Bureau of Geology News

A three-year project will study how the West Antarctic Ice Sheet responded to climate change during the last interglacial period (approximately 125,000 years ago) by studying the glacial and volcanic history of Mount Waesche in West Antarctica. The team of scientists include Nelia Dunbar (NMBG director), Bill McIntosh (NMBG emeritus), Matt Zimmerer (NMBG field geologist), NMT graduate student Jeremy McComas, as well as collaborators from Harvard and the University of Maine.

An aquifer can be considered like a bank account. The deposits or credits typically consist of natural recharge adding water to the aquifer (like precipitation or river water seeping into the ground and reaching the groundwater table). Withdrawals take water out of the aquifer, and can include discharge into rivers or pumping of wells. Most cities are concerned with the withdrawal side of the equation and hope nature takes care of the deposits. But Albuquerque has undertaken the progressive measure of inputting additional recharge (deposits) now so there will be sufficient water for future withdrawals, something called managed aquifer recharge (MAR). To that end, the Albuquerque and Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) has recently completed a well for deep injection of excess river water into the aquifer, and is currently running surface water down the upper part of Bear Canyon Arroyo for near-surface recharge.

A newly funded NSF research project will study fluid mobility in cystalline rocks that are deep within the earth's crust. The research is being conducted by Jesus Gomez-Velez (Vanderbilt, formerly at NMT), Mark Person (NMT), and Shari Kelley (NMBGMR).

The symposium had a record attendance of 281 people, and was action-packed from the "Friends of the Museum" reception on Friday evening through the talks and banquet, through the silent auction on Sunday morning. The meeting featured 13 talks, a number of which focused on minerals in New Mexico. Virgil Lueth, our Mineral Museum Director, presented a talk on "Color Stability in Minerals".

Bureau scientists joined AGI Earth Science Education Ambassador Sally Jewell for an outdoor earth science learning excercise in September 2018. They helped eighth-grade students from the Jemez Valley Middle School and San Diego Riverside Charter School explore the structure, deposits, and hazards posed by the super volcano in their own backyard at Valles Caldera National Preserve.

Each year, the New Mexico Geological Society recognizes an individual who, over the years, has made extraordinary contributions to the society, and presents the person with a lifetime honorary membership. This year, Connie Apache, the administrative services coordinator at the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, was the awardee. Congratulations, Connie, on this well-deserved honor!

The New Mexico Bureau of Geology Mineral Museum took first prize in the museum display category at the 2018 Denver Gem & Mineral Show.

The American Geosciences Institute has released a series of Geoscience Factsheets, which "quantify vital contributions of geoscience (earth science) to the economy, environment, and public health and safety of every U.S. state", including New Mexico.

The New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources has received a $23,690 grant to support geoscience education at the summer 2019 American Assocation of University Women "Tech Trek" program.

Drone imagery from bureau field geologist, Matt Zimmerer, was selected as a finalist for the National Science Foundation’s 2018 Visualization Challenge, also known as The Vizzies. His entry “A Drone’s View of Earth’s Surface” showcases the different types of imagery that can be captured by drones.