Christopher Schmidt-Nowara, Ph.D. - US grants

In the Rocky Mountain foreland, Precambrian basement rocks were deformed during Late Cretaceous and early Tertiary time in ways which allowed the Phanerozoic sedimentary cover rocks to be folded over them. The nature of the mechanical behavior of the basement rocks which allowed them to accommodate the shape of the cover has been a persistent and controversial problem. The objective of this research is to examine several well-exposed basement-cored folds in order to identify the mechanisms active during folding. Methods to be used include field structural mapping, analysis of deformation features on several scales, and measurement of strain. The results may help establish the relative importance of the various geological factors which control the response of the basement rocks to later deformation.

The nature of the mechanical behavior of high-grade, isotropic basement rocks that allow them to accommodate the fold shapes of sedimentary cover sequences is a problem common to many orogens. This renewal will continue research on several examples of such folds in the Rocky Mountain foreland. This work will synthesize existing data on the fold geometry and detailed kinematic information of these examples. Results are expected to be applicable to a number of orogens containing basement-cored folds.

This project integrates geophysics into the undergraduate hydrogeology and environmental programs. A 5-week environmental geophysics field course is being implemented and provides students with hands-on experience and applications of geophysical techniques necessary in resolving environmental, hydrogeological, and engineering problems. The aim is to provide the students with the essential principles and experience in the integrated use of several geophysical techniques and the ability to select the appropriate method(s) in addressing different environmental problems. Students work on specific projects in order to fulfill the following objectives: acquire, process, and interpret geophysical data, as well as provide written reports for their projects. This project specifically provides funding for state-of-the-art geophysical instrumentation. Several sites within Southwest Michigan have been selected as teaching sites for this new course. Ongoing hydrologic investigations at these sites have centered on aquifer characterization, contamination, and aquifer vulnerability problems. Using geophysical techniques, students characterize an aquifer and define contaminant plumes, thereby gaining valuable experience in the use of geophysics in addressing environmental problems.

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

This award permits Dr. Christopher Schmidt to purchase a Sensofar While Light Confocal Imaging Profiler to be housed in the Indiana Prehistory Laboratory at the University of Indianapolis. The instrument will be used to create three dimentional models of dental occlusal facets at magnifications suitable for dietary reconstruction of archaeologically-derived human specimens. In the process of mastication, microscopic alterations occur on the enamel surface and these are, it is believed, related to the qualities such as hardness and shape of the foods consumed. Traditional techniques employed to measure such enamel damage incorporate a significant subjective component and the confocal profiler can overcome this problem. The instrument will initially be used to address the question: how does diet affect teeth at the microscopic level. Dr. Schmidt will quantify the frequency, size, shape and orientation of microscopic pits and scratches on a group of over 1,000 samples from prehistoric agricultural, horticultural, pastoral, foraging and fishing communities from across the globe. This effort will provide a much needed baseline for future studies of recent historic and prehistoric groups. It will also generate models for interpreting the diets of Ice Age populations which frequently lack the better preserved subsistence evidence found at more recent sites. Dr. Schmidt will also examine the relationship between overall dental macrowear and microwear. This award therefore will permit the application of an emerging, powerful and promising technology to questions a central archaeological concern.

The potential impact of this instrumentation is broad and includes ten primary collaborators who shall provide samples from North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. An additional four colleagues on the University of Indianapolis campus also plan to use the instrumentation and both graduate and undergraduate students will have access to the profiler. Students in dental science, skeletal biology, microbiology and plant science will also find the instrument research relevant.