Session I

Katie Adamczyck, "The Monticello Mystery"

The purpose of this research project was to determine whether the rock used in the construction of Monticello's South Garden Wall was an igneous rock, most commonly called alaskite, or a sedimentary arkose sandstone. Both alaskite and arkose exhibit a pale pink color due to the presence of potassium feldspar in both mineral compositions. The main difference between the two is their texture. In order to conduct this research, I went to Monticello and examined the rock with the help of some of my peers and mentor. During the study, we inspected the wall itself as well as hand samples from Monticello’s archaeology lab. In doing so, we assessed whether the rock presented a clastic texture, which would indicate that it was sedimentary rather than igneous. The results supported my original hypothesis: the rock used in the construction of the South Garden wall at Monticello was a sedimentary arkose sandstone.

Student Major(s)/Minor:  Geology Major

Advisor: Dr. Christopher Bailey

Anna Kasper, "Going with the Flow: using 3-Dimensional Digital and Field Mapping Techniques to reveal Ediacaran Lava Flows of the Catoctin Formation, Virginia"

The Catoctin Formation is a geologic unit that is found on many prominent mountains in the Virginia Blue Ridge. These rocks were erupted from an ancient volcanic chain 570 million years ago, and individual lava flows are still discernible in the landscape today, despite post-eruptive tectonic activity and metamorphism. This research aims to discover the number of lava flows that make up this geologic unit, as well as their individual thickness, orientation, geometry and areal extent in the subsurface. A blend of methods are used, including 2D and 3D mapping using GIS software, field mapping and measurements in the Blue Ridge, and cross-sectional analyses to predict the subsurface geometry. Preliminary results reveal 9 to 14 lava flows that range from 10 to 100 meters thick. Understanding these lava flows will allow insight into the original mode of volcanism, plate tectonic activity and the complex geologic history of the Blue Ridge.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Geology Major and Geospatial Analysis Minor

Advisor: Dr. Christopher Bailey

Parker Marchetti, "Geomorphic Assessment of Ice Age Glacial Deformation through the Terrestrial Sea Level Record"

Recent deposition on the middle Coastal Plain of the US is dominated by marine terrace landforms laid down in periods of high sea level (highstands) between glacial maximums over the Pleistocene, the last ice age. Terraces corresponding to one highstand share elevational bounds locally and should be consistent over the East Coast if their current position is only a result of past sea levels, but are not. This implies a secondary effect has distorted current elevations, likely being glacial isostacy, a form of glacier-derived regional deformation capable of both lowering and raising surface elevation far from glaciers.  Through automated python-based geomorphic delineation of these landforms via LiDAR DEM imagery, changes in terrace elevations can be tracked at a spatial scale not previously possible, allowing for a greater understanding of the possible impacts of past glacial isostasy with implications for Pleistocene glacial mass and sea level reconstructions.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Coastal & Marine Sciences Major, Geology Minor

Advisor: Dr. Joanmarie Del Vecchio

Connor McCloud, "Exported Sediment Mineralogy Indicates Weak Hillslope-Stream Connectivity in First-Order Post-Glacial Watersheds of New Hampshire"

Soils support food production, regulate water quality, sustain ecosystems, and store carbon, making accurate measurements of soil loss important for understanding landscape change. Erosion rates are often estimated from sediment exported by streams, assuming this material primarily comes from hillslope erosion. However, in post-glacial New England, resistant soils, high infiltration, and thick organic layers limit hillslope erosion while streams continue to export sediment. I hypothesize that some exported sediment is instead produced by weathering of streambed material. I investigate sediment provenance in watersheds of the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, using biotite weathering as a mineralogical tracer. Clay-sized sediments from stream weirs and hillslopes were analyzed using X-ray diffraction to identify mineral assemblages. Initial results show unweathered biotite and amphibole in stream sediments, but abundant vermiculite in soils. These results suggest that streambed weathering contributes substantially to sediment export, highlighting a disconnect between hillslope erosion and watershed sediment loss.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Geology Major, Chemistry Minor

Advisor: Dr. James Kaste

Elizabeth Walker, "Reconstructing 300 years of Environmental Change in the Northern Chesapeake Bay with High Resolution Radionuclide Analysis of a Sediment Core"

The Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in North America, is facing challenges with sea-level rise due to land subsidence. Though sea-rise related flooding is a recognized hazard to coastal communities, climate change related precipitation events and tidal patterns can also increase saline intrusion in groundwater, threatening aquifer-sourced drinking water and agricultural operations. By analyzing sediment cores sampled from the Northern Chesapeake Bay, we can use 210Pb (lead isotopes) and 137Cs (cesium) dating along with outsourced radiocarbon dating to create age-depth models. These age models, along with historic climate data, can answer the question of when and how fast saline water intruded into the bay in the past ~500 years, informing future Chesapeake groundwater management in the face of saline intrusion.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Geology and Environmental Science Major

Advisor: Dr. Jim Kaste

Session II

Samantha Gaylor, "What Climate Conditions Control Water Track Dynamics in Thawing Permafrost?"

As temperatures rise in the Arctic, permafrost (frozen ground) thaws, disrupting channel flow paths in watersheds. This study aims to quantify the response of water tracks to decadal changes in climate. Water tracks are subsurface soil moisture lineations concentrating water and nutrients to downslope channels in permafrost landscapes and are a fundamental feature of Arctic channel networks. This study will explore water track abundance in relation to decadal trends in thawed permafrost depth, temperature, snow depth, precipitation, and topographic slope by utilizing remotely sensed imagery, field measurements, and climate forecasts. In conjunction, these results will provide insight into how water tracks, and thus Arctic watersheds, may respond to a rapidly changing climate. 

Student Major(s)/Minor: Geology Major, Mathematics Minor

Advisor: Dr. Joanmarie Del Vecchio

Gabriel Imholte, "Tracking the tracks: Utilizing Image Segmentation Methods to Identify Water Tracks from Global Satellite Imagery"

Water tracks are landforms found in periglacial environments that transport water from hillslopes into lower channels, whose hydrological, ecological, and geomorphological role is crucial in current periglacial environments and in assessing how a changing climate may alter them. Furthermore, the means of identification for water tracks is not fully understood, varying significantly by region, and with the advent of sophisticated image segmentation and classification software, the use of machine learning to identify mass amounts of water tracks from pictures is expected to provide insight into their formation and purpose. This project asked, by using identification programs with satellite images, to what extent can machine learning classify water tracks and how applicable are these methods to different types of water tracks globally? By identifying water tracks in global data, broader takeaways can be made about the landform as a whole and provide clues into the transformation of permafrost environments over time.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Environmental Geology and Spatial Data Science Major

Advisor: Dr. Joanmarie Del Vecchio

Payton LeCount, "Landscape Uncovered"

Earth's surface temperature continues to steadily increase and if humanity wants to continue to prosper in the future it becomes imperative that the influence of geology and climate be further studied to better understand how landscapes adapt to those changes; to in turn protect human infrastructure. Using a previously unstudied site located in the Grayson Highlands my research answers how climate and land use change has influenced erosional processes shaping the Highlands by utilizing field and analytic methods like hand augering, radiocarbon dating, elemental analysis, ground penetrating radar, and bulk x-ray fluorescence. Other sites have been studied across the Appalachians but none have been located in the southern part of the mountains despite the Grayson Highlands having periglacial features and being at a high elevation establishing that the ancient temperature would be cold, thus making the project a good opportunity to further develop our understanding of environmental and geomorphological change.

Student Major(s)/Minor: Environmental Geology Major, Geospatial Analysis Minor

Advisor: Dr. Joanmarie Del Vecchio

Kaitlyn Ryan, "Using Archeological Middens to Reconstruct Oyster Lifespan and Seasonality of the Chesapeake Bay During the Woodland Period"

Oysters are important organisms in the Chesapeake Bay, serving as ecosystem engineers which filter water and provide substrate for other organisms to live on. As they have been harmed by overharvesting, reconstructing changes in their history aids in restoration attempts by creating a pre-colonial baseline. This study focuses on oysters from archaeological sites from the mid to late Woodland Period (200BCE-1,000CE) in southeastern Virginia. This project aims to assess (1) how oyster size and growth rates, and lifespan in this interval compare to those in the Pleistocene, colonial era, and modern day, (2) the seasonality temperature range of the Chesapeake Bay region at this time, and (3) if the season of oyster harvesting changes through the mid to late Woodland Period. These data will be quantified using sclerochronology, a sampling technique relying on isotopic analysis of discrete growth bands forming through each season of the oyster’s life. 

Student Major(s)/Minor: Geology and Psychology Major

Advisor: Dr. Rowan Lockwood

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