biological, and sedimentation events affecting the Pacific side of the North American continent. During the Cambrian period (541 to 485 million years ago or Ma), as described in Chapter 3, there was a massive “explosion of life” forms including the trilobites whose fossils are well preserved and abundantly found in shale and limestone rocks, such as those in Trilobite Quarry in Delta, Utah. Chapter 4 discusses the Ordovician period (485 to 444 Ma) of the Great Basin region. During the Silurian (444-419 Ma) and the early and middle parts of the Devonian period (419-383 Ma), the Great Basin region was covered with a vast carbonate platform made up of limestone and dolomite (magnesium-bearing limestone). Vast dolomite tracts of the same age have also been found in other parts of the world, and their existence is a long-standing problem in geology because nowhere in the modern world do we find massive dolomite deposition. DeCourten suggests that the Great Basin region offers important clues to mechanisms of dolomitization. From the

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Engaging in Geoscience! 2023 Educational Outreach for the RMAG By Donna Anderson, Rob Diedrich, Ginny Gent, Holly Lindsey, and Astrid Makowitz to about a dozen more RMAG members and friends who helped with events and school visits. A committee strength is collaborating with teachers and youth activity directors to create short programs in the classroom and field. These requests originate from personal/committee contacts as well as our website. On a cold morning in late March, we helped 60 middle school students from Highland Middle School from Ault, CO navigate the geology at Dinosaur Ridge (Photo 1). As usual, a few students came dressed in shorts and seemed immune to the cold! We acted as “geo-chaperones” to groups of 10 students,

The Educational Outreach Committee had a busy 2023! Our mission has been to provide fun and engaging educational opportunities for K-12 students and adults. That mission speaks to becoming an informed citizen as well as finding a STEM career. Through our activities, we contacted about 1000 students and accompanying adults. We have a growing Colorado Rocks educational collection, and we gave two Earth Science Teacher of the Year awards. Thanks to the twelve committee members, RMAG Board liaison Steve Crouch, and RMAG Executive Director Bridget Crowther, for supporting the committee. A big thanks

PHOTO 1: At Dinosaur Ridge track site with Highland Middle school

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2023 EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH

PHOTO 2: Activities at Colorado Academy

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from our collection as they learned about life on Earth and the uniqueness of Earth in our solar system. Cat Campbell participated in a science night at Coronado Elementary in Littleton. Several of us participated in a Columbine High School career fair where we were only one of two STEM-related groups! About 30 students dropped by to chat about geoscience as well as other STEM careers. As more schools hold career fairs post-pandemic, we hope to increase our presence at those events. At Boy Scout Days (May) on Dinosaur Ridge, Michael Braunscheidel, Lloyd Sobel, Natalie Hook, Donna Anderson, and Rob Diedrich engaged with about 60 scouts plus their family members in fun geology games. (Photo 3) These included a “present is the key to the past” exercise where scouts matched a rock to a picture of a modern-day environment where that rock could have been formed and a “geologic timescale”’ game where scouts correlated Colorado rocks to a stratigraphic column and used pencils to color their own stratigraphic section. Girl Scout Day at Dinosaur Ridge (October) was a fantastic STEM celebration! (Photo 4) The partial annular eclipse started off the day with interesting shadows and lots of folks staring at the sun (with eclipse glasses on of course!). A wide variety of science and engineering booths got girls and their families thinking about where things come from and how they were

shadowing the Dinosaur Ridge guides on the outcrop, and helping as needed. For a second year, we returned to Colorado Academy and engaged with about 60 6th-graders examining rock specimens and demonstrating how ground water is distributed in sediments (Photo 2). Astrid Makowitz, Rob Diedrich, and Katie Joe McDonough arrived with a red wagon full of rocks and supplies in tow and spent the better part of a day talking to students about rocks and ground water as they cycled through three stations: 1) rocks of Colorado (a huge hit especially the volcanic bomb sample); 2) how ground water is stored between grains in sediments and how the volume of water storage changes with different grain size (lots of blue dye involved here); and 3) a quick lesson on the rock cycle and a discussion on the different rocks types, followed by students classifying the red-wagon full of rocks. In early May, Katie Joe McDonough and Donna Anderson led an afternoon field trip to Red Rocks Park with about 15 6th- and 7th-graders for Sue Counterman’s class at Colorado Academy. Between setting up for a concert and construction, we still managed to get the students sketching the rock layers and understanding the time span of the “Great Unconformity.” We look forward to our continuing relationship with the school in 2024. Astrid Makowitz spent an afternoon at Monarch Montessori showing 1st through 3rd graders fossils

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2023 EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH

formed. RMAG’s booth featured a mineral identification activity with a streak plate and hardness tests, but the best reactions were from the chance to taste Paradox basin salt. We also had an environment matching game where large samples could be placed on the picture of their provenance. The volcanic bomb matched to the volcano picture was popular, and a surprising number of kids matched the beach sample as well. Every child that tried one of the activities was invited to pick out a tiny plastic dinosaur to take home. Several of the dinosaurs were given names before they even got back to the parking lot! We estimate that 200 Girl Scouts and accompanying adults came by our booth. In September, RMAG women professionals (Katie Joe McDonough, Holly Lindsey, Terri Olson, Cat Campbell, and Lisa Wolff) teamed up to prepare and host two webinars for the Girl Scouts of America Inspiring Futures career information program (see Outcrop for October 2023). Two different sessions, one for elementary-age girls and one for middle school and older girls, were recorded and made available for any Girl Scout that would like to access them in the future. Live attendees on the webinar enjoyed hearing our stories of PHOTO 3: Boy Scout Days at Dinosaur Ridge the coolest things we have done at work: things like working in an open pit mine, In early November, Parker Science Night was held doing fieldwork in the Himalayas, studying the San at the PACE center in Parker, another collaborative Andreas Fault, and helping explore Mars. The sharevent with the Diversity and Inclusion committee. ing went both ways, as the girls all wanted to show RMAG, Dinosaur Ridge (DR) and the Colorado Geologus their rock collections before we had to sign off ical Survey (CGS) hosted a double booth. (Photo 5) the meetings. Libby Prueher of DR had several volunteers help with Committee members led two programs for the dinosaur mask coloring and a complete the dinosaur Rainbow Alley youth group at The Center on Colfax in drawing activity. RMAG volunteers Ginny Gent, Lloyd collaboration with the Diversity and Inclusion ComSobel, Barb Luneau and Cat Campbell helped elemenmittee. Katie Joe McDonough directed seismic intertary-aged kids and their parents identify minerals uspretation exercise using multiple lines imaging the ing the Mohs hardness scale, scratch plates, and a magcrust and overlying sedimentary rocks across the Atnet. It is always fun to see the “aha” moments when the lantic Ocean. In July, Jeff May (Diversity and Inclusion magnetite is found using the magnet. Enrique Chon Committee Chair), Katie Joe McDonough, Ginny Gent, and Nate Rogers from the CGS brought an earthquake and Sarah Compton organized and led a field trip to Dinosaur Ridge for about 15 youths. simulator and a seismometer on an iPad that was a OUTCROP | December 2023

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2023 EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH

PHOTO 4: Girl Scout Days at Dinosaur Ridge

PHOTO 5: Parker Science Night rock testing and seismic demonstration

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2023 EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH (Photo 6). The awardees were Shirley Davis of Windsor Early College Charter Academy and Dr. Yajaira Fuentes-Tauber of Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins. Each received $4000 to be split between their professional development and classroom use (see August Outcrop article). Applications for 2024 will open in April and close in early June. If you know of deserving teachers, encourage them to apply through the RMAG website. In 2024 the committee will become the Geoscience Outreach Committee with added priority to reach out to underserved and marginalized communities. The Educational Outreach and Diversity and Inclusion committees have collaborated on many events in the past two years, and we share similar goals, members, and activity calendars. Combining the programing will strengthen the RMAG outreach effort. We urge you to connect with your schools. If you are interested in joining our efforts and/or know educators who would welcome in-person geoscience activities for their classroom, contact us at edoutreach@ rmag.org .

huge success with the kids. The event had over 2000 participants, and we interacted with approximately 350 kids and 250 adults. Work on the Colorado Rocks Collection continues. We received four donations from three traveling geologists. Harvey DuChene sent us some San Juan volcanic samples from near his home in Lake City plus Maroon Formation and Yule Marble from the Redstone area. Nate Rogers donated a box of Yule Marble from Marble, CO that we can use as display samples and giveaways at our many events. Donna Anderson provided three Dotsero basalt samples that already have been used at our education events. The kids and parents are always amazed at the weight difference between a lava bomb (donation thanks to Fred Barnard in 2022) and a piece of vesicular basalt. Thank you everyone for the donations. We will be cataloging them and generating activities using the collection in 2024. If you are interested in helping, contact us! In 2023 the RMAG and the RMAG Foundation jointly presented Earth Science Teacher of the Year awards to two deserving high-school teachers

PHOTO 6: Earth Science Teacher of the Year awardees

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IN THE PIPELINE

DECEMBER 1, 2023 2023 Rockbusters Ball. Mines Museum of Earth Science.

Earth Resources Library, 730 17th Street, B1, Denver.

DECEMBER 7, 2023

DECEMBER 6, 2023

DPC 75th Anniversary/Holiday Party. Henry’s Tavern. 500 16th St. Mall, Suite 184B.

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Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | December 2023

MINERAL OF THE QUARTER By Ronald L. Parker 1st Vice President of RMAG | Senior Geologist, Borehole Image Specialists, P. O. Box 221724, Denver CO 80222 ron@bhigeo.com

AXINITES The Borosilicate Beauties

Two parallel interconnected transparent brown axinite-(Fe) crystals with lustrous, wedge-shaped crystal faces. Parallel growth bands decorate the near crystal face. From the Puiva Deposit, Tyumenskaya Oblast’, Sub-Polar Ural Mountains, Russia. 28 mm x 23 mm. Photo with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals.

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Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

MINERAL OF THE QUARTER: AXINITES

Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

Axinite, (general formula Ca, Fe2+,Mg,Mn)3Al2BSi4O15(OH) describes a family of 4 calcium aluminum borosilicate minerals that occur in varied igneous and metamorphic settings. The 4 members of the group display variation in Fe, Mg, Mn and Ca content. The name refers to a common crystal habit. Axinites are most usually dark brown but they can occur in a wide variety of colors. Axinites have no industrial uses but they are prized by collectors. Axinite was 1st discovered in 1780 at Bourg d’Oisons, France and was thought to be a type of tourmaline. Over the next 20 years, several other occurrences were discovered and given different names. In 1799, French priest and mineralogist Rene Just Haüy, applied the name axinite, for the Greek ‘axine’, a reference to the common resemblance of wedge-shaped crystals to an axe head (Johnsen, 2002; Lauf, 2007). The term ‘axinite’ describes a family of 4 minerals known as the Axinite Group - ferroaxinite, magnesioaxinite, manganaxinite and tinzenite. The first three end-members are dominated by Fe, Mg and Mn, respectively, and Fe-rich axinite is, by far, the most common. Tinzenite displays a Ca deficiency that is compensated by Mn and is, thus, and intermediate (Andreozzi et. al, 2004). Solid solution occurs between some of the group members and zoned crystals are not uncommon. Many zoned axinites display a compositional trend of an Fe-rich core progressing outward to a more Mn-rich rim (Lauf, 2007). In 2008, the International Mineralogical Association (IMA) decreed that axinite species would be identified with a suffix – Axinite-(Fe), Axinite-(Mg) and Axinite-(Mn) to ease cataloguing (Minerals.net, 2023) Axinites were initially considered to be cyclosilicates made up of BO3 triangles and Si4O12 rings– giving the cyclosilicate Si:O ratio of 1:3. Updated structural analysis shows that the complicated structure of axinites is more like a sorosilicate with Si:O ratios of 2:7 (Klein, 2002). Nesse (2004) indicates that the structure of axinite is “unusual and does not fall neatly into the conventional silicate classification scheme” (p.236). Axinites display a range in physical properties that reflect their differing compositions, and yet, Axinite Group members are difficult to discriminate one from the other (Lauf, 2007). Axinite colors are mostly

Lustrous, transparent orange-brown axinite (Fe) euhedra from Rocher d’Armantier, Bourg d’Oisans, Isère, Dauphine Region, Rhone-Alpes, France. Central crystal, with welldeveloped parallel growth bands, is ~1 cm tall. Photo used with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals.

dark brown but often display other brown tones: honey-, gray- or golden brown. Less frequently observed colors are gray, bluish-gray, pink, purple, yellow, orange or red (Bonewitz, 2013). Axinites are common as euhedral to subhedral crystals, often with parallel line growths or striations. Axinite crystals often form as broad tabular, bladed or wedge-shaped crystals with acute, sharp edges, sometimes suggesting an axe head. Axinite wedge-shaped crystals may coalesce as rosettes. Massive and granular habits occur as well (Bonewitz, 2006). Axinites sport the lowest possible crystal symmetry – bar1, triclinic. Cleavage in the axinite group is perfect in one direction (100) with conchoidal fracture in other directions. Hardnesses range from 6.5 to 7.0, with specific gravities of 3.27 to 3.35 (Johnsen, 2002, Klein, 2002). Axinites have a vitreous luster and crystals are commonly transparent to translucent. Axinites occur in veins, vesicles and miarolitic

OUTCROP | December 2023

MINERAL OF THE QUARTER: AXINITES datolite, tourmaline, epidote, vesuvianite, calcite, albite, tremolite, chlorite, k-spar, braunite and quartz (Mineral Data Publishing, 2001a, b, c, d). Axinite has no industrial applications, but it is a common collectors desire. Many translucent axinites are trichroic— exhibiting differing color character along each of the 3 crystallographic axes—a pleasing characteristic for a collectible gem mineral (Lauf, 2007). As a hard silicate, axinite can be faceted as a gemstone, but it is brittle and is easily marred by chips. Faceted stones, thus are mostly for display

cavities in granite, basalt, gabbro and diorite. They are also produced by contact metamorphism in limestone and dolomite skarns. Sometimes axinites are noted from hydrothermal veins, pegmatites and in regionally metamorphosed gneisses, schists and amphibolites (Nesse, 2004). Axinites from different petrogenetic origins record high sensitivity to pressure, temperature and oxygen fugacity (P-T-fO2) conditions during growth (Andreozzi et. al., 2004). Axinite Group mineral associations include: prehnite, andradite, hedenbergite, zoisite, actinolite,

BELOW: Yellow-orange transparent bladed axinite-(Mn) crystals. Franklin Mining District, Sussex County, New Jersey. Field of view is 2 cm wide. Photo used with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals.

OUTCROP | December 2023

Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

MINERAL OF THE QUARTER: AXINITES

Lustrous, reddishbrown axinite (Fe) crystal aggregate with scattered overgrowths of yellow quartz. Nandan, Hechi, Guangxi, China. 6.5 cm x 5.5 cm. Photo used with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals.

Translucent, pinkishbrown, bladed axinite (Fe) crystal with striated prism faces. From Khapalu, Ghanche District, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. 4.5 cm x 3 cm. Photo used with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals.

Vol. 72, No. 12 | www.rmag.org

OUTCROP | December 2023

MINERAL OF THE QUARTER: AXINITES (Bonewitz, 2013). Axinites are found worldwide, with notable occurrences in: St. Gotthard and Tinzen, Switzerland; Liguria, Italy; the Harz Mtns, Germany; St. Isere, France; Cornwall, England; Montagu County, Tasmania; New South Wales, Australia; Akatore, New Zealand; Obiro, Japan; Guangxi, China; Baja California, Mexico; Bahia, Brazil; Timmins, Ontario and Hope, British Columbia, Canada; Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan and in the Sub-Polar Ural Mountains of Russia. In the United States, axinites are known from Luning, Nevada; Jefferson Co., Montana; Franklin, New Jersey and Calaveras County, California. Gem axinite occurrences are mostly from Mexico, France, Sri Lanka, Russia, Australia and the USA (Mineral Data Publishing, 2001a,b,c,d; Bonewitz, 2013). Axinite – a beautiful borosilicate!

ON-LINE REFERENCES

Lustrous, transparent, bladed, purple axinite (Fe) with albite. Melones Dam, Area No. 1, Calaveras County, California. Field of view is 2 cm across. Photo used with permission from John Betts Fine Minerals.

Klein, Cornelis, 2002, The 22nd Edition of the Manual of Mineral Science: New York, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 641 pp. Lauf, Robert J., 2007, Collector’s Guide to the Axinite Group, Rocks & Minerals, 82(3): 216-220. Mineral Data Publishing, 2001a, Ferroaxinite, https://rruff.info/doclib/hom/ferroaxinite.pdf, Accessed 11/2/2023. Mineral Data Publishing, 2001b, Magnesioaxinite, https://rruff.info/doclib/hom/magnesioaxinite. pdf Accessed 11/2/2023. Mineral Data Publishing, 2001c, Manganaxinite, https://rruff.info/doclib/hom/manganaxinite.pdf Accessed 11/2/2023. Mineral Data Publishing, 2001d, Tinzenite, https://rruff.info/doclib/hom/tinzenite.pdf Accessed 11/2/2023. Minerals.net, 2023, The Axinite Mineral Group, https://www.minerals.net/mineral/axinite.aspx Accessed 1/5/2023. Nesse, William D., 2004, Introduction to Optical Mineralogy, 3rd Edition: New York: Oxford University Press, 348 pp.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axinite • https://www.mindat.org/min-1459.html • https://www.minerals.net/mineral/axinite.aspx • https://rruff.info/doclib/hom/ferroaxinite.pdf • https://rruff.info/doclib/hom/magnesioaxinite.pdf • https://rruff.info/doclib/hom/manganaxinite.pdf • https://rruff.info/doclib/hom/tinzenite.pdf

REFERENCES

Andreozzi, Giovanni B., Sergio Lucchesi, Giorgio Graziani and Umberto Russo, 2004, Site Distribution of Fe2+ and Fe3+ in the Axinite Mineral Group: New Crystal-Chemical Formula, American Mineralogist, 89:1763-1771. Bonewitz, Ronald Louis, 2005, Rock and Gem: The Definitive Guide to Rocks, Minerals, Gems and Fossils, New York, New York: Dorling-Kindersley Limited, 360 pp. _______________, 2013, Smithsonian Nature Guide: Gems, New York, New York: Dorling-Kindersley Limited, 224 pp. Johnsen, Ole, 2002, Minerals of the World: Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J. 439 pp.

OUTCROP | December 2023

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