Check out this cool coloring book as well as bonus pages. Learn about ancient plants and creatures as you color your way through this booklet. What is your favorite creature?
Geologic Resources Division Edrioasteroid “Foerstediscus splendens” is an extinct echinoderm (a member of the group including sea stars, sea urchins, and sea lilies) known as an edrioasteroid (seated star) that lived during the Ordovician. Fossils of “Foerstediscus” have been found at Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, Minnesota.
Have you ever been fossil hunting? If you are interested in collecting fossils, you should plan an adventure to the Fossil and Prairie Park Preserve in Rockford, Iowa. It gives you a chance to find your own fossils.
Gilmore City crinoids
Slab of Gilmore City crinoids
Images from https://cedarvalleyrockclub.org/crinoidsGilmoreCity.html
Did you know that Iowa is only one of a handful of state’s that doesn’t have a state fossil? There is currently a proposal for the Crinoid to become Iowa’s State Fossil. Crinoids are a class of animals called echinoderms that first appears on the earth about 500 million years ago. They have two form, sea lilies (stalked form attached to the sea floor) and feather stars (free-living.) Learn more about the Crinoid at the Cedar Valley Rocks and Mineral Society website.
Today we are celebrating remote sensing, the study of the earth using secondary observations from instruments such as planes, kites, drones, satellites as an exciting and powerful educational tool to help us show changes over time.
This year the AmericaView/NASA team has put together a fun and beautiful educational poster!
Today think about how you use minerals in your daily life.
Join the Earth Science Week team in raising awareness of and appreciation for minerals and mineralogy among the general public as well as K-12 and higher education students and teachers in both formal and informal educational settings.
Monday, October 12 Minerals Day. Join us in raising awareness of and appreciation for minerals and mineralogy!
Tuesday, October 13 Earth Observation Day. Engage students and teachers in remote sensing as an exciting and powerful educational tool.
No Child Left Inside Day. NCLI Day encourages students to go outside and research Earth science in the field like a professional geoscientist.
Wednesday, October 14 National Fossil Day. The annually held National Fossil Day celebration is dedicated to promoting the understanding and appreciation of fossils.
Thursday, October 15 Geoscience for Everyone Day. Do your part to help young people from underrepresented communities explore exciting careers in the geosciences.
Friday, October 16 Geologic Map Day. Hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey, Association of American State Geologists, National Park Service, Geological Society of America, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in partnership with AGI, this special event promotes awareness of the study, uses, importance of geologic mapping for education, science, business, and a variety of public policy concerns.
Saturday, October 17 International Archaeology Day. Hosted by the Archaeological Institute of America, this special event is a celebration of archaeology and the thrill of discovery.
Webinars
“Advances in the Mineralogy of Mars,” Dr. Elizabeth Rampe, Johnson Space Center. (Recorded to premiere at 10 a.m. EDT, Monday, October 12, 2020)
“The Future of Data-Driven Discovery in Mineralogy and Crystallography,” Dr. Shaunna Morrison, Carnegie Institution of Science. (Live at 2 p.m. EDT, Monday, October 12, 2020)
“Resources Beyond Earth: Enabling Future Exploration and the New Space Economy,” Dr. Angel Abbud Madrid, Center for Space Resources, Colorado School of Mines. (On Demand with a live Q&A at 12 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, October 13, 2020)
“Gemology: Time Capsules Connecting Us Through History,” Dr. Aaron Palke, Gemological Institute of America. (Recorded to premiere at 3 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, October 13, 2020)
“The Need and Solutions for Robots in Responsible Raw Material Exploration and Mining,” Dr. Norbert Zajzon, University of Miskolc. (On Demand with a live Q&A at 12 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, October 14, 2020)
“New Insights Into Wire Silver and Gold Formation,” Dr. John Rakovan, Miami University. (Recorded to premiere at 3 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, October 14, 2020)
“Consumers: The Most Potent Army Against Conflict Minerals,” Vitor Correia, International Raw Materials Observatory. (On Demand with a live Q&A at 12pm EDT, Friday, October 16, 2020)
“May the Quartz Be With You,” Shannon Mahan, U.S. Geological Survey. With an introduction by Sarah J. Ryker, USGS Associate Director for Energy & Minerals. (On Demand)
“The Global Supply of Critical Minerals: Assessing and Tracking Critical Mineral Commodities,” Nedal Nassar, U.S. Geological Survey. (On Demand)
Next week is Earth Science Week. This year the theme is Earth Materials in Our Lives. Throughout the week we will be exploring different aspects of earth sciences, finding ways to connect to the earth, and looking at careers and organizations that are devoted to the study of our earth.
Check back all week for daily updates and ways to celebrate!
This year due to safety concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic the Iowa Technology and Geospatial (ITAG) Conference 2020 was cancelled. Instead of the typical four-day in person event, ITAG hosted a half-day virtual event. Here is the link to the recording: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Y31tVqT2Y2dt68kFsefBqSNOTzq0ycIj/view?usp=sharing. Below are descriptions of presentations and links to presenters’ powerpoints:
What’s New with Collector for ArcGIS Jay Riester and Gale Shea, Seiler Geospatial Collector for ArcGIS is an ever-evolving field app. Learn what’s new with both the iOS and Android version of Collector.
DEMs – Which One Do I Choose? Brian Gelder, Iowa State University The ready availability of Lidar and Phodar datasets has vastly increased the types of Digital Elevation Models that are now available. One can now generate or choose from surface models and elevation models with some having various levels of hydroflattening or hydrocorrection applied. There are also numerous algorithms which can be used to generate the different types of DEMs. So, how does one choose which one is best for the needs of one’s project? We will discuss general DEM types, the underlying assumptions, best choices for certain applications, and sources for prebuilt DEMs for the state of Iowa.
Mapping the Rural Hitch – How One Fire Department Is Utilizing GIS to Prepare for Rural Structure Fires Adam Gebhart, Johnson County Traveling around most urban areas, you see fire hydrants or access to a continuous water supply every few hundred feet. However, when traveling around rural portions of the state, these types of continuous water resources are rarely found. This lack of continuous water resource poses a considerable challenge for local fire departments when responding to fires in rural areas. When a fire occurs, response time is everything. Given the considerable challenges in effectively responding to fire emergencies in rural areas, North Liberty Fire Department (NLFD) is one place utilizing GIS technology to improve these response times. This presentation will provide background information on mapping the rural hitch to help other fire departments understand how GIS can improve their response to rural fires.
How Data “Moves” in a Versioned Enterprise Geodatabase Workflow Nathan Teut, Cedar County The ability to branch child versions off of other versions in a multiuser geodatabase tree structure gives us the ability to edit without stepping on each other’s toes or eating each other’s brains. This also allows QAQC protocols to be put into place when migrating those edits (reconcile and post operations) into the parent versions. To better understand these editing operations, it is necessary to understand the version tree and the concept of state IDs which can be easily viewed through SQL Server Management Studio. In a demo-based presentation, let’s go through an editing example, tracking the advancement of a zombie apocalypse upon Cedar County, by two simultaneous users, and check the state IDs to better understand how the data “moves” from child to parent. Finally, lets quickly review the arcpy methods for automating reconcile, post, and geodatabase maintenance (rebuild, analyze, and compress operations).
Playing Nice with Your Neighbors NG911 Jeff Miller, Dubuque County This will be a county focused meetup to discuss boundary and alignment issues between counties. For Next Gen 911 to work as expected the boundaries need to be edge matched and roads need to be connected at county boundaries.
GIS Leadership in an Organization and Best Practices for GIS Success Matt Hoehn and Dan Haag, Esri Esri’s Dan Haag (St Louis Region Manager) and Matt Hoehn (Account manager for Local governments in Iowa) will be presenting on lessons learned and best practices for GIS and IT professionals to use Location Technology to become leaders in their organizations. Presentation and discussion topics include; GIS and technology strategy, focusing on capabilities, establishing GIS value with business focused solutions, overcoming technology challenges, and implementing best practices.
Have you seen this online tool for downloading conservation practices by watershed in Iowa? Check out the online tool: https://bensonvip.gis.iastate.edu/ISU/BMP/BMP.html
This week marks 40 years since the Mount St. Helens eruption. The image above is from the USGS Earthshots trading card series. The images are displayed in color infrared which is useful for showing living vegetation in red. The mountains surrounding Mount St. Helens are primarily forest. Notice the extreme change in the landscape from the 1973 image to the post eruption image in 1983. The damage was extensive and ash covered much of the surrounding forest land.
