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Winter 2001 Volume LV NO. 4 Medical Geology and Arsenic Poisoning Educating Future Environmental Steward UM Researchers Predict Volcanic Future for East Coast
*
Have you remembered to renew your GSM
membership? Look at the address
label on this newsletter. If the
date on the label does not say 10/01/02, you still need to send in your
membership dues. Mail to Gail
Marshall, Membership Chair, at the address listed in the box below. * The meeting room for the continuation of the 2002 Lecture Series is still to be determined. Check the GSM website, or call 612-724-2101 in early Jan. ’02 to find out if we will continue to meet in the same room in Amundson Hall. 2002 Board Members OFFICERS:
Steve Erickson, President Paul
Martin, Vice President Ted
Chura, Treasurer Judy
Hamilton, Secretary DIRECTORS:
Gail Marshall Rose
Mary O’Donovan Katy
Paul Nina
Ward News from
the Board…
At the fall annual meeting, members of the Geological Society of Minnesota (GSM) elected the slate of candidates selected by the nominating committee. The new GSM board members are Ted Chura, Paul Martin and Nina Ward. At the same time, Judy Hamilton was elected for a second term on the GSM board. The GSM board met on October 6, 2001 and elected Steve Erickson as president, Paul Martin as vice president, Ted Chura as treasurer and, for a second year, Judy Hamilton as secretary.
This year’s GSM lecture series, “Forming
and Finding Earth’s Hidden Treasures”, is now well underway, and all we need
is your attendance! The strike by
Minnesota State employees had the potential to seriously affect the lecture
schedule. In actuality, the only
effect was to switch the order of the first two speakers.
An additional talk will likely be added to the schedule this spring, on
“Finding and Forming Diamonds” by Robert Kirk, PhD.
Bob is a GSM member and in the mid 1950s, was on the team at General
Electric that made the first artificial diamonds. These were certainly the first artificial diamonds
authenticated by modern analytical tools. Previously,
there had been many totally unsubstantiated claims dating back to alchemists.
The date for this talk will be announced in this newsletter, on GSM’s
web site and at lectures prior to this talk.
GSM needs a video library chair to carry on
the work so ably performed by Alex Lowe. A new video library procedure could be
considered, and might use phoning and computers to allow selection of specific
tapes to bring to the lecture. If
interested in volunteering in this capacity or discussing the library procedure,
please call me, Bill Robbins, at 651-733-9894.
This is my final letter as GSM president: I
wish to thank all of you who have helped GSM and me during the last two years.
Contributions of time and effort are vital in keeping the organization
functioning, and I appreciate how much people are willing and able to
accomplish.
~Bill Robbins, President MEDICAL
GEOLOGY ACTIVITIES AT THE U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Medical
Geology is experiencing resurgence in the U.S. with one significant difference.
This time the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is strongly supporting the
effort. In previous years the
interest and enthusiasm of individual scientists, primarily in the academic
community, drove medical geology research in the U.S.
However, during the past 3 years the USGS has accepted research on
geologic materials and processes that affect human health as being an integral
part of its mission and is encouraging USGS scientists to enter the field. For
example, the USGS has signed memoranda of understanding with the Armed Forces
Institute of Pathology, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. The USGS is developing a funding initiative on environmental
health for fiscal year 2003 and will soon brief Congress on this issue.
A very substantial proportion of this year’s Post Doctoral Fellowships
has gone to applicants with biomedical or public health backgrounds.
USGS scientists are currently engaged in research on the health impacts
of toxic metals (As, Hg, F, Se, Al, Zn), dusts from Africa, vermiculite and coal
mining, organic compounds, radionuclides, microbes and other pathogens, and the
general issue of global climate change. USGS scientists have helped to organize workshops and
symposia around the world on these and other health-related issues. Most
of these research projects are collaborations with biomedical researchers from
federal, state, and county agencies, universities, and research hospitals in the
U.S. and in other countries. Prominent
among the other federal agencies that have joined with the USGS in promoting
Medical Geology is the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
(See back cover) Both agencies are convinced that Medical Geology will
continue to grow and will be a visible and important part of their missions for
years to come.♦ MEDICAL GEOLOGY "Medical
Geology" is defined as the science dealing with the relationship between
natural geological factors and health in man and animals, and understanding the
influence of ordinary environmental factors on the geographical distribution of
such health problems. Medical Geology is therefore a broad and complicated
subject which requires interdisciplinary contributions from different scientific
fields if the problems are to be understood, mitigated or resolved.
Metal
ions occur naturally in rocks, soils, gases, and waters in both harmless and
harmful forms and concentrations. Natural concentrations can be extraordinarily
high and have caused serious health problems. Metals are important in
environmental health and on the study of human diseases (pathology) because of
their potential toxic effects to one or more organs. Exposure to toxic metal
ions may occur via three principle routes: percutaneous absorption, ingestion,
or inhalation. Dermal toxicity results from local tissue responses through
direct contact of the metal with skin, or alternatively, may represent a
manifestation of systemic toxicity following ingestion or inhalation. Allergic
contact dermatitis induced by nickel is an example of a local tissue response.
The adverse cutaneous reactions resulting from chronic ingestion or inhalation
of arsenical compounds exemplify systemic toxicity.
Many
types of rock have elevated uranium contents. These include for example alum
shales, certain granites, and pegmatites. Breathing or ingestion of abnormal
levels of the radioactive gas radon, derived
from natural radioactive sources in such rocks, has in recent years also been
acknowledged as a public health hazard. The number of radon-related cases of
lung cancer is increasing and qualifying radon to be the major radiation problem
with respect to health in several countries. Some current building traditions,
such as the use of light concrete made from uranium-rich alum shale, and a
reduction in building air circulation (justified from energy conservation
aspects) have in many cases aggravated the problem. More recently, focus has
been put on radon in domestic water as a potential radiation protection problem.
Previous risk assessments have focused on radon emanating from water as an
additional source of radon in indoor air. Recent studies suggest that the intake
of radon-rich water should also be considered a risk, especially for critical
groups such as infants. The radon content of water is directly related to local
geological conditions.♦ Medical Geology and Arsenic
Poisoning
The
National Museum of Health and Medicine has unveiled an exhibit highlighting the
developing science of medical geology used by its parent organization, the Armed
Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP), to study health problems associated with
arsenic. Founded in 1862 as the Army Medical Museum, to study and improve
medical conditions during the American Civil War, the Museum is located on the
campus of Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC. You can visit their
web site at <http://www.natmedmuse.afip.org>
The
exhibit, "Research Matters:
Environmental and Toxicological Effects of Arsenic," explains how
geoscience tools are augmenting the skills of medical and environmental
professionals to understand exposure to toxic metals and metalloids such as
arsenic. Arsenic
can be an organic or inorganic element that is found in nature and is usually
present in the form of compounds with sulfur and with many metals such as iron,
copper, cobalt, lead, and zinc. A carcinogen, arsenic can be fatal if ingested.
In 1999 the National Academy of Sciences reported that arsenic in drinking water
can cause bladder, lung, and skin cancer. It may also contribute to liver and
kidney cancer. Levels under 60 parts per million can cause nausea, vomiting, and
abnormal heart rhythms. The exhibit looks at the arsenic
investigations undertaken by the Biophysical Toxicology Branch of the AFIP's
Division of Environmental Pathology. In China, where severe arsenic poisoning
struck at least 3,000 residents, the investigation revealed it was due to
consumption of chili peppers dried over fires fueled by high-arsenic coal. The
AFIP also studied arsenic poisonings caused by coal-burning power plants and
contaminated drinking water in Mexico, Chile, and West Bengal. Arsenic has a long history in medicine for both good and bad
and the way this exhibit tells the story is quite exciting, because it is bold
and innovative. ¨ Here
is the text that will soon be in bronze at the newly built roadside pull-off
near Great River Bluffs State Park. The marker is located in Winona County, on
U.S. Hwy.61, just north of I-90 and about 0.6
mile NW of the Hwy.7 intersection. In
addition to the plaque, there will also be several interpretive panels
describing the flora and fauna of the area. GREAT RIVER
BLUFFS From Winona to La
Crosse, the Mississippi River valley displays its greatest depth as it extends
vertically through more than 240 meters of a sedimentary-rock plateau.
Here, Highway 61 follows the narrow strip between the river and the steep
bluffs that mark the valley’s western wall. The valley walls are composed of sandstone and carbonate
rock, which formed from sand and lime mud deposited about 500 million years ago
in a warm, shallow sea that covered much of what is now North America.
The lower, more sloping parts of the valley walls are composed mostly of
weakly cemented sandstone, which erodes easily.
On the upper parts of the walls, steep cliffs shape the bluffs.
The cliffs are composed of dolostone, a chemically altered limestone that
is resistant to erosion. Bluffs are formed as
the Mississippi or a tributary cuts into the soft sandstone, initiating
sandstone rockfalls that undercut the dolostone.
The dolostone then breaks along vertical joints, leaving steep cliffs.
Two of the most prominent bluffs in the area, King’s Bluff and
Queen’s Bluff, are visible southeast of this site on the west side of the
valley. King’s Bluff is the
closer one. Both are within Great
River Bluffs State Park and are designated Scientific and Natural Areas by the
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for their unusual geology and rare
biological communities. These bluffs are
within the “Driftless Area,” an area of deeply eroded stream valleys
primarily east of the Mississippi River and covering southwestern Wisconsin.
During the Ice Age of the last two million years, glacial ice never
passed over and leveled this area, and no drift, or glacially carried sediment
(clay, silt, sand, gravel, and boulders), was deposited here.
However, the landscape before you was blanketed with a layer of loess—a
wind-blown, tan-colored rock dust. This
dust was carried by winds from floodplains still bare of vegetation, which were
repeatedly loaded with very fine sediment by streams that drained melting
glaciers. Today, a distinctive and
fertile soil has developed in the top of the loess, which helps to give rise to
the diverse and sometimes unique plant communities found on these bluffs. Erected
by the Geological Society of Minnesota in
partnership with the Minnesota Department of Transportation and
the Minnesota Geological Survey 2001 The Midwest’s table-top-flat till plains are merely the smooth cover for a turbulent past, according to geologists who have recently published the first set of 3-D subsurface maps for selected sites in the region. The group hasn’t worked in Minnesota, but recently released 3-D maps showing subsurface features down to 150 meters for sites in the Chicago suburbs, Fort Wayne, Indiana, and southern Michigan. The geologists report finding more variability than they expected, with complex arrays of deposits and multiple levels of buried landscapes left by numerous glacial advances and retreats. The 3-D maps are derived from surface topographic maps, seismic studies and drilling. The work is being done by the Central Great Lakes Mapping Coalition, led by geologists from the Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and U.S. Geological Surveys. The Coalition aims to survey and identify groundwater and other resources as well as better explain the glacial geology of the eastern Midwest. Their webpage is at www.deq.state.mi.us/gsd/mapping, part of the Michigan state government website. - Tom Smalec EDUCATING FUTURE ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDS
Back in 1965, James R. Lowenstine began to envision a future use for his
1,200-acre estate in northern Wisconsin. Plans
evolved for a school that would teach youth to appreciate the natural beauty of
the Northwoods and motivate them to become ethical environmental stewards of the
future. Six years after his death,
in the fall of 2002, Conserve School will open its doors to realize that dream.
A non-sectarian, independent, coeducational residential high school,
Conserve School will offer students a unique educational opportunity through its
innovative, interdisciplinary curriculum focused on 21st century
sustainability issues and ethical leadership.
Conserve School is located on 1,200 acres of Jim Lowenstine’s former
estate in Land O’Lakes, Wisconsin, a small resort community whose population
of 800 year-round residents nearly doubles in the summer months.
Known for its thick birch and evergreen forests, pristine lakes, wetland
marshes, and abundant wildlife, this Northwoods retreat provides an idyllic
setting for a school devoted to preserving the balance of nature.
Future students will share their home with white-tailed deer, bobcats,
black bears, bald and golden eagles, woodpeckers, red foxes, fishers, and other
wildlife. School buildings will
occupy only 120 acres of the 1,200-acre campus, leaving most of the land and the
seven lakes on the property as an “outdoor classroom” for students.
Nestled amid the birch trees on the Conserve School site will be five
residence halls, an academic building, a recreation center, a maintenance
center, and an ecological waste water treatment facility called the “Living
Machine” – a series of tanks filled with plants, animals, and bacteria that
will naturally filter campus wastewater into effluent that can be used in
irrigation.
During construction, great care is being taken to ensure that the fewest
possible trees are removed, wildlife habitats are not disturbed, and impact on
the ecosystem is minimized. Lumber
from trees that must be removed is being used for exterior facing of the
buildings, auditorium flooring and student projects.
Conserve School is also participating in a regional re-forestation effort
to restore the pine ecosystem that existed throughout the Northwoods in the
early 1800s.
Experimentation and invention will be stressed throughout the Conserve
School curriculum. In addition to
college preparatory courses and studies of diverse global ecosystems, students
will participate in hands-on, problem-solving activities.
They will learn to generate creative solutions for the ecological
concerns of the area, use the latest technologies as sustainability tools, and
help area residents to understand and resolve issues such as changes in the
water levels of nearby lakes, excessive destruction of wildlife habitat by
beavers, or decreases in the loon population.
To learn more about Conserve School, visit http://www.conserveschool.com. STATE FAIR 2001 Once again the
Minnesota State Fair Exhibit 2001 went well.
We generated some new members for GSM and had fun doing it. The children
still enjoy being able to touch the rocks on display.
We are always delighted to see their curiosity. We enjoy the parents too,
and again, several had brought along a rock they had found, and wondered if we
could tell them what it might be. They
love to tell us about their travels to other locales and the kinds of rocks they
saw there, and also what they have in their backyard. This year, 51 GSM
members filled 72 time slots. That’s
down 10 people from last year. Thanks
to those dedicated members who did several shifts, we kept the booth going,
talked to many fair goers, and kept the Fair Administrative Staff happy by
having someone there all the time. Listed below are
the names of those folks who staffed the booth.
Take special notice of Dick Heglund’s number of visits.
He worked five shifts! He
says he enjoys doing it. Dick is a
retired schoolteacher who still likes to teach.
Bill Robbins came in second for times spent at the fair with four shifts!
Others, as you will notice, did two shifts.
All the fair
workers are greatly appreciated for taking time from busy lives to continue this
yearly tradition. Sometimes it’s
hot in the Education Building and sometimes the shifts seem long, but everyone
held in there, and hopefully, we generated lots of interest in the Minnesota
Geological Society. A special thanks
goes to our new Chairperson, Tom Schoenecker, who jumped right in there and put
it all together with phone calls, setup and takedown and a couple of extra trips
to the fairgrounds to correct some problems.
Thanks also to the set-up committee, as well as the take-down committee
and everyone else who helped Tom but whose names I don’t have at this
printing. It
was a great success. ~Judy Hamilton, GSM Secretary Ken
Barklind
Dan Japuntich
Katy Paul
Walt
Blowers (2)
Orell Jensen
Gerald Paul Charles
Brennecke (2)
Pat Johnson
William Paule John
Bussard (2)
John Jordan
David & Lisa Peters
David
Christianson
Dean Kjerland
Lee & Deb Preece Marty
Collier
Dorothy Kuether Bill Robbins (4)
Fran
Corcoran
Paul Lemke
Mark Ryan
David
Doty
Diane Lentsch
Dee Schmaltz
Doug
Earl
Alex & Marlys Lowe
Tom & Edna Schoenecker (2)
Steve
Erickson
Ev & Doris Luhmann
Bob Scruggs Victor
& Patricia Grambsch Mark &
Anne Lukkarila
Alan & Kay Smith Judy
Hamilton (2)
Gail Marshall
Don Swensrud Elaine
Handleman
John Matlock
Roger Willette Dick
Heglund (5)
Conrad Nelson
David Wilson John
& Karen Howell
Galen O’Connor
Winni Wilson Sylvia
Huppler
Val O’Malley
Dode Wonson Jay
Hutchinson
Clarence Ooten
Doug Zbikowski (2)
UM
Researchers Predict Volcanic Future for East Coast Two geology
professors at the University of Minnesota predict a rough future for the
American East Coast -- complete with earthquakes, volcanoes and a major
mountain-building episode -- in an article published in the October 19 issues of
“Science.” Drs. Dave Yuen
and David Kohlstedt were studying the sedimentary rocks being deposited in the
Atlantic. They concluded that the weight of the sedimentary rocks accumulated
since the Cretaceous will deform the crust, while the presence of water may
lubricate the rocks sufficiently to initiate formation of a subduction zone
along the margin between continental and oceanic crust in the area.
The oceanic trench formed could be up to 2,000 miles long. The result would
create a landscape in Eastern North America similar to that found today in the
Cascades or Andes along the western margin of the Americas. On the western
continental margin, subduction of Pacific-floor crustal plates under the
American continents produces volcanic mountains and related geophysical effects
- part of the so-called “Ring of Fire.” Yuen, who worked
with a colleague from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich and
Joy Branlund, a UM graduate student, estimate that the subduction zone will
begin to form within 3 to 10 million years, and run for about 3 million years
after it starts. Kohlstedt developed mathematical equations to show that water
in rock makes it more pliable - and that wet rocks flow 1,000 times faster than
dry rock. Little geological
violence has happened to Eastern North America since it said goodbye to Africa
as the Atlantic Ocean began opening more than150 million years ago.
But that slow, steady sea-floor spreading, accompanied by relentless
dumping of sediment off the coast by American rivers, created a unique
sedimentary environment that was perfect for Yuen and Kohlstedt’s studies. While Yuen and
Kohlstedt didn’t develop any maps to go with their study, noted
paleogeographer Christopher R. Scotese of the University of Texas has peered
into the future. The website for his Paleomap Project (www.scotese.com)
offers some guesses about the shape of things to come - and Scotese does see a
subduction zone spreading along the East Coast from Greenland to Antarctica. Scotese’s three
maps - looking 50, 100 and 250 million years into the future - show a subduction
zone spreading from an existing oceanic trench on the eastern side of the West
Indies. Ultimately, the West
Atlantic subduction zone eats the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Atlantic closes
again. ~
Tom Smalec |
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