Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences

GEO 400 - Field Mapping - 2006

Instructors: W.S.F. Kidd

Credits: 4 credit hours

Dates: (a) Field mapping Monday 14th August - (about) Thursday 31th August (inclusive).

(b) Drafting map and writing report; lecture on regional geology and tectonics. Mondays and Fridays 12.20-1.15 ES 232 Fall semester first quarter.

Geology of Area:  Paleozoic sedimentary rocks of the Taconic thrust belt.

Purpose and Intent:

To provide students with the experience of geological field work and in particular those of making a large coherent set of detailed field observations, a detailed outcrop map, and writing a substantial geological field report. This course does not attempt to deal with broad reconnaissance mapping, nor does it involve mapping on aerial photographs. Students will use an enlarged topographic map for a base and are shown techniques for mapping on it. Students work in pairs, each student taking a full set of notes and making a map..

Prerequisites:

A familiarity with basic field methods (use of compass, topographic maps, making field notes), rock and mineral identification from hand specimens, and courses covering the basics of stratigraphy, sedimentation, and structure.

For Albany students, this includes Geo 230, Stratigraphy; Geo 330, Structural Geology I, and the related field excursions (GEO 231; GEO 331)

Registration

All students must be registered for the course before leaving for the field. - No exceptions.

Students from other universites and colleges who wish to take the course should apply through the Office for General Studies

Instruction:

Each pair of students can expect to be accompanied for a half day in the field by  the instructor at least twice each week, weather permitting. Thus, although students will be supervised and there will be an instructor available for help and discussion in the evenings, students must be prepared to be mapping solely with their partner, and therefore to show initiative, for at least 3/4ths of the time they spend mapping. Geological mapping is a skill that can only be learned by doing it yourself and, to a certain extent, developing your own style; students should not think that they are being neglected because they spend the majority of their time mapping without an accompanying instructor. For this reason it is particularly important for students taking this course to ask questions of the instructor during the evenings, and on the days that they are accompanied. The map project will be of an area within the western part of the Taconic fold and thrust belt near West Haven, VT.

Assistance from an instructor will be available during weekly lab period in the fall semester. This final part of the course is mostly for students to draft maps and to write their reports. One lecture will be given on the regional geological setting.

Requirements:

Each student must hand in by the deadline for first quarter courses (October 20th):

• 1) His/her original field notebook, which must be neatly kept and taken originally in pencil.
• 2) His/her original field outcrop map sheets.
• 3) Neatly drafted and colored geological outcrop maps, with interpretation (for both the detailed first map area, and the other map areas/sections). These must include a comprehensive key, and scale, N-arrow.
• 4) At least one geological cross-section drawn without vertical exaggeration at the same scale as the map (at least one for each map).
• 5) An overall lithologic/stratigraphic column, drawn to scale as far as possible, and including specifications of the thickness variation of each unit.
• 6) A neatly written (preferably printed/typewritten), well-organized report on the geology of the area mapped.

Report - The report should treat in an organized way the generally applicable aspects of the rocks of the map area, with examples of specific or unusual features where appropriate. It must not be a random list of things seen. It should include major sections as follows: Introduction (brief); rock units, stratigraphy and sedimentary features; structure (small- and large-scale); and a brief section containing major conclusions about the geology mapped, and a brief summary of  the geological history and the broader tectonic setting of the rocks mapped. Headings and sub-headings should be used as much as possible -- do not hand in an unorganized, indigestible text of continuous prose without any divisions. Make the text as succinct as possible, but it must be in good English, not in notes. Reference should be made to sketches, the map, section(s), and stratigraphic column where appropriate. Ten pages of double-spaced text is suggested as a guide to a minimum appropriate length, with figures and illustrations additional to this.

Logistics:

Meet in E.S. 309 on Monday 14th August not later than 9:00 am. Bring your field equipment.  Drive (about 2 hours) to the field site in Vermont. Introductory field trip on Monday afternoon, which will include a quick recap of the necessary basic field techniques. Most of the remainder of the three weeks will be spent mapping as outlined above. Students are expected to spend Saturdays and Sundays in the field, mapping; if no days are lost to heavy rain, students may be rewarded with a return a day or two earlier than listed above.

Living Arrangements and Accommodation Fee:

We will be using the Vermont State Park campground at Lake Bomoseen. The camping fee will be $90 each.

Equipment:

The Department provides a 15-seater van for transport of equipment and some students to and from the field camp, and for ferrying students to and from their field areas. Students are encouraged to bring their own transport, but no funds are available for reimbursement of gasoline or other related expenses. The Department will on request provide propane camp stoves, lanterns, and fuel, water containers, coolers, and some basic cooking pans and utensils.

Students must get (or, where appropriate, arrange to share) the equipment listed here.

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