Carleton College geology majors Jonathan Eaton, Hilary Gittings, Isaac Larsen and Anna Moyles will present research at annual branch meetings of the Geological Society of America (GSA) this month.
Seniors Jonathan Eaton, of Cincinnati, Ohio, and Anna Moyles, of Berkeley, Calif., will discuss their research at the joint meeting of the Rocky Mountain and South-Central Sections of the GSA and the Rocky Mountain Section of the Paleontological Society of America held in Albuquerque, N.M. from April 30-May 2.
Moyles will speak on crystal patterns in granite. Her research was conducted on a particular granite pattern in Colorado and dealt with ascertaining the tectonic environment during the time of the granite formation. Eaton will speak on radiometric dating that he conducted on samples collected near Salida, Colo. One of the aims of Eaton's research was to examine the time period of the formation of the continental plates, which now form the larger North American plate.
Senior Isaac Larsen, of Clear Lake, Iowa, will travel to Illinois to present his research at the North-Central Section meeting of the GSA, which will be held April 23-24. Over 600 geoscientists are expected to attend. Larsen examined the subglacial hydrologic system of the Matanuska Glacier in Alaska. After drilling holes in debris-rich ice at the base of the glacier, Larsen monitored the water pressure in each hole and found that water under the glacier moved through a system of channels u
On April 5-6, junior Hilary Gittings, of State College, Pa., presented her research at the Southeastern Section of the GSA in Raleigh, N.C., hosted by North Carolina State University. Gittings examined the geochemistry of basalts, or lavas, in the Appalachian Mountains. She used the data from her experiments to determine the origin of the basalt.