Research

DUSEL-Sanford Laboratory Research
Faculty: William Roggenthen, Larry Stetler, Arden Davis, Maribeth Price, Colin Paterson, Nuri Uzunlar, Mike Terry, Ed Duke, Alvis Lisenbee
URL: http://www.lbl.gov/nsd/homestake/

http://homestake.sdsmt.edu/Resources.htm
http://www.sanfordundergroundlaboratoryathomestake.org/
http://www.hpcnet.org/HLS
http://www.hpcnet.org/dewatering
http://201.114.27.11 (Homestake Meteorological Network)

• NSF Co-PI activites-Roggenthen
• Transparent Earth-Roggenthen
• Dewatering and Aquifer Properties-Stetler, Davis
• Slow Ground Motion-Stetler
• Homestake Meteorological Network-Stetler
• Drill Hole Pressure and Flow Tests-Stetler
• Fracture Water and Microbiology-Stetler
• Bulk Rock Thermal reactions-Uzunlar, Duke
• Geological Mapping-Terry, Lisenbee
• Controls on Giant Iron-Formation-Hosted Gold Deposits-Paterson
• Building Homestake GIS databases-Price

Picture:  The Ross shaft headframe watches over the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory in Lead, SD
 

Aquifer Vulnerability Research
Faculty: Arden Davis, Alvis Lisenbee, Maribeth Price, Foster Sawyer
URL: none
     Ground water in the aquifers of the Black Hills region is potentially vulnerable to contamination from human activities. Bedrock aquifers such as the karstic Madison Limestone, whose recharge area is exposed on the flanks of the Black Hills uplift, are important water sources for the region. Karst features in the Madison aquifer, such as sinkholes, caves, and disappearing streams, make it especially sensitive to contamination from urban and rural development, including septic tanks and drain fields.
     Our research combines geologic and hydrologic information in the format of a geographic information system to delineate sensitive areas where special protection measures for ground water should be considered. Human influences then are overlain on the sensitivity map to produce a map of risk to aquifers. Researchers include Dr. Arden Davis (geological engineering and ground water), Dr. Alvis Lisenbee (field mapping and structural geology), Dr. Maribeth Price (GIS and remote sensing), and Dr. Foster Sawyer (ground-water contamination and aquifer protection).
     Picture: Schematic diagram of major bedrock aquifers in the Black Hills area. Note recharge on exposure of Madison Limestone (image from Driscoll et al., 2002, Hydrology of the Black Hills area, South Dakota: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 02-4094, 150 p.).

Engineering and Environmental Geology
Faculty: Larry Stetler, Arden Davis, Foster Sawyer, Kurt Katzenstein
URL(s): http://uranium.sdsmt.edu/
• Abandoned Uranium Mine Contamination-Stetler
• Aquifer Testing Near Abandoned Uranium Mines-Stetler, Davis
• Abandoned Mines in the Black Hills-Davis
• Arsenic in Drinking Water-Davis
• Mercury Transport and Deposition in SD-Stetler
• Aerosol Dust Transport-Stetler
• Assessing Risk from Development-Stetler, Sawyer, Katzenstein
• Erosion Modeling for Fossil Protection-Stetler

Picture:  Professor Stetler and students take notes in the field.

Economic Geology
Faculty: Colin Paterson, Michael Terry, Alvis Lisenbee, Ed Duke
URL(s): none at present
• Using Hyperspectral data for mineral prospecting in Namibia.
• Using core, underground access, and archived documents from the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) at Homestake to study origins of giant iron-formation-hosted gold deposits.
   o Hydrothermal fluid-rock interaction and gold deposition
   o Cause of localization of ore bodies in synclinal structures
   o Trace element and isotopic signatures of sulfides
   o Structural analysis of fabrics using electron backscatter diffraction
   o Geochronology investigations
• Investigating metamorphic processes and their influence on hydrothermal ore deposits in accreted terranes.
• Investigating precious metal mineralization in alkalic igneous terranes

Picture:  A hyperspectral remote sensing image of a mining area in Namibia

GIS and Remote Sensing Applications
Faculty: Maribeth Price, Kurt Katzenstein, Colin Paterson, Ed Duke
URL(s): none at present
• Building GIS databases in support of the Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory (DUSEL) at Homestake to make data about the lab more accessible to scientists and engineers.
• Indexing and archiving map collections in a spatial database for the Paleontology Research Center, and building GIS database linkages to fossil inventory data.
• Building databases and publishing maps for assessing aquifer susceptibility and vulnerability.
• Investigating the use of multi-temporal MODIS imagery for vegetation and sediment runoff in the Cheyenne River watershed.
• Using radar interferometry to investigate subsidence, landslides, and other geologic hazards.
• Using hyperspectral remote sensing for mineral prospecting in Namibia (photo).
• Applying hyperspectral remote sensing in studies of contact metamorphism in Death Valley National Park

Picture: Subsidence in Nevada mining areas as measured by radar interferometry.

Vertebrate Paleontology: Biostratigraphy and Taphonomy
Faculty: James Martin, Darrin Pagnac (Haslem Post-Doc), Sally Shelton, open position
URL: none

 • Late Cretaceous marine stratigraphy and paleontology, including marine reptile research from the Interior Seaway of North America, the Maastricht section of Belgium, and deposits from New Zealand and Antarctica
• Oligocene paleontology of the White River Group of South Dakota, including collaborative projects with Badlands National Park such as the "Big Pig Dig"
• Paleontology of the Miocene Arikaree and Ogallala groups of South Dakota and Nebraska and cooperative activities with Agate Fossil Beds and Scottsbluff National Monument.
• Late Cenozoic paleontology of the Pacific Northwest, such as the prolific Pleistocene localities at Fossil Lake, Oregon, and the Miocene sites from the Rattlesnake Formation near John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
•  Paleontology of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation with emphasis on the Little Houston Quarry, near Sundance, Wyoming, which contains one of the most abundant assemblages of Jurassic mammals in North America
Picture: Paleontology staff and students on a day trip to Badlands National Park