For the UVA Biogeochemistry lab, it has been a rock heavy spring semester. Nischal working on basalts, Alex Rice working on isotopes in soils and rocks, Robert and Sophia working on mine wastes. Even more rock heavy has been Geology field trips.
Dr. Justin Richardson is teaching EVSC 2800 fundamentals of geology this semester and one of the most important parts of geology is seeing rocks ‘in the wild’. This semester he has led three field trips to examine rocks of the Blue Ridge mountains and Shenandoah Valley.
On top of this, he joined a great field trip for Southeastern Geological Society of America. We checked out some Ordovician beds being quarried for limestone, spring waters from the karst landscapes, and caves. The most quintessential Shenandoah Valley geologic tour co-led by the Virginia Department of Energy with the state geologist Matthew Heller and JMU’s Steven Whitmeyer.