Preliminary damage report of Trinidad, Colorado M5.3 earthquake

The Colorado Geological Survey posted a preliminary damage report on last week's M5.3 earthquake near the town of Trinidad:

At 11:46 PM MDT on August 22, 2011, a Mw 5.3 earthquake was recorded by U.S. Geological Survey seismometers and located the epicenter approximately 9 miles (+/- 7.8 miles) WSW of Trinidad, Colorado. Early reports by local news media indicated that significant damage to buildings had occurred in the towns of Segundo and Valdez, 15 miles west of Trinidad on Colorado State Highway 12. Prior to the Mw 5.3 event, three smaller events were also recorded in the same vicinity, the largest being an Mw 4.6 event at 5:30 PM MDT.

On the morning of August 23rd, the Colorado Geological Survey dispatched geologists to the area to document the damage related to the largest earthquake in Colorado within the last 44 years. Locations with observed structural damage included (from most severe to least): Segundo, Valdez, Cokedale, and Trinidad.

[right, the front of this brick building in Segundo Colorado collapsed, sending debris onto State Highway 12. Note the crushed mailbox. Figure 8 in the report.]

Vermont Geological Survey flood damage from Hurricane Irene

Vermont has been particularly hard-hit with unprecedented flooding caused by the torrential rains associated with Hurricane Irene. The village of Waterbury, home of the Vermont Geological Survey, has been flooded out by the Winooski River. We hear from our colleagues in New England that the VGS staff and their families are all well and most have had power restored to their homes. However, the building that houses the VGS has suffered flood damage, although the full extent of that damage is not known at this time. Staff have been unable to survey the situation due to roads being washed out. [right, Vermont rivers and lakes. Credit, Geology.com]

Prehistoric Life of North Dakota Coloring & Activity Book

A prehistoric life of North Dakota coloring and activity book has recently been published and is now available as Educational Series 32. The cover art and illustrations in the book where done by Becky Gould, Survey paleontologist, and John Hoganson, State Paleontologist, provided the text. The book is arranged in chronological order beginning with marine Paleozoic fossils found in oil well cores and ending with illustrations of animals that lived in North Dakota during the last Ice Age.

The book follows the story line of the Corridor of Time fossil exhibit in the North Dakota Heritage Center and will be consistent with the fossil exhibits planned for the new Geologic Time Exhibit Gallery being constructed as part of the Heritage Center expansion.

Price is $2 from the North Dakota Geological Survey

Reprieve for Louisiana Geological Survey

Louisiana State Geologist Chacko John passed along the good news that at least for the time being, the Survey will not take the major budget cuts that threatened them. Less drastic cuts may be forthcoming mid-fiscal year, but worries that the Survey would be completely phased out are somewhat lessened.

Rick Chormann named State Geologist of New Hampshire

We're a little late in announcing that Frederick "Rick" Chormann was appointed State Geologist and Director of the New Hampshire Geological Survey. Rick had been Acting State Geologist following the resignation of David Wunsch, who went to the National Ground Water Association.

Source of Virginia's M5.9 quake

The Virginia Division of Geology and Mineral Resources issued this statement on the magnitude 5.9 earthquake that occurred today, shaking large areas of the Eastern U.S.:

Virginia experienced a widely-felt earthquake at 1:51 p.m. eastern daylight time on Tuesday, August 23, 2011. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the epicenter of the quake was located near Mineral, in Louisa County. With a preliminary magnitude of 5.9, this is the
largest Virginia earthquake in historic times. A few small aftershocks have been reported.

The epicenter falls within the Central Virginia Seismic Zone, a cluster of dozens of earthquakes that have occurred within the past 120 years, centered about halfway between Richmond and Charlottesville. Several known faults are present in the area: the Chopawamsic Fault, the Lakeside Fault, and the Spotsylvania Fault. These are old faults, related to plate tectonic events that closed and then reopened the Atlantic Ocean about 150 million years ago. Even though these faults are quite old and considered to be inactive, occasional earthquakes continue to occur.

Foreign invesment in U.S. natural resources

Colorado State Geologist Vince Matthews is quoted extensively in a feature article in High Country News about foreign investment in western U.S. extractive resources (the article requires paid subscription):

Lately, Matthews has been traveling around the state telling chambers of commerce, groups of geologists, community leaders and just about anyone else who will listen that he's worried.

Sitting in his downtown Denver office, wearing a suit and tie that would look at home on a Houston oil executive, Matthews says that China and India, with their huge populations and economies growing at rates not seen since the Industrial Revolution, are ravenous for natural resources. Handing me graphs and charts to prove it, he says that their hunger is already washing across the West, driving up the pressure to develop natural resources. He talks about a Chinese businesswoman he knows in Denver, who frequently asks him how her relatives and clients can get hold of a Colorado mine or mineral deposit. And he reminisces about a visit to the Los Angeles port at Long Beach, where he saw ship after ship loaded down with scrap metal, headed for China.

Even when these countries aren't directly investing in or buying U.S. resources, their appetite for them around the globe is raising prices and spurring new development here in the West, Matthews says.

[Right, map of foreign investments in extractive resources. Map by the Rural West Initiative, Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University. Credits: Rio Akasaka and Geoff McGhee]

What? No Geological Survey in Louisiana?

The planned shutdown of the Louisiana Geological Survey over the next three years and conversion of the operation into an contract mill, is drawing incredulity and derision from the petroleum industry. An article in the August issue of AAPG Explorer notes that if Louisiana follows through on its plans, the state will be the only one in the continental U.S. without a state geological survey.

The article notes that the Survey has been a driving force for the independent oil and gas industry, which they call the 'backbone' of Louisiana's success in oil and gas exploration.

Colorado State Geologist warns of natural resource depletion

Colorado State Geologist Vince Matthews[right, credit CGS] warns that “We’re depleting natural resources all over the world," and are increasingly at risk of shortages of energy and minerals. Vince spoke at the recent 3-D Seismic Symposium in Denver and his talk is reported in the June issue of AAPG Explorer magazine (p12).

He's quoted as saying "a total of 50 percent of all copper mined and 50 percent of all oil consumed has taken place since 1985." In addition, international companies, many nationally owned, are buying up U.S. reserves of energy and minerals which may mean that we wake up one day and discover we don't own them any more.

Colorado looks to Raton Basin for geothermal electricity

Paul Morgan, with the Colorado Geological Survey says that if sedimentary basin geothermal energy can be developed in the Raton basin, it can be done in many other basins and "a lot of the uncertainty of geothermal can be removed."

Paul is interviewed in the June issue of the AAPG Explorer magazine on geothermal energy. [right, Colorado heat flow map. Credit, CGS]

Opening for Wyoming State Geologist

Applications for the Wyoming State Geologist are being invited:

The State of Wyoming is seeking applicants for the cabinet level position of State Geologist/Director of the Wyoming State Geological Survey, located in Laramie, Wyoming. The State Geologist is the chief administrator of the Wyoming Geological Survey, as well as a member of various boards, commissions and groups in Wyoming. Résumés accepted through September 15th, 2011.

For further details and a full job description, contact Colin McKee, Wyoming Governor’s office:

Phone: 307-777-7434 or

Email: colin.mckee@wyo.gov

An EEO/ADA employer

3D geologic mapping by geological surveys

The Illinois State Geological Survey and British Geological jointly published a compilation of articles on 3D geologic mapping and modeling being done in geological surveys worldwide. [right, Lake County, Illinois, showing data, cross sections, surficial and 3D geology]

Ref: Synopsis of Current Three-dimensional Geological Mapping and Modeling in Geological Survey Organizations, ISGS Circular 578, 2011, 92p.

NY Survey deals with largest landslide in state history

A landslide taking place since May, 2011 is now considered to be the largest recorded landslide in New York State [right, progression of landslide, May 10-31, 2011]. Over 82 acres of earth are moving, albeit slowly, but steadily. Unlike the movie version of landslides in which rocks and boulders and fast-moving earth quickly destroy everything in its path, most true landslides are slow-moving. Early measurements taken the U.S. Geological Survey indicate the hillside moving downward at the rate of about 1 millimeter an hour along a mile-long fault. This is considerable when you take into account that the foundation of several homes located along the site are being moved as well.

However, in recent weeks, some parts of the slide have actually accelerated. Over a three-day period in June, a shift of 150 feet downhill was recorded. Dry weather should help slow the slide as water is removed from the soil, but rain and snow from upcoming seasons can continue to destabilized the area.

In the News:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/14/nyregion/creeping-landslide-puts-ny-house-on-precipice.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/01/us-landslide-newyork-idUSTRE7605F320110701
http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/17722/keene-valley-landslide-now-largest-in-new-york-state-history

[reprinted from the NY State Geological Survey website]

Arkansas earthquake story on NPR

Arkansas Geological Survey's Scott Ausbrooks is one of the experts interviewed in a 13-minute special segment on National Public Radio yesterday. The segment is titled, "Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's Earthquake Ballad." The producers" shared the community's voices with musician Will Oldham, aka Bonnie "Prince" Billy, who contributed an original song, "Mother Nature Kneels," based on their stories." You can listen to the audio or read the transcript online.

[right, recent earthquakes in Arkansas. Credit, Arkansas Geological Survey]

North Carolina solution to landslides - kill the landslide mapping program

North Carolina and Tennessee have spent $20 million in the last 6 months to repair damage to major roads from landslides, rockfalls, and mudslides. So what is North Carolina's response? The Legislature voted to eliminate the landslide mapping program at the North Carolina Geological Survey, nominally as a budget saving effort.

However, news reports describe opposition to the landslide mapping program home builders, real estate interests, and local and state officials, who fear that disclosure of landslide risk will discourage buyers, especially those from out of state. [right, demolished remains of a residence at the location of a fatal debris flow on Dec. 11, 2003 near Maggie Valley, North Carolina. Much of the demolition took place during the effort to rescue the victim buried in the back of the house. The embankment failure that originated in the scarp in the background mobilized into a debris flow. Credit, NCGS]

Interim Director of New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources

L. Greer Price will be the interim director of the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources until a replacement is hired for retiring State Geologist Peter Scholle. Peter will stay on as an Emeritus member of the Bureau and New Mexico Tech, and will continue to be active in AASG. [that's Greer on the left]

Profile of retiring Delaware State Geologist John Talley

Delaware State Geologist John Talley [right. Credit, UDel] has just retired and the University of Delaware published a nice review of his career and accomplishments.

“John’s leadership and his incredible record of making connections with state and local governments, nonprofits, and other groups have made a lasting impact on DGS and its mission,” said Nancy Targett, dean of the College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, the administrative home of DGS.

DGS Senior Scientist Peter McLaughlin will serve as interim director until a replacement is hired.

New AASG officers elected at annual meeting

The following were elected as officers of AASG at the annual meeting in Dubuque, Iowa on June 15, 2011. [right, incoming AASG President Vicki McConnell acknowledges the contributions of outgoing president Jim Cobb, at the AASG Annual Meeting]

AASG Executive Committee

President Vicki McConnell (OR)
President-elect Harvey Thorleifson (MN)
Past President Jim Cobb (KY)
Vice President Bob Swenson (AK)
Secretary Joe Gillman (MO)
Treasurer Jon Arthur (FL)
Honorary Members Rep. Don Hoskins (Honorary, PA)

Other Elected Positions
Statistician Rick Allis (UT)
Historian Michael Bograd (MS)
Editor Mike Hohn (WV)
Associates Representative Jerry Weisenfluh (KY)

Interim Director and State Geologist appointed in Delaware

Peter P. McLaughlin, Ph.D, PG, has been appointed to serve as Interim Director and State Geologist of the Delaware Geological Survey effective July 1, 2011. Pete has been a Senior Scientist at the DGS since 1999. He was previously employed as a Senior Exploration Geologist with Exxon Exploration Company.

Orndorff, Siok, honored by AASG

Randy Orndorff and Bill Siok were honored at the AASG Annual Meeting in Dubuque Iowa for their contributions that support state geological surveys and AASG.

Randy [top right, photo by Bob Marvinney] served as head of the USGS STATEMAP program in the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program for most of the past decade and was applauded for his leadership, collaboration, and vision in managing this flagship cooperative project.

Bill [bottom right, photo by Bob Marvinney] is Executive Director of the American Institute of Professional Geologists and was lauded for the AIPG authored white paper on the role and value of state geological surveys. The white paper is being used by many state surveys to help explain their contributions to stakeholders and decision-makers.