Geosciences - tamuk.edu · Geosciences Newsletter Department of Physics and Geosciences Texas A&M University - Kingsville F E B R U A R 2010 Program News Rebecca Roscoe graduated

D E P A R T M E N T O F

P H Y S I C S A N D

G E O S C I E N C E S

Geosciences

Newsletter J A N 2 0 1 7 V O L U M E 1 1 , I S S U E 1

Program News

Four Geology Majors Graduated in the Fall Semester

Jacob Byerly, Tristin Shaw, Allen Hibler, and Kelsey

Robinette graduated in the TAMUK Fall 2016

Commencement. We appreciate the level of dedication

and effort given by these majors. Great job!

Jacob Byerly graduated with his BS degree in

geology and walked the stage at the December 2016

Commencement. Jacob Byerly received Presidential

Scholarship support from the University during his four

years in this program. He also earned money as a hunting

guide for local ranches. Jacob was a teaching assistant in

geography and geology classes that helped the

Department for several semesters. He also worked on

research projects in GIS with Dr. Brent Hedquist. Jacob was the President of the AAPG student chapter at

TAMUK from 2014-2015. His summer field camp work earned him the Javelina Field Geologist award with

Distinction for his consistent quality field work. Mr. Byerly completed a minor in GIS and earned a GIS

certificate. Jacob is applying to several graduate schools.

Kelsey Robinette graduated with her BS degree in geology and walked the stage at the December 2016

Commencement. Kelsey Robinette transferred into the program from engineering. Kelsey worked at the front

desk in the Dean’s office for 2 years. She was the president of the AAPG student chapter from 2015-2016. She

completed her field camp training at the University of Houston. Kelsey earned a GIS certificate. She has

demonstrated academic skills, work ethic, and writing skills that should pay dividends in her career. Kelsey is

applying to several graduate schools. Great job Kelsey!

Tristin Shaw graduated in December 2016. Tristin Shaw transferred into the geology program from

engineering. She completed her geology course-work in 1.5 years. Tristin Shaw completed a minor in GIS and

earned a GIS certificate. Tristin completed her field training at the Sul Ross State University field program.

Allen Hibler graduated in December 2016. Allen Hibler transferred into the geology program from

engineering. Allen completed his geology course-work in 1.5 years, completed a minor in GIS, and earned a

GIS certificate. Allen completed his field training at the Sul Ross State University field program.

Geosciences Program has Two New Degree Tracks The Corpus Christi Geological Community has requested that we prepare our geology graduates with training

in seismology to command jobs in the oil and gas industry. Recent geology graduates have discovered that they

must be proficient in seismology to compete. This required the addition of geophysics faculty to evolve our

program to what the industry requires.

Geographic Information Science has been offered as “vocational training’ in local high schools and at

community colleges in South Texas to provide some expertise in this science for local businesses. TAMUK

geosciences provided training for many teachers offering these classes in high schools. Growth in South Texas

and evolution of our industries will require new professionals with higher-level skills. The addition of a

geography program at TAMUK will increase the number of trained professionals in GIS and will provide

pathways to graduate schools for our evolving businesses.

Bachelors of Science: Geophysics Emphasis

Drs. Subbarao Yelisetti and Robert Schneider have received approvals to offer a new track in Geophysics in

our BS degree in Geology. They have constructed a degree program that will supply the needed professionals

for our South Texas oil and gas industry. They also have constructed a minor and certification in geophysics

for our geologists and natural gas engineers.

Bachelors of Science: Geography Emphasis

The BS degree in geography at TAMUK was discontinued in 2005. Drs. Haibin Su and Brent Hedquist

revived a new track in Physical Geography to add to our BS degree in Geology. Both faculties have expertise

in research and teaching GIS and Remote Sensing. This degree track will be a broad-based physical geography

course track with professional training in GIS and Remote Sensing. GIS Certification classes and supporting

minor in GIS has provided our TAMUK graduates with marketable skills in a support area. However, there are

many professional jobs that can be filled with a degree in geography.

Inside This Issue: Program News ··· 1

Photo Gallery ··· 5

Contact us / Editors

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Contact us:

Geosciences Program

Texas A&M – Kingsville

MSC 175, University Blvd

Kingsville TX, 78363

Phone: 361-593-3110

Fax: 361-593-2183

URL:

geosciences.tamuk.edu

Editors:

Dr. Thomas McGehee

([email protected])

Dr. Haibin Su

([email protected])

Dr. Mark Ford

([email protected])

Geosciences Newsletter

Department of Physics and Geosciences

Texas A&M University - Kingsville

F E B R U A R 2 0 1 0

Program News

Rebecca Roscoe graduated December 18th, 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Geology with a minor

in Geography. Rebecca attended Texas A&M University-Kingsville in 2004 after graduating from

Woodland Park High School in Colorado. She came to the University with an interest in gemology,

but towards completion of her B.S., she was more interested in economic geology and glacial geology.

While attending the University, Rebecca taught geoscience laboratories almost every semester. She

took the position as treasurer and secretary for a couple semesters in the Geology Club. In the summer

of 2007, Rebecca received an internship with the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine in Colorado.

That following summer and Fall 2008 semester Rebecca and team members participated in an Ore Microscopy Research

Project (with Orlando Gonzales and Jacob Hundl) in a study of the paragenesis of veins within the Cripple Creek/Victor

Diatreme. She presented her research at the Pathways to the Doctorate Research Symposium in Fall, 2008. During the 2009

spring semester, Rebecca received a scholarship from the Corpus Christi Geological Society. She was working in a open pit

hard rock gold mining environment. Most of the duties involved logging rock chip samples and planning drill holes. She also

had an internship in the summer of 2009 with the Alaska Geological and Geophysical Survey in Fairbanks, Alaska. There she

received valuable experience in ArcGIS, and great contacts with the State Survey and USGS. Rebecca is currently employed

as a Geologist at the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mine. She plans on attending Graduate School in January 2011. Rebecca

really enjoyed her time and experiences at Texas A&M University-Kingsville.

Melissa Ann Hidalgo received her Bachelor of Science degree in Geology with a minor in Biology from

Texas A&M University-Kingsville during the 2009 December commencement. Originally from

Beeville, Texas, she earned her Associate of Science degree with emphasis of Geology from Coastal

Bend College-Beeville in May 2006. While attending TAMUK, Miss Hidalgo was the 2008 Treasurer

of the Geoscience Club and worked an internship as an interpreter with the Texas Parks and Wildlife

Department in the summer of 2008. This past summer , Melissa fulfilled her capstone course required

by her degree plan by completing a rigorous six-week field camp (this implements coursework learned

in lectures and laboratory in the field) with the University of Nevada-Reno. In her final year, she worked with Dr. John

Buckley on the preparation and partial reconstruction of Polyptchyodon Hudsoni, a plesiosaur. She presented her research at

the Pathways to the Doctorate Research Symposium in Fall, 2009. She had this to say; “First of all, I believe that TAMUK

was a perfect fit for me, especially the Geoscience department and their faculty. You develop a close professional relationship

with them that will serve you for years to come. Without their help, it would not have been a smooth transition from a

community college to a major university. Also, those opportunities that were offered will help me with furthering my career.

This is very much appreciated. Not only is this degree a symbol of my hard work and determination of an important

accomplishment but it also shows the great support that was given to me by individuals, especially my close friends and even

closer family. I thank God for them everyday.” Miss Hidalgo is planning on pursuing a Graduate Gemologist degree through

the GIA (Gemological Institute of America).

David Smith graduated December 18th, 2009 with a Bachelor of Science in Geology with a minor in

Geography. He worked on two research projects that were presented at the Pathways to the Doctorate

Research Symposium in 2008 and 2009. He is a student member of the American Association of

Petroleum Geologist. He is working for Lewis Petro Properties getting valuable experience in the

petroleum industry. In regards to what the degree means to him, “This program has helped me in a lot

of different ways. Mainly how the Earth system works and how to use the tools like GIS and Remote

Sensing to study the different subsystems of the Earth.”

Samuel Cantu, Summa Cum Laude, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Geosciences with a

minor in English. He has taught most of the GIS and Remote Sensing labs while completing his

degree. He was the Coordinator for Educational Outreach on Dr. Jaeyung Yu’s DoD Geospatial

Technology grant for two years. He has completed four research projects that were presented at the

Pathways to the Doctorate Research Symposiums in 2007, 2008, and 2009. He won a second place

award in the Environmental Division in the 2008 Pathways Symposium. He presented his research

poster at the AAG Conference on a post-NAFTA GIS project that analyzed the environmental impacts

of growth to the Weslaco, Texas area. This meeting was held in San Francisco, CA in the Spring

2007. Sam Cantu was one of the most helpful, dedicated students in the Department.

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Geosciences has Six New Majors David Benavides is an internal transfer student from the College of Business.

Dionel Colmenero is a transfer major from Del Mar College.

Jeremy Evans is a post-baccalaureate business graduate.

Jeremy Garza is an internal transfer student from Natural Gas Engineering.

Dallas Gonzalez is an internal transfer student from Biology.

Rikki Ponce is an internal transfer student from Mechanical Engineering.

David Dionel Jeremy Evans Jeremy Garza Dallas Rikki

TAMUK Students Attended Five Fieldtrips in the Fall, 2016

On September 10, eighteen students and Dr. McGehee studied modern fluvial, deltaic,

lagoonal, and barrier island depositional environments in the Nueces County Area. We

made multiple stops starting in Hazel Bazemore Park and ending in the Padre Island

National Seashore Park. The objective of this fieldtrip was to observe modern

sedimentation processes which produce the rock products

On September 29 - October 1 (Thursday-Saturday), twenty-one students, Richard Parker,

and Dr. McGehee traveled to Central Texas to study Paleozoic and Cretaceous rocks. This

included a lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic study of the lower Cretaceous rocks along

Fitzhugh Road near Flat Creek and lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic study of Cambrian

rocks near Hye Texas. The collected data in both areas were used to prepare two stratigraphic sections.

On October 20-22 (Thursday-Saturday) twenty students joined Drs. Ford, McGehee, and Su to study the mineralogy and

geochemistry of the Badu Hill Pegmatite. This included a mineralogical examination of the pegmatite at Badu Hill around the mine

site.

On November 12 (Saturday morning) thirty students traveled to Houston to the World Class Houston Museum of Natural

Sciences. The Mineralogy class and physical geology students spent most of the afternoon in the Cullen Hall of Gems and Minerals.

We also traveled to the 63rd Annual HGMS Houston Gem and Mineral Societies Gem, Jewelry, Mineral, and Fossil show in Humble

Texas that afternoon for student to observe the current key mineral localities where specimens are mined.

On November 17-19 (Thursday-Saturday) 18 students, Dr. Sanchez and Dr. McGehee traveled to the Slaughter Gap Ranch in

Marble Falls and Enchanted Rock to study the geomorphology of each area. Students gathered elevation data and learned to test rock

properties in the field with a Schmidt hammer. Students developed a hypsometric model in lab the following week. They also used

their field observations and geologic history to develop a landscape evolution model at the conclusion of the trip.

GCAGS Recognizes Dr. McGehee with “Outstanding Educator Award”

Drs. Thomas McGehee, Mark Ford, Veronica Sanchez, Subbarao Yelisetti, Robert Schneider,

and Brent Hedquist and 13 students provided many services for the 2016 GCAGS Conference.

TAMUK Short Course

Basic Seismic Attributes – Robert Schneider

TAMUK Session Chairs

Geo-education (4 presenters) – Mark Ford

Changing Coastal Landscape (6 presenters) – Brent Hedquist

Plate Tectonic Studies (4 presenters) – Mark Ford and Tom McGehee

TAMUK Judges

A. I. Levorsen Memorial Award – Bob Bell and Thomas McGehee

Thomas A. Philpott Excellence of Presentations – Bob Bell and Thomas McGehee

Gordon I. Atwater Best Poster Award - Bob Bell and Thomas McGehee

TAMUK undergraduate student participation included loading talks for the appropriate sessions, assisting speakers during workshops

and presentations. In the opening ceremony, Dr. McGehee received recognition with the Outstanding Educator Award for exceptional

contributions to Geosciences education in the Gulf Coast Area.

Writing Intensive Winter Intersession Field Camp 2016

We completed our fifth successful winter intersession field camp in December. We

welcomed back Dennis Moore (retired), Randy Bissell (Heddington Oil), Mike

Gisler (Gisler Brothers Logging), Lonnie Blake (senior geologist with EOG), Neal

Kunkle (alumnus; geologist with UEC), and Bob Underdown (engineer with UEC).

This year we added a tour of the San Miguel Lignite Mine presented by Nellie

Frisbee, mine geologist. Vernon Kramer (Del Mar), Richard Parker (TAMUK),

Thomas McGehee (TAMUK), and Sylvia Gatewood are the faculty and support

team for this camp. Dennis Moore gave a brief short course on geophysical log

interpretation with a required student exercise. Randy Bissell gave a brief overview

of sequence stratigraphy and how the interpretation of seismic data yields petroleum discoveries. Randy demonstrated how this is

done then has the students work through nine exercises. Vernon Kramer gave an overview of Uranium Company exploration for

roll fronts and has the students complete an exercise to find a uranium roll front. Bob Underdown and Neal Kunkle showed our

majors a well field at the UEC Palangana Dome Project and discussed some of the problems with these discoveries. Mike Gisler

gave an overview of the employee activities in the mud-logging business. We traveled out to Aransas Pass to view “Big Foot” and

another offshore platform in construction. Lonnie Blake gave an introduction to geophysics and provided an overview of data-

driven decision making in the life of a petroleum geologist. Vernon Kramer provided overviews of the fracking industry and

offshore drilling. Richard Parker took our majors over to the Corpus Christi log library to learn how to gather data for prospects.

He also prepared and guided our students through an exercise in log correlation.

Dr. Sanchez and Adolfo Enciso Win (TCUR) award

Adolfo (left) at GCAGS Conference

Adolfo Enciso received the 2017 TAMUK Council for Undergraduate Research (TCUR)

award. Adolfo will be working with Dr. Sanchez in evaluating drainage basins in active rifts in

southern Tibet via remote sensing methods. This is an exciting opportunity for Adolfo as he

combines his knowledge from geomorphology and previous courses into a structural geology

project. He will be presenting results at the South Central Geological Society of America

(GSA) annual meeting in San Antonio in March and at the Javelina Research Symposium in

April.

Aaron Barron, Alex Johnston, and Dr. Sanchez Present Research at the GSA conference

Aaron (right) at the conference

Aaron Barron and Dr. Sanchez presented their research at the Geological Society of America

Meeting in Denver, CO., last September. Aaron's presentation was primarily over his results

from remote sensing analyses of southern Oaxaca landslides, which were developed under the

TCUR grant. Dr. Sanchez presented her research on the Christmas Mts., which included work

done by recent graduate Alex Johnston. Both Dr. Sanchez and Aaron enjoyed the Colorado

Front Range by participating in a couple of geology field trips and meeting great people doing

geology out there.

Sanchez, V. and Johnston, A., 2016, Preliminary Structural Analysis of the Christmas Mountains, West Texas, to Assess the Role

of Transfer Zone Mechanisms in Rift Zones: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 7 doi:

10.1130/abs/2016AM-279980

Barron, A. and Sanchez, V., 2016, 2016, Observations of Potential Mass Movements in the Rural Areas of Oaxaca,

Mexico: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol. 48, No. 7 doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-281293

Dr. Hedquist Received a Grant to Continue GIS Work at Historic South Texas Ranch

In mid-December, Dr. Brent Hedquist was awarded a $25,211 grant from the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez

Foundation to continue GIS database and online mapping work at the historic Rancho La Union in Zapata

County, Texas. The Grant was part of a larger interdisciplinary collaboration within the Institute of

Architecture Engineering Heritage and will be used to document and preserve information on historic

structures using online GIS tools, as well as acquiring images from a UAV/drone. The project will extend

from February 2017-May 2018 and involve training and educating some of our GIS undergraduate students

in the use of geospatial tools and technology.

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Department of Physics and

Geosciences

Texas A&M University -

Kingsville

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Geosciences

osciences


Kingsville

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Geosciences

Texas A&M University - King

GCAGS recognizes Dr. McGehee with “Outstanding Educator Award”

Physics and Geosciences

osciences


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The Year in Review: Geosciences Publications Over the Past 12 Months

Names in bold indicate undergraduate authors, underline indicate alumni.

Refereed journal articles:

Beck, R., S. Zhan, H. Liu, S. Tong, B. Yang, M. Xu, Z. Ye, Y. Huang, S. Shu, Q. Wu, S. Wang, K. Berling, A. Murray, E. Emery,

M. Reif, J. Harwood, J. Young, C. Nietch, D. Macke, M. Martin, G. Stillings, R. Stumpf, H. Su, 2016, Comparison of

Satellite Reflectance Algorithms for Estimating Chlorophyll-A in a Temperate Reservoir using Coincident Hyperspectral

Aircraft Imagery and Dense Coincident Surface Observations: Remote Sensing of Environment, 178, 15-30.

Chang, C-Y., Faust, E., Hou, X., Lee, P., Kim, H-C., Hedquist, B. C., and Liao, K-J., 2016, Investigating Ambient Ozone

Formation Regimes in Neighboring Cities of Shale Plays in the Northeast United States using Photochemical Modeling and

Satellite Retrievals: Atmospheric Environment, 142, 152-170.

Hedquist, B.C. and Barker, C., 2016, Detecting and mapping the urban heat island in a small South Texas city: The Southwestern

Geographer, 19, 15-27.

Wu, Q., H. Su, D. Sherman, H. Liu, Jennifer Wozencraft, Bailang Yu, Zuoqi Chen, 2016, A Graph-Based Approach for Assessing

Storm-Induced Coastal Changes: International Journal of Remote Sensing, 37, 4854-4873.

Extended Abstracts:

Sarah M. Dillon, Adolfo Enciso, and Mark T. Ford, 2016, pXRF analysis of Heterogeneous Rocks with Respect to Sample

Preparation: Applications to Mafic Igneous Rocks: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 66, p.

747–749.

Meeting and conference abstracts:

Barron, A. and Sanchez, V., 2016, Observations of Potential Mass Movements in the Rural Areas of Oaxaca, Mexico: Geological

Society of America Abstracts with Programs. v. 48, no. 7.

Estrada, M.M., Fenner, S.S. and Ford, M.T. 2016, Using pXRF to Assess Heterogeneous Sample Preparation Methods:

Applications to Coarse-Grained Felsic Rocks: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 66, p. 943.

Ford, M.T. and McGehee, T.L. 2016, Development of a geology field course in the Christmas Mountains and Big Bend region:

Christmas Mountains Research Symposium, Terlingua, TX May 23 – 25, p. 12

Ford, M.T. and McGehee, T.L. 2016, Expanding Horizons: A Writing Intensive Undergraduate Field Camp to Prepare Students for

the Future: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 66, p. 949.

Hales, B., Cano, R., and McGehee, T.L. 2016, Bridging Students’ Knowledge Gaps through Research: A Case Using Synthetic

Hydrogeologic Models: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 66, p. 971.Hedquist, B.C. and

Subedi, M.R., Creating a Geographical Information System (GIS) Database for Documenting Historical Structures at

Rancho La Union Ranch, Zapata County, Texas, South-Central Arc Users Group (SCAUG) meeting in Corpus Christi,

Texas, April 20, 2016.

Hedquist, B., Davenport, J., Norwine, J., Bruner, M., Preda, M., and Ketcham, A., 21st Century Environmentalism amidst Dueling

Weltanschaungen: Crossing the Axial Age or Adrift in the Gulf?, annual Southwest Division of the American Association of

Geographers (SWAAG) meeting, Denton, Texas, October 21, 2016.

Hedquist, B.C. and Subedi, M.R., Creating a Geographical Information System (GIS) Database for Documenting Historical

Structures at Rancho La Union Ranch, Zapata County, Texas, South-Central Arc Users Group (SCAUG) meeting in Corpus

Christi, Texas, April 20, 2016.

Johnston, A. 2016, Paleostress fields of the Christmas Mountains: Christmas Mountains Research Symposium, Terlingua, TX May

23 – 25, p. 13.

Long, S, He, T., Lan, K., Spence, G., and Yelisetti, S. Velocity structure and 3D finite element modeling for critical instability of

gas hydrate-related Slipstream submarine slide, offshore Vancouver Island, Canada: 2016 Fall Meeting, AGU, San

Francisco, CA, Abstract B21G-0491, 12-16 Dec.

Sanchez, V. and Johnston, A., 2016, Preliminary Structural Analysis of the Christmas Mountains, West Texas, to Assess the Role

of Transfer Zone Mechanisms in Rift Zones: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. v. 48, no. 7.

Sanchez, V. 2016, The southern extent of the Tascotal-Mesa fault at the Christmas Mountains: Christmas Mountains Research

Symposium, Terlingua, TX, May 23 – 25, p. 13.

Su, H. and Hedquist, B., 2016, Developing Pathways to Geospatial Intelligence for Underrepresented South Texas Students – an

Ongoing Project: Second Annual Intelligence Community Academic Research Symposium (ICARS), Washington DC,

September 20-23, 2016.

Su, H. and Hedquist, B., 2016, Developing Pathways to Geospatial Intelligence for South Texas Students: First Year Results: 2016

Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Annual Convention, Corpus Christi, TX, September 18-20, 2016.

Su, H., 2016, Incorporating Spatial Correlation for Improving the Prediction of Water Depth from Multi-Spectral Satellite Imagery:

The 2016 Annual Meeting of The Association of American Geographers, San Francisco, CA, March 29 - April 2, 2016.

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Tuck, J.J., Kponi, B., McGehee, T.L. and Ford, M.T. 2016, Optimization of pXRF Sampling Methods in Analyzing

Hydrocarbon-Rich Zones in the Eagle Ford Shale: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 66, p.

1069.

Yelisetti, S., McGehee, T.L., and Hewett, L 2016, Overview of Proposed Geophysics/Petrophysics Programs at Texas A&M

University–Kingsville: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions, v. 66, p. 1081.

Yelisetti, S., Spence, G., Scherwath, M., Riedel, M., and Klaeschen, D.. Dual-vergence structure from multiple migration of widely

spaced OBSs: 17th International Seismix Symposium (oral), Avimore, Scotland, 15th-20th May, 2016.

In addition to the above, we had several other recent graduates from our program presenting at the GCAGS in Corpus Christi in

September including at least: Justin Mauck, Lisa A. McLaughlin, Jonathan Sulaica, and Michael Parker.

Winter Camp Galleries

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Galleries

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Geosciences - tamuk.edu · Geosciences Newsletter Department of Physics and Geosciences Texas A&M University - Kingsville F E B R U A R 2010 Program News Rebecca Roscoe graduated

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