Speaker Mike Collins Provides Dramatic Visualizations of Hotspot Evolution

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Speaker Mike Collins Provides Dramatic Visualizations of Hotspot Evolution

Mike Collins, a retired administrator in manufacturing, and an avid mountaineering and geology enthusiast, presented his slide show “Flood Basalts, Hot Spots, and Spreading Centers and the Creation of the Western Landscape,” to a full house last month at the GSOC Friday night lecture. His show was based upon a manuscript he has produced explaining the evolution of the Western landscape in terms that non-technical people can understand. It is lavishly illustrated with scratchboard drawings that he has drawn, which take the reader back to scenes he describes in the book. 

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February Board Meeting Notes

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President Bo Nonn called the meeting to order at the home of Rosemary Kenney. We thank Rosemary for having graciously hosting our board meetings since 2000. Board members present constituting quorum were Rik Smoody, Dawn Juliano, Paul Edison-Lahm, Marty Muncie, Larry Purchase, Janet Rasmussen, and Sheila Alfsen. Other members present included Carol Hasenberg, Dave Olcott, Jane Walpole, Peregrine Edison-Lahm, and Doug Rasmussen. The minutes from our December meeting were approved. 

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Holiday Party Wrap-up

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Holiday Party Wrap-up

Ho, ho, ho! This party rocks! 

It was 3 weeks before Christmas and all was joyous at the 2016 GSOC Holiday Party. A good selection of entrees and salads, and a vast array of desserts were gobbled up by the participants. Then our fine musicians led a selection of Christmas standards and provided a magical atmosphere. The eating and singing were followed by a slide show of this past year’s field trips.

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Post-Election Turmoil Disrupts GSOC Lecture

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Post-Election Turmoil Disrupts GSOC Lecture

GSOC members coming to attend the November Friday night lecture were dismayed that the scheduled speaker, Harish Palani of Sunset High School, was unable to attend due to the nearby riots occurring in downtown Portland as a result of the recent national election. GSOC VP Rik Smoody quickly came up with the idea of holding a science bowl with the audience. That was followed by a discussion by GSOC President Bo Nonn about his September trip to the south Oregon coast. 

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Nominating Committee Results: Next Year's Slate of Officers

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The following slate of officers has been selected by this year’s nominating committee:

President ........................................................................... Rik Smoody
Vice President .................................................................. Sheila Alfsen
Secretary ........................................................................... Paul Edison-Lahm
Treasurer .............................................................................Dawn Juliano
Director, 3 years .............................................................. Carol Hasenberg
Director, 2 years ............................................................... Larry Purchase
Director, 1 year .................................................................. Martha Muncie

Nominations will be closed for this year’s slate of officers after the January meeting of the society.  The slate of officers will be voted on and approved at the February monthly meeting. The Nominating Committee members were Bo Nonn, Larry Purchase, and Paul Edison-Lahm.  Our thanks to the selected members and members of the Nominating Committee! 

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Don’t Forget to Re-up Your Membership!

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GSOC Dues are Due Soon

GSOC members and prospective members, please remember to renew your memberships for 2017. Your membership benefits include: 

  • Helping serve GSOC’s mission of promoting geology education in the Northwest, including PSU geology scholarships

  • Welcome to join in all GSOC functions, including field trips, Holiday Party, Annual Banquet and Picnic, and more!

  • A printed version of the GSOC newsletter if you choose

  • A great time with all your GSOC friends!
     

Renew online here. PS: If you joined the club after September 1, 2016, your dues are paid through 2017!!! 

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Dark Noon

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Dark Noon

Dr. Richard Waitt, who arrived in Washington state from the USGS office in Menlo Park, California, shortly after the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, stayed to study the volcano and built the bulk of his career at the Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO) in Vancouver, Washington. Dr. Waitt came to promote his new book In the Path of Destruction: Eyewitness Chronicles of Mount St. Helens, Washington State University Press, 2015, to the GSOC audience and to describe the book’s origin and some of the stories it contains. He said that early in his research into the events of the volcanic eruption, he was focused more on the hard geology that people could describe. However, he became involved more in the stories that people told about their experiences and the process of determining the details of the event by analyzing the interviews of the witnesses. 

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Board Meeting Notes

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The meeting was called to order at the home of Rosemary Kenney. Board members attending were VP Rik Smoody, Director Larry Purchase, and Treasurer Dawn Juliano. Non board members were Barbara Smoody, Carol Hasenberg, Rosemary Kenney. Since quorum was not met, the members present used this meeting time to make plans for some of the upcoming GSOC events and table any discussions which required others to complete. 

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Paleontologist to the Rescue!

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Paleontologist to the Rescue!

Synopsis of Friday night lecture on July 8, 2016, with speaker Sheila Alfsen

GSOC Past President Sheila Alfsen described her experiences working as an onsite paleontologist on construction sites for Paleontology Associates, a company run by Oregon paleontologist Dr. William Orr for more than 15 years. Paleontology Associates was created to address the need for preserving important fossil finds on government property when they are threatened by construction projects. 

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Fossil and Erratic Sites Discovered on Our Annual Picnic

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Fossil and Erratic Sites Discovered on Our Annual Picnic
  1. Tualatin Library – Mastodon mounted bones, NARG tusk, Woodburn and other fossils located inside. 
  2. Tualatin River Greenway Path – The ¾ mile newly completed trail exhibits casts of fossils, erratic rocks, and each step represents 25 years of geologic time. 
  3. Heritage Center – Showing 10 and 2.5 ton flood erratics in front. A group of Tualatin’s erratic rocks and other fossils are also displayed inside. The center is open M-F 10-2. 
  4. Mastodon Bronze Sculpture – and small bronze boy outside the SW corner of Cabela’s. 
  5. Cabela’s – Fossil casts are located inside sporting goods store, at the entrance and center back. 
  6. Mastodon discovery site – Located near the southwest edge of the Fred Meyer parking lot in blackberries, next to Nyberg Creek. Discovered in 1962. 
  7. Sweek Pond – Short optional art walk. 
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Are We There Yet?

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Are We There Yet?

Teams Led By OSU Scientist Seek To Discover Answers On Climate Change At Petermann Glacier In Greenland 

Dr. Alan Mix, Professor of Oceanography in the divisions of Ocean Ecology and Biogeochemistry and of Geology and Geophysics in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University and Chief Scientist of the Petermann Glacier 2015 research expedition, spoke at the GSOC 81st Annual Banquet about the research he led at Petermann Glacier in Greenland. His talk stressed the value of the research in helping to further our understanding of climate change and drive the political policies needed to help us face the changes. 

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