MGG NEWS

A New Newsletter from Marine Geology and Geophysics

This is a new newsletter from RSMAS, in particular from the Division of Marine Geology and Geophysics. It is designed to deal only with MGG and to let friends and alumni keep in touch with the changes which are taking place in the division. We shall not ignore wider school issues, but keep a very partisan MGG bias. If this news letter is successful I expect other divisions will try to follow suite. Since there has never been an issue of this newsletter before and we want to reach out to all alumni, in this first issue we shall introduce or reintroduce the MGG faculty, students and staff. We shall try to keep up several features in our semi-annual issues. These will include a liberal sprinkling of photographs, both old and new. Included will be a feature celebrating events which happened 5, 10, and 20 years ago. We also want to include stories or reports from faculty, staff, students, and alumni, so I urge you to send such material to the editor along with photos, and information which will be of interest.

www.rsmas.miami.edu/divs/mgg

The Editor

MGG Faculty

The MGG faculty now consists of 17 members including three research faculty and one emeritus. Not including Dr. Don Moore our emeritus faculty member, the longest serving member is Dr. Chris Harrison, who has been here since 1967. He is interested in all aspects of geophysics and recently has been studying geology using remote sensing methods. Following closely in terms of service is Dr. Robert Ginsburgwho has been in MGG since 1969. Bob continues to work on modern carbonates and despite approaching early-middle age is one of the more active members of the faculty. Dr. Larry Peterson, at RSMAS since 1984, is a specialist in paleoceanography. His current projects include climate change in the southern Caribbean and the Arabian Seas. Dr . Peter Swart has also been on the faculty since 1984 and studies carbonate diagenesis and coral geochemistry. He is currently the MGG chair. Dr Pam Reid, a RSMAS graduate, has been at RSMAS since 1985. Pam's main research interest is in the area of biogenic-abiogenic interactions. Dr. Keir Becker arrived from Scripps in 1985. Keir uses downhole tools to study geophysical properties in boreholes. Dr. Don McNeill, a RSMAS graduate, joined the faculty in 1989. He uses magnetostratigraphy to date sediments. In 1989 there, were other changes in MGG. Dr. Bruce Rosendahl became the Lewis Weeks professor of Geology and served as the Dean of RSMAS between 1989 and 1995. His research revolves around the use of deep seismic profiling to ascertain the crustal structure of the Earth. Dr. H. Wanless, Dr. Fisher, and Dr. Southam moved to the main campus Geology Department at approximately the same time although they continue to maintain links with MGG. Dr. Wanless continues have graduate students based at RSMAS. Coincident with the move, several new faculty were hired. Dr Gregor Eberli arrived in 1991 from Switzerland. He uses seismic stratigraphy to study sea-level changes and the evolution of sedimentary systems. Dr. Jackie Dixon and Dr. Jim Natland, both specializing in igneous petrology arrived from Caltech and Scripps, respectively. They were joined by Dr. Tim Dixon who formerly worked at JPL in Pasadena. Tim uses GPS to determine rates ofcrustal movement, monitor volcanoes, and investigate subsidence and sea-level change. At about the same time, Dr. Julie Hood, arrived from a postdoctoral position at the Naval Research Laboratory. In 1993,Dr. Chris Scholz arrived from Duke University. Chris uses seismic reflection to study the development of rift basins. Finally, our latest addition to the faculty is Dr. Michael Grammer. Mike works on modern carbonates and is starting a new area of research in reservoir characterization. In addition to these faculty, Dr. Pat Blackwelder is a part time faculty member who operates the SEM/TEM facility; a task she has been carrying out since 1986. She also carries out research on coccoliths.

Research Staff

Flavio Anselmetti- Flavio holds a doctorate from the ETH in Zurich. He is working with Gregor Eberli on the physical properties of sediments and sequence stratigraphy.

Terri Hood- Works with Dr. P Blackwelder on assessing changes in the ecosystem of Florida Bay.

Genny Healy- Genny, a recent graduate from MGG is working on a GIS project involving the determination of ancient shore lines in the Keys. She is also interested in establishing working relationships with K-12 educators.

Zan-Dong Ding- Zan is the manager for the seismic processing group.

MGG Staff

The MGG staff consists of three secretaries and four technicians. Avis Miller has been in MGG since 1986. Avis is assisted in the office by Terri Villamor and Karen Fleites . Karen has partially taken over the responsibilities of Isabel Diazand looks after certain accounts within the division. This is the position which used to be held by Heather Jennings and Anne Hoey. Recently we were sorry see Jeanne Masters leave. She had worked part-time in MGG for the past several years. We wish her well. In addition to staff working in the division we haveAmel Saied who is charge of the stable isotope laboratory andAlan Buck who works for the Comparative Sedimentology Laboratory. Amel has been in MGG since 1991 and is originally from Tunisia. Fred Farina works in the Geodesy Laboratory on GPS data analysis. Peter Cattaneo works for Chris Scholz in the geophysical processing.

MGG Students

There are presently 19 students in MGG. Of these about 50% are completing Ph.D. Studies.

Carlos Alvarez-Zarikian- M.S.Advisor Pat Blackwelder. Carlos is studying ostracods and the paleoecology of the Louisiana inner continental shelf.

Karin Bernet-Ph.D. Advisor Gregor Eberli . Karin is working on hierarchies of sea-level fluctuations along the Great Bahama Bank.

David Black-Ph.D. Advisor Larry Peterson. Dave is examining interannual to centennial scale climate and oceanographic variability in the tropical Atlantic.

Geoffrey Ellis- Ph.D. Advisor Peter Swart . Geoff is working with stable isotopes and organic geochemistry in South Florida.

Dominic Esker-Ph.D. Advisor Gregor Eberli. Dominic is working on seismic stratigraphy of Belize.

Lisa Greer- Ph.D. Advisor Peter Swart. Lisa is working on Holocene reefs in the Dominican Republic.

Michael Finney- M.S.. Advisor Tim Dixon

Laura Guertin-Ph.D. Advisor Don McNeill. Laura is working on developing an integrated chronostratigraphy of Florida Cores.

Michael Inze-Ph.D. Gregor Eberli. Physical properties of sediments.

Alexandra Janik-Ph.D. Advisor Julie Hood. Alexandra is utilizing geophysical tools for paleoclimatological studies in the northeastern Pacific Ocean.

Michael Lutz-M.S. Advisor Peter Swart. Michael is studying the cycling of organic material in Florida Bay.

Matt Lynn-Ph.D. Advisor Larry Peterson. Matt is working on the application of coccoliths to paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic problems.

Jose Masaferro-Ph.D. Advisor Gregor Eberli. Jose is working on the tectonic evolution of the southeastern Great Bahama Bank using seismic reflection data.

Thomas Missimer-Ph.D.- Advisor Robert Ginsburg. Tom is looking at Late Oligocene to Pliocene evolution of the central portion of the southern Florida platform.

Corey Moss-M.S. Advisor Larry Peterson. Corey is looking at pelagic carbonate sedimentation processes in the equatorial Indian Ocean during the late Miocene to early Pliocene biogenic bloom.

Ailin Mao- Ph.D. Advisor Tim Dixon. Ailin is working on the application of GPS in sea-level changes in coastal subsidence.

Rene Price-Ph.D. Advisor Peter Swart. Renee is from Virginia and is working on hydrological problems in South Florida

Andy Risi- Ph.D. Advisor Hal Wanless. Andy is examining catastrophic sedimentation from Hurricane Andrew in South Florida.

Hongzhi Wang-Ph.D. Advisor Tim Dixon. Hongzhi is working on the application of GPS in global motions and regional deformations.

Recent Student Defenses

Kathy White- M.S. (Swart) Proxy indicators of climate in coral skeletons used to identify correlations between climate variation in the Gulf of Guinea and Sub-Saharan Drought

Genny Healy- M.S. (Swart) A decadal scale

perspective of Florida Bay salinity through the carbon and oxygen isotopic composition of two Florida Bay corals. January 1996. Genny is currently working in MGG as a research assistant.

Phil Kramer- Ph.D. (Swart) The hydro geology and early diagenesis of Holocene mud islands in Florida Bay. Phil recently participated in ODP Leg 166 and has a research position at Nova Southeastern University in Dania.

Sarah Gelsanliter- (Wanless) M.S. Evolution of the stratigraphic sequence in relation to the refinement of the Holocene sea-level curve; Chatham river region, South-west Florida.

Henrike Groschel-Becker -(Rosendahl) Formational process of oceanic crust at sedimented spreading centers: Perspectives from the West African Continental margin and middle valley, Juan de Fuca Ridge.

Tony Barros- (Harrison) Ph.D. Geological and tectonic evolution of the Taxco region, Southern Mexico

Gerado Iturrino- (Becker) Ph.D. A study of the nature of oceanic crust reflectivity using laboratory and log measurements.

Carrie Kievman- (Ginsburg) Ph.D. Sea level effects on carbonate platform evolution: Plio-Pleistocene Great Bahama Bank.

Space Changes

Many people remember MGG as occupying most of the second floor in the North Grosvenor building. Since the new Science and Administration Building was finished some years ago, we have occupied the entire second floor as well as half the third floor. We also used to have a facility on Fisher Island, but this was sold by the University and Bob Ginsburg group moved over into the space near the freezer storage area on the second floor. With addition of more and more faculty, particularly the seismic group, it became essential that we have more space and recently we have moved into part of the space on the third floor previously occupied by Dr. Mitsui. This is the home of the new seismic processing group.

Research News

Miami and the Ocean Drilling Program

Miami has been involved with the Ocean Drilling Program since the very beginning. In fact, the first leg left from Miami in 1985 and was led by then MGG faculty member Wolfgang Schlager and featured Henny Groschel as ODP technician. Both Peter Swart and Gregor Eberli participated on that cruise and so it was appropriate that they were named as co-chiefs for Leg 166 which like 101 drilled the Bahamas. This cruise began in San Juan onFebruary 1996 and finished about two months later in Panama. Gregor and Peter were joined by fellow faculty member Don McNeill and took with them various MGG students and researchers including Flavio, Phil, and Karen. Jeroen Kenter, a former post doctoral associate of Bob Ginsburg, also participated. Leg 166 was not the only recent leg in which MGG students and faculty participated. The previous cruise, Leg 165 drilled in the Cariaco Basin and involved Larry Peterson and MGG alumni Andre Droxler, currently a faculty member in the Department of Geology at Rice University. Julie Hood and Alexandra participated in Leg 167 which drilled of the California coast, Keir Becker in Leg 168, a study of the physical state of hydrothermal systems of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, and Henrike Grolschel-Becker in Leg 169, Sedimented Ridges II, focusing on sulfide drilling and recorking operations.

South Florida Environment

Studies of problems in the South Florida environment continue to be a major source of research in MGG. The recent decline in water quality in Florida Bay prompted renewed interest in this area, which previously had been studied mainly by devoted geologists and naturalists. In the late 1980s, concern was expressed by episodes of sea grass die off and prolonged periods of high salinity. Initially it was believed that declining water input into Florida Bay through Taylor Slough was the culprit. Ways were investigated by the South Florida Water Management District and the Army Core of Engineers to increase the water flow through this area. At the same time those interested scientists in MGG emphasized the need to look at the geological record either in sediment cores or in corals. Work on a coral from Lignumvitae Basin in fact suggested that major changes in the water quality occurred as early as 1905 and were associated with the construction of the railway from Miami to Key West.

International Year of the Reef, 1997 (IYOR)

The idea for the IYOR developed from a successful Colloquium and Forum on Global Aspects of Coral Reefs: Health, Hazards, and History that was held at the University's main campus and at RSMAS in 1993. These meetings, organized by a RSMAS committee headed by Ginsburg, brought together 120 scientists and students from 22 countries to consider the conditions of coral reefs worldwide and the impacts of hazards both natural and anthropogenic. There was a clear consensus that many reef areas around the world are in serious decline. Among the major conclusions of the meeting were these: identification of the major hazards to reefs, an urgent need for assessment of condition of reefs both those impacted by human activities as well as those remote from centers of population and the need to educate users and managers of reefs, government officials ad the general public about reef ecosystems. IYOR was conceived to address these and other needs related to conservation of reefs and sustained use of their valuable resources.

The IYOR is by now an established umbrella for a wide variety of activities during 1997 in various parts of the world. There are committees planning programs of research and/or teaching and outreach in the U.K., Columbia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Fiji and of course in South Florida. More committees are in the developing stages.

In Florida, a new approach for rapid assessment of condition of the coral communities has been developed and there are plans to use it for other larger reef areas of the western Atlantic, such as Bahamas, Belize, and Chinchorro Bank. There are plans to involve sport divers in reconnaissance of remote reefs. An illustrated introduction to the reef ecosystems designed for high schools and middles schools is near to completion. Major events to inaugurate IYOR are being planned for early 1997 and guided field trips to the reefs off the Keys will be offered during the summer. To keep you abreast of current ecvents there is a web page (www.coral.org/IYOR/).

Student Research

Lisa Greer- RSMAS Stable Isotope Lab

In April of 1996, I traveled to my dissertation field sites in the Dominican Republic for the first time. After almost a year of planning and background work I looked forward to the trip with much anticipation.

Contact with Kathleen Sullivan, a biologist at main campus, led to my participation in a Dominican park conservation project that includes research of Dominican underwater resources. My first week in the country was spent aboard the Coral Reef II, an 85 ft research vessel operated by the Nature Conservancy and Shed Aquarium in Chicago. We anchored in Parque del Este, a national park that encompasses a large peninsula in the southeastern Dominican Republic with over 350 square kilometers of marine territory. A diverse crew of both Dominican and American scientists and crew led to many nights of merengue and language lessons and with the help of volunteers, we collected 12 modern coral cores from waters ranging from 5 to 55 feet deep. Coral coring underwater was a big hit amongst the Shed staff and volunteers, insuring an invitation back aboard the Coral Reef II this spring.

Upon completion of the cruise, I met up with Bernardo Vargas, (an MBF student working with Dr. Peter Glynn) in the bustling Dominican capital of Santo Domingo. Our overnight stays in the capital coincided with the height of political campaign for the new president, the first to replace the notorious authoritarian Joaquin Balaguer. What contrast to our tame electoral process in the US! Every Dominican street was washed in political color with streamers, paint and posters, and political merengue blaring from every direction. Leaving the capital, we traveled to the western interior of the country toward the Enriquillo Valley which sits beneath the highest mountains in the Caribbean and next to the Haitian border. Lago Enriquillo, which occupies the center of the valley, sits at approximately 40 meters below present sea level and is encircled by small villages. We stood out like a sore thumb in our shiny green rent-a-car passing through communities that rely on mule and moped, but people could not have been friendlier or more genuinely helpful. My crushing attempts at Spanish met with patient ears and restrained giggles.

The geologic history of the valley is unique. After the close of the last ice age rising seas flooded the Enriquillo Valley from the east creating an open marine environment. Corals began colonization of the abundant alluvial fans that flanked the valley floor about 9,000 years before present, at an estimated depth of ~34 meters below present sea. As sea level continued to rise, a thriving fringing reef community developed with a composition and distribution similar to Caribbean reefs today. As sea level rise slowed in the Late Holocene, continued alluvial shedding from the surrounding mountains slowly cut the Enriquillo Valley off from the sea. The last corals in the valley died approximately 5,000 years before present. Once closed the Enriquillo Lake evaporated to its present standing height, approximately 40 meters below present sea level, exposing the Enriquillo fringing reef.

The extremely arid desertclimate in the valley has prevented diagenetic alteration of the reef material. Our plan is focused on analysis of the stable C and O isotopic composition of corals from the Enriquillo reef in order to shed light on climate variability and marine conditions during each stage of the reef history. We will compare our Enriquillo data with similar proxy records from our modern cores to get an idea of how regional climate trends may have changed with time.

A mostly paved road encircles Lago Enriquillo. It is just off of this road that we found most of our reef outcrops in roadcuts, gullies, outwashes and small quarries. Accompanied by scorpions and the occasional cactus attempting to hitch a ride back our hotel, days in the valley were tiring but gratifying. Exploration in those first days became a well rewarded treasure hunt for the perfect exposure. After two weeks in the interior, Peter Swart joined us. He brought a breeze with him, cooling the mid-day heat down to below 100 degrees F for a few days. Exploration, mapping, and collection continued. The last field day culminated in a spectacular find by Peter- a coral 'graveyard' the size of a football field-just enough to encourage our return this spring. Our return to Santo Domingo was slow, which had something to do with our geological baggage totaling about 400 pounds, but we arrived in one piece. I'm still convinced that Peter borrowed a case of malaria from the native mosquitoes (or has he always been a bit loony?).

Rosenstiel Award

The 1996 Rosenstiel award for contributions in the field of marine and atmospheric science was awarded Dr. R. Fairbanks of Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory. The award was presented at a Banquet held at in the Commons attended by over 100 persons. Dr. Fairbanks was accompanied by his family on his trip to Miami and gave two presentations on his work.

People in the News

Congratulations- Congratulations to MGG student Renee Price on the birth of her daughter May 5th, 1996. Mother and child are doing well and Rene is back at work on her thesis.

Congratulations- The most eligible bachelors continue to fall in MGG. Gerry Iturrino wed Dee Dee Cutt on November 2 and Gregor Eberli shared vows with Mara Diaz on November 23.

Congratulations- Kathy White and Tony Barros won the Dean's and Smith prizes for the best M.S. and Ph.D. theses for the 1995-1996 academic year.

Congratulations- On September 12, 1996 a child was born to Sabina and Volker Vahrenkamp, Sarima Elisabeth Vahrenkamp. Volker can be contacted at C/o SSB-PRO, Locked Bag #1, 98009 Miri, Sarawak, Malaysia

Congratulations-Ailin Mao recently was awarded a three year NASA Global Change Fellowship.

Congratulations- Michael Lutz was awarded first prize for his poster entitled "A study of Florida Bay's cycling of organic matter: Implications on the health of South Florida's largest estuary" at the annual University of Miami graduate research and creativity forum.

Where are they Now?

Andy Fisher- Andy Fisher was a student of Keir Becker between 1985 and 1989. Upon graduation he was a staff scientist at ODP for four years. After two years at Bloomington Indiana he assumed a tenure track position at the University of California in Santa Cruz in 1995. Recently Andy was co-Chief on Leg 168 on which Keir Becker sailed.

Lisa Robbins- Lisa was student in MGG between 1980 and 1985. She completed a Ph.D on the nature of proteins in foraminifera. She is currently an associate professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

Lynn Walter- Lynn was a student of Dr. J. Morse between 1977 and 1982. After spending a year as a post doctoral research assistant at RSMAS, she took and position at Washington University in St. Louis. In 1990 she moved to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and recently has been promoted to full professor.

Jean-Michael Dawans- Jean-Michael was a student of Bob Ginsburg from 1982 to 1984. Since this time he has worked for Royal Dutch Shell. Recently he has returned to The Netherlands from a posting overseas and has visited Miami as part of Shell's support for research in the Comparative Sedimentology Laboratory.

Contributions to MGG News

Please send all contributions to

Avis Miller,

MGG/RSMAS,

4600 Rickenbacker Causeway,

Miami FL 33149