Current Practices Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey New Brunswick Campus Dept. of Geological Sciences Gail M. Ashley Undergraduate Director Jan 2007

Departmental Profile Research-oriented department (7 mass spectrometers, microprobe, etc) 15 full-time, tenured geology faculty; 10 additional PhDs 4 Joint faculty appointments with Marine Science, 2 Environmental Science, 1 Anthropology Teach 2500 undergraduates in introductory courses Dinosaur course (460:206 is the ranked best science course by Rutgers football team 30 graduate students…act as Teaching Assistants in labs 25 undergraduate students (15% from under represented groups, 40% women). Produce ~ 8 majors a year

Geology Major (strengths) 1. Fundamentals Chemistry (9 credits) Physics (8 credits) Calculus (8 credits) 2. Core Courses Intro Geology (4) Historical (3) Mineralogy (4) Petrology (4) Paleontology (4) Structural Geology (4) Sedimentology (4) Stratigraphy (4) Geophysics (4) Field Geology (3) 3. Integrated Skills Writing Sense of time & space Team Work Lab- observations & synthesis Field –observations & synthesis Critical Thinking

Writing 1. Tests – essay questions 2. Labs – reports 3. Term papers – Word processor - critiqued and turned back for revisions (revisions may improve grade)

Sense of time

Sense of space

Team Work and Field Observations

Lab Observations and synthesis Petrographic Microscope (rocks & minerals)

Geology Major (weaknesses) 1. No capstone course (to synthesize among courses) 2. No required electives, however we do offer upper level Geomorphology Hydrogeology Marine Geology Evolution & Geologic Time The Quaternary Period Geochronology Environmental Geochemistry 3. No organized independent research program Students can do independent research (3-6 credits) 4. No oral presentation requirement

Career Paths for Rutgers Graduates (Bachelors) 25 % - directly to graduate school 65% - directly to environmental companies 10% - K-12 teaching, law, business 10 % - Go to graduate school later

Recognizing the reality that the majority of our students go to the private sector………….. A portion of our lectures, lab excercises, field trip excercises have an applied aspect. (1) Coastal processes, sea level rise (2) Naturally occurring arsenic in bedrock… leaching into groundwater (3) Heterogeneity of glacial deposits- the impact on aquifers and waste disposal

New Jersey: The garden state Population: 9,000,000 people Density: 130 people per square mile. ~105 superfund sites

(1) Coastal processes, sea level rise

Second largest “business” in New Jersey is the coast (recreation)

Continental glaciers have advanced and retreated many times New Jersey has a record of the last 2 or 3 advances Glacial sediments range from porous cobble gravels to cohesive clays

Soil Glacial Deposits Bed Rock Office of Superfund Remediation Technology Innovation (OSRTI). Soil Glacial Deposits Bed Rock

Sedimentological properties of glacial deposits (homogenous to heterogenous)

Mesozoic rift basin infill (rivers & lakes) Newark Basin 1. Newark Basin arsenic Mesozoic rift basin infill (rivers & lakes) Natural concentration of As in depositional environments and natural release of As in oxidizing environments

Sources of Arsenic in Ground Water Pyrite (FeS2) Hematite (Fe2O3) Illite

Basic Sed/Strat Passaic Fm: mostly vegetated mudflat and dry play mudflat environments with periodic deep lake events (Mostly Oxic…red) Lockatong and lower Passaic Fms: deep lake anoxic and shallow oxic saline mudflat environments (Mostly Anoxic…black/gray) Stockton Fm: coarser sediments from a Fluvial/Deltaic environment (Oxic…red)

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