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Staff geologist Mike Angle (right) discusses a core sample with an OCVN Program naturalist.
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August 18, 2011—Last Friday the Ohio Geological Survey and The Ohio State University Extension-Ohio Certified Volunteer Naturalist (OCVN) Program collaborated on a one day seminar at the H. R. Collins Lab in Delaware Ohio. Entitled “Unraveling the Mystery of Central Ohio’s Geology,” the event was attended by OCVN Program naturalists and consisted of a morning workshop and afternoon field trip to examine near-surface geologic features and piece together central Ohio’s complex geology.
During the morning session, participants located their home towns on Ohio’s bedrock and glacial maps and received a guidebook (see link below) describing the details of central Ohio’s geology. They then toured the Collins Lab, including the facility’s core repository, and were briefly introduced to the geology of the area using maps and core samples. However, the session’s primary focus was a hands-on activity where participants recreated the geologic processes of the area, including tropical seas that advanced and retreated across central Ohio, intense storms and rainfall, and formation of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers. The activity also covered environmental and geologic hazards, types of bedrock and surficial materials, fossils, and other characteristics of the area’s geology.
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OCVN Program naturalists examine small Ohio Shale concretion samples.
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The afternoon field trip entailed three stops to reinforce what was learned in the morning workshop. Participants compared and contrasted central Ohio rocks viewed in core earlier in the day versus those exposed in streams, caves, and man-made quarries. At each field trip stop, participants had a hands-on opportunity to test their descriptive and interpretive skills using the guidebook fact sheets.
The first stop at the Olentangy Indian Caverns gave everyone a chance to examine the Delaware and Columbus Limestones and learn about the slow process of karst formation, which is prominent in the area. The second stop, the National Lime and Stone Co. Delaware quarry, highlighted the economic benefits these rocks add to the lives of Ohio citizens. The third and final stop, Camp Lazarus, gave participants a chance to examine exposures of the Ohio Shale, including large concretions that are characteristic of the lower part of this formation.
The day concluded with participants offering their suggestions on ways to improve the program, which is funded by a grant from the Ohio EPA-Ohio Environmental Education Fund with matching funding from Ohio Geological Survey. Learn more about the OCVN here, and explore the links below to learn more about central Ohio's geology.
Further Information
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