Dear Friends, Below are two messages about this year's Geological Society of America (GSA) Convention. The first is about what I expect will be an excellent karst field trip. The second message describes all of the karst sessions offered. The abstract deadline of 11 August 2015 is rapidly approaching so I encourage you to send your abstracts soon. All of the details are below.
As always, feel free to share this message with anyone you think may be interested. George ----------------------- Dear karst enthusiast, Please consider joining a 3-day field trip, #437: "Karst of the Mid-Atlantic Region in Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia"<http://community.geosociety.org/gsa2015/science-careers/fieldtrips#post> to be run immediately following the Annual Geological Society of America meeting in Baltimore this fall. (Thurs.-Sat., 5-7 Nov., returning to the Baltimore Convention Center at 6:00 pm Saturday evening). In this field trip, we will examine karst development in various carbonate rocks as we follow Interstate 70 west from Baltimore across the Piedmont, Frederick Valley, and into the Great Valley proper. We will examine the structural and sedimentological controls on karst feature development in marble, limestone, and dolostone rocks with an eye toward the implications for ancient landscape evolution, as well as for modern subsidence hazards. A number of caves will be visited, including two commercial caverns which reveal strikingly different histories of development. Linkages between karst landscape development, hydrologic dynamics, and water resource sustainability will also be emphasized through visits to locally important springs. Recent work on quantitative dye-tracing, spring monitoring, and groundwater modeling will be discussed in the context of new geologic and karst feature mapping conducted with the benefit of LiDAR data. The trip will take place over three days, with overnight stops in historic Shepherdstown, West Virginia, and Winchester, Virginia. Short, relatively easy wild cave experiences will be offered, and appropriate gear (helmet and light) provided. Transportation, 2 nights lodging, box lunches, one group dinner, and entrance fees for two cavern tours are included in the registration cost. Cost: US$380 A limited number of student discounted spaces are available: US$200. Cosponsors: GSA Karst Division; GSA Hydrogeology Division; Karst Waters Institute; National Cave and Karst Research Institute. Leaders: Daniel H. Doctor, USGS; David J. Weary; David K. Brezinski; Randall C. Orndorff; Lawrence E. Spangler. You may sign up for the field trip upon registering for the GSA meeting here: http://community.geosociety.org/gsa2015/registration ----------------------- Dear Friends, It is that time of year to announce the call for papers for the Geological Society of America (GSA) Convention. This year it will be held in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, on 1-4 November. A record nine karst sessions are offered this year, showcasing the diversity and importance of karst research. Registration for GSA opens in June. General information on the conference can be found at http://community.geosociety.org/gsa2015/home. The abstract deadline is 11 August. Information on how to submit abstracts and the full list of sessions is available at http://community.geosociety.org/gsa2015/science-careers/sessions Field trip Information is not yet posted but I believe there will be at least one karst trip. Look for it and maybe others in June when registration opens. Last year, GSA created the Karst Division, and the new Division's officers have been busy making its inaugural year special by recruiting many sessions and other activities. I hope you will be able to attend GSA this year and present at one or more of these sessions. Please feel free to share this message with anyone who may be interested. George ----------------------------- I'm happy to announce that NCKRI is co-organizing these two GSA sessions: T118. Extreme Karst: Exploring the Limits of Karstification on Earth and throughout the Solar System Karl Leon Mitchell, George Veni GSA Karst Division; GSA Planetary Geology Division; National Cave and Karst Research Institute; GSA Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division Karst processes and landscapes result from dissolution under radically different environments, chemistries, and timescales. This session quantitatively and theoretically compares different karst development in extreme or unusual circumstances, on Earth and other worlds. The recent discovery of karst, or karst-like landscapes, on Saturn's moon Titan highlights a need for a greater understanding of karst as a fundamental geological process. Karst results primarily from geological dissolution processes. However, mass transport resulting from solvent flow, suffosion and collapse are also critical to the resultant features, such as caves and landscapes. Although karst systems archetypically form as a result of action of water on limestone, they may in fact be formed in almost any water-soluble rock, from carbonates and sulphates to salts and even silicates. Furthermore, processes involving solution of grain boundaries rather than bulk dissolution, such as is often seen in sandstone, are also now commonly referred to as karstic. The interpretation of karst landscapes on Titan, an icy world in which liquid alkanes such as methane and ethane interact with solid organics at ~90 K, brings the possibility of comparative studies of karstic systems with radically different chemistries and environmental constraints. As has been found with other geological disciplines, there is considerable value in studying processes in extremes, as these allow our understanding and models to be tested in novel ways. It is timely, therefore, to expose planetary scientists to terrestrial karst scientists, and vice-versa, in order to foster an open exchange of ideas. This session aims to draw terrestrial and planetary scientists together to discuss common themes that span karst science. Papers will be accepted involving field, theoretical and laboratory studies of karstic systems with unusual chemistries, environments, or timescales. We would like to particularly encourage contributions that have the potential to benefit the development of karst studies within a comparative planetological context. For more information, contact George Veni (gv...@nckri.org<mailto:gv...@nckri.org>). T122. Remote Sensing and Geophysical Imaging in Karst Lewis Land, Daniel H. Doctor GSA Karst Division; GSA Environmental and Engineering Geology Division; GSA Geophysics Division; GSA Hydrogeology Division; National Cave and Karst Research Institute; Karst Waters Institute; GSA Geoinformatics Division Geophysics and remote sensing tools are frequently used for investigations of karst phenomena. We welcome papers that address the use of remote sensing and geophysical imaging in karst regions, including both airborne and ground-based methods. Geophysical and remote sensing methods are becoming increasingly common for investigations of karst. Techniques such as electromagnetics, electrical resistivity, InSAR, LiDAR, microgravity, ground penetrating radar, seismic reflection and refraction, and borehole tools have greatly expanded our capability to image and characterize surface and subsurface karst phenomena. However, many karst scientists who use more traditional methodologies are unfamiliar with, unaware of, or do not have ready access to these tools. As urban populations expand into areas where karst geohazards and karstic aquifers are present, non-invasive geophysical and remote sensing techniques will become increasingly important. For more information, contact Lewis Land (ll...@nckri.org<mailto:ll...@nckri.org>). I'm also happy to announce that NCKRI is sponsoring the following six GSA sessions: T114. Advances in Island and Coastal Karst Investigations Jonathan B. Sumrall, Patricia N. Kambesis GSA Karst Division; GSA Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division; National Cave and Karst Research Institute We seek presentations that highlight recent advances in island and coastal karst aquifer processes, morphometric analysis, geochemical systems, paleoclimate reconstruction, innovative research techniques, critical zone processes, and other related fields from all over the world. T115. Cave Exploration, Survey, and Science: Historical to Modern Perspectives, Methods, and Techniques Jason Polk, Patricia N. Kambesis GSA Karst Division; Cave Research Foundation; National Speleological Society; GSA Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division; National Cave and Karst Research Institute Cave exploration and survey have a long history of providing baseline data to the sciences. This session provides historical perspective on exploration and survey techniques and advances in survey methods, processing, and visualizations. T116. Contamination in Karst: Beyond the Case Study Sarah K. Carmichael, Ellen K. Herman Karst Waters Institute; GSA Hydrogeology Division; National Cave and Karst Research Institute; GSA Karst Division Karst aquifers are an important drinking water source and are particularly vulnerable to contamination. This session will highlight new work on karst contamination modeling and methodologies that take us beyond single case studies. T119. Geological Interactions within the Global Carbon Cycle Chris Groves, Jonathan B. Martin GSA Karst Division; International Research Center on Karst Under the Auspices of UNESCO; Karst Waters Institute; National Cave and Karst Research Institute; GSA Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division; GSA Mineralogy, Geochemistry, Petrology, and Vo While over vast timescales interactions between water, the atmosphere, and minerals influence partitioning of Earth's carbon, less attention has been focused on shorter timescales. This session emphasizes links between carbonate minerals and Earth's carbon cycle. It has been long recognized that over vast timescales interactions between water, the atmosphere and minerals have had a major influence on partitioning the current reservoirs of earth's carbon. Less attention has been focused on the influence of mineral weathering over shorter timescales: silicate minerals weather too slowly to have much influence over shorter periods, and while carbonate minerals weather rapidly, the atmospheric CO2 they consume on the continents has been presumed to return to the atmosphere with mineral precipitation in the oceans. Considering that Earth's largest C reservoir is carbonate minerals, developing quantitative understanding of linkages between carbonate mineral phases and the global carbon cycle is critical. This session emphasizes field, theoretical, and modeling approaches that link carbonate minerals with Earth's carbon cycle including the biosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere. For more information contact Chris Groves (chris.gro...@wku.edu<mailto:chris.gro...@wku.edu>) or Jon Martin (jbmar...@ufl.edu<mailto:jbmar...@ufl.edu>) T120. Karst Processes and Speleogenesis: Advances in Monitoring, Modeling, and Measurements Benjamin F. Schwartz, Matthew D. Covington GSA Hydrogeology Division; GSA Karst Division; Karst Waters Institute; National Cave and Karst Research Institute; GSA Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division This session seeks to highlight recent advances in the study of karst systems, with emphasis on process studies, method development, modeling advances, instrumentation innovations, long-term monitoring, and more. Geochemical reactions and mechanical erosion both contribute to the evolution of karstic landscapes and speleogenesis. Quantifying the relative contributions of each has required development of new or improved conceptual models and approaches to hydrogeochemical monitoring; many of which expand on previous work. With the development of new methodologies and inexpensive, more robust, and reliable instrumentation, researchers are increasingly able to collect long-term continuous data at multiple sites and develop models that more accurately describe the relative contributions of chemical and mechanical erosion that contribute to the evolution of karst systems ranging from eugenic to telogenic. This session seeks to highlight recent advances in a diversity of karst systems and we welcome submissions related case studies, method development, modeling advances, and more. T121. New Perspectives in Karst Geomicrobiology and Redox Geochemistry: Advances from 20 Years of Interdisciplinary Research and Exploring Our Future Frontiers Annette Summers Engel, John R. Spear, Sarah K. Carmichael, Hazel A. Barton, Philip C. Bennett GSA Karst Division; GSA Geobiology & Geomicrobiology Division; Karst Waters Institute; National Cave and Karst Research Institute; Geochemical Society In the 20 years since the Karst Waters Institute-sponsored symposium, "Breakthroughs in Karst Geomicrobiology and Redox Geochemistry," we welcome contributions that highlight major achievements and latest advances in karst research. Interdisciplinary participation is encouraged. OK, NCKRI isn't connected to this last GSA session but I know its organizers and have no doubt it will also be excellent: T117. Enhancing the Toolkit for Karst Investigations Douglas Gouzie, Toby Dogwiler, Joseph Myre GSA Karst Division; GSA Hydrogeology Division This session encourages papers presenting applications of novel, emerging, or increasingly cost-effective tools to be used in Karst investigations. Topics include recent advances in instrumentation and remote sensing, isotopic and geophysical methods, computational models of karst processes and systems, or other emerging methods. ******************** George Veni, PhD Executive Director National Cave and Karst Research Institute 400-1 Cascades Avenue Carlsbad, New Mexico 88220-9215 USA Office: 575-887-5517 Mobile: 210-863-5919 Fax: 575-887-5523 gv...@nckri.org<mailto:gv...@nckri.org> www.nckri.org<http://www.nckri.org>
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