On Oct 2-3, the Northwest Energy Association (NWEA) held a symposium entitled, Energy Infrastructure Preparedness for a Cascadia Mega-Earthquake. The program was a collaboration between top researchers and municipal/state agencies that illustrated and evaluated Oregon’s level of preparedness for the “big one”.
Read MoreThe photo shows that visitors have NOT been recently removing significant pieces of the famous Erratic Rock near Bellevue Oregon (as is alleged by others). After a GSOC meeting this spring, several of us were browsing through the scrapbooks in the GSOC library and found the 1950 black & white photo.
Read MorePresident Janet Rasmussen called the meeting to order at the Guy Talbot State Park picnic shelter. Other board members in attendance were Dawn Juliano, Kirben Smoody, Marty Muncie, and John Piccinnini. Also in attendance were GSOC members Anne O’Neill and Dave Olcott. The minutes of the June 13, 2015, board meeting were approved.
Read MoreTwo notable GSOC members have died recently, Walter Allen Sunderland and Ralph Eugene Pratt. Walt was the 1990 GSOC President and Ralph was very active in the club for many years.
Read MoreLarry Purchase writes about our recent amazing GSOC Mt. Hood field trip "My thanks to all who contributed, especially..."
Diligent, talented, industrious and devoted are only some adjectives to describe Margaret Steere. Margaret was a native of Michigan, but came to Oregon early during her career. Schooled at the University of Michigan with degrees in geology, Margaret applied her skills in cartography for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during World War II. She joined the staff of Oregon’s Department of Geology and Mineral Industries and worked for 30 years as a geologist and geologic editor. Upon retirement, Margaret continued her service to the state as a volunteer. Margaret’s expertise in geology included paleontology as she utilized her skills to maintain and curate the collection for DOGAMI’s museum as well as authoring numerous articles on fossils.
Read MoreOn Monday, June 1, Jan Kessler and I headed down to SE Oregon to scout my field trip stops for the September GSOC trip. My husband Doug and I did a preliminary trip last August.
We had Marli Miller's new Roadside Geology of Oregon with us so the navigator could read aloud from it as we travelled. It was very helpful. We stopped at Glass Buttes off Hwy 20 between Bend and Burns. Neither of us had been there before. The turnoff is on the south side of the highway, just west of milepost 77. Look for a cattle guard. I was disappointed that it wasn't a sparkling glass mountain as I had imagined.
Read MoreJune 13, 2015
President Janet Rasmussen called the meeting to order at the home of Rosemary Kenney. Other board members in attendance constituting quorum were Bo Nonn, Paul Edison-Lahm, Lawrence Purchase, Kirben Smoody, Sheila Alfsen, and John Piccinnini. Also in attendance was GSOC member Doug Rasmussen. The minutes of the April 11th, 2015 board meeting were approved. Treasurer’s Report (Submitted earlier by Dawn): Approved by the board.
Read MorePictured: polished and etched silicate-bearing iron meteorite, with millimeter scale at left
Meteorites “Greatest Hits” from Dr. Ruzicka's May 8th lecture: (1) The solar system formed relatively fast, in only 10 million years; (2) Much early planetary material was either partly melted, evaporated, and/or dispersed in the early solar nebula; (3) Pre-solar grains are incorporated in the chondrite matrix; (4) Pre-biotic organic synthesis occurred as building blocks in the early solar system; (5) Decay of short-lived radioactive isotopes gave the heat source of silica-rich bodies in the early solar system; (6) Planetary rock swaps occurred throughout the history of the solar system.
Read MoreDr. John Bershaw, PSU Department of Geology, came to the GSOC Friday night lecture in April to discuss his research using fossils to determine information about past climate change. Specifically, Bershaw’s task was to use oxygen isotopes in fossil mammal teeth to bracket the age of formation of the Andean Plateau (Altiplano) in South America.
Read MoreOutgoing GSOC President Sheila Alfsen introduced Dr. Tanya Atwater by discussing the origins of GSOC and its name “The Oregon Country”. The first decades of exploration and research into the geology of the Oregon Country answered the questions of What and Where, she said. It was clear that Oregon contained a strip of volcanism that was present all around the edges of the Pacific Ocean. The big question left to answer was the Why. And that is what the work of Dr. Atwater and many other scientists did over the last 50 years. Plate tectonics has been one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all times.
Read MorePresident Janet Rasmussen called the meeting to order at the home of Rosemary Kenney. Other board members in attendance constituting quorum were Bo Nonn, Dawn Juliano, Paul Edison-Lahm, Marty Muncie, Kirben Smoody, Sheila Alfsen, and John Piccinnini. Also in attendance were GSOC members Doug Rasmussen, Dave Olcott, and Carol Hasenberg. The minutes of the February 14th, 2014 board meeting were approved.
Read MoreI was in high school in 1957 when the Russians successfully launched the first man-made satellite, Sputnik. It is hard to explain to younger generations just what a profound event that was. To us, it was totally astonishing: that we humble humans could put an object into outer space. Until then I had planned to be an artist, but I thought “Wow! If scientists can do that, they can solve anything (ghettos, hunger, strife, …)”. So began my checkered studies in science.
Read MoreCyndi Dion • James Bela • Adrian Nunenkamp • John Anderson • Debbie & Steve Shannon • Elizabeth VanBoskirk • Margaret Kiser • Melissa Lehman • Barbara Portwood • Karen Small • Megan Scott
2015-2016 Board of Directors terms begin at Annual Banquet March 8th.
Read MoreAbout 100 of us gathered in Cramer Hall 53 to hear the very knowledgeable geologist Dr. Scott Burns talk about his newest adventure – first trip to Mt. Lassen National Park. This active volcano, the southernmost in the Cascade Mountains, last erupted in 1916. The mode of eruptions seems to be bi-modal – either quiet or violent. The volcano was named after Danish immigrant Peter Lassen who was a local blacksmith. The LA Times recently wrote that Mt. Lassen was California’s “most overlooked volcanic park” with only 400,000 visitors per year, as compared with Yosemite’s 4-million visitors per year.
Read MorePresident Sheila Alfsen called the meeting to the home of Rosemary Kenney. Other board members in attendance constituting quorum were Paul Edison-Lahm, Marty Muncie, Bev Vogt, Bo Nonn, and John Piccinnini. Also in attendance was GSOC member Bart Bartels, and Directors-elect Kirben Smoody and Larry Purchase. The minutes of the December 13th, 2014 board meeting were approved. The Treasurer’s report was approved by the board.
Read MoreThe GSOC board has created at new Public Outreach Coordinator position to address our objective of supporting and promoting geologic study and research, Outgoing GSOC President Prof. Sheila Alfsen has volunteered to staff the position in keeping with her love of public education. She has given numerous public talks to civic groups and schools throughout her term as president — and looks forward to keeping the public’s interest and curiosity for Geology alive. Contact her for speaking engagements!
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Scott Anderson
John Brownlee
Emily Cahoon
Tima Carlson
Reed Dixon
Lisa Hoffman
Alex MacLeod
Louis Macovsky
Seth Munkres
Deborah Santomero
Janet and Tom Sonoff
Blair Stuhlmuller
Paige Stuhlmuller
Alice Ziring
Interested in geology news and casual conversation with other geology fans? Attend our Monthly Meetups!
Our monthly lectures and local field trips are open to all!
Want to come on in-depth overnight field trips led by professional geologists? Become a GSOC Member!
Questions about Geology? Ask in our Facebook Group!
Concerned about earthquake preparedness? Arrange for public speaking on Cascadia Earthquake Preparedness.
Portland State University Department of Geology, our gracious host since 1971, offers undergraduate and graduate programs in geology, as well as free auditing for seniors.
Interested in Gems and Minerals?
In the Bend area? Visit our sister club Central Oregon Geoscience Society!
Interested in fossils? Check out the North American Research Group.
GSOC • P.O. Box 80133 • Portland, OR 97280 • communications@gsoc.org
