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Department of Geology and Geography
Geology
Geological Setting
Georgia Southern is located approximately 40 miles inland from Savannah, Georgia and sits on Miocene deposits of the Hawthorne Formation of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Approximately 8 miles east is a Pleistocene scarp, marking a highstand of the Atlantic Ocean. The Coastal Plain beneath Statesboro consists of approximately 4,000 feet of seaward dipping Cretaceous-Recent deposits, including the limestones of the Floridian Aquifer. Ecologically, Statesboro sits in the midst of Pine and Live Oak forests developed on the low relief ancient Pleistocene sea floor of a Pleistocene highstand. The area is drained by the nearby Ogeechee River and several of its tributaries.
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Geology Program Highlights
Highlights of the Department's Geology program include:
Soft Rock Geology
Soft Rock geology, the study of sedimentary rocks, includes
stratigraphy, sedimentation, paleontology, hydrogeology, neotectonics,
and aspects of economic and structural geology and geophysics.
The Soft Rock program of the Department is centered around individual
research projects of Alexander, Darrell, Geisler, Reichard, Rhodes,
Rich, and Trupe. Current topics of interest include Kaolin clay
deposits, coastal sedimentation and processes, ground water, science
education, and palynology. The Soft Rock Research Training Laboratory
has undergone renovation into a modern multimedia laboratory.
Recently renovated soft rock laboratory
Hard Rock Geology
Hard Rock geology, the study of metamorphic and igneous rocks, includes mineralogy, optical mineralogy, igneous and metamorphic petrology, and aspects of Economic and Structural Geology and Geophysics. The Hard Rock program of the Department is centered around individual research projects of Asher, Trupe, and Vance. Current topics of interest include emplacement of gold deposits, hydrothermal alteration of granites, igneous processes, structure and tectonics of the Southeast. The Hard Rock Research Training Laboratory and Rock Preparation Facility have undergone renovation.
Recently renovated hard rock laboratory
Paleontology
The faculty of the Department of Geology and Geography includes
two palynologists, a vertebrate paleontologist, and an invertebrate
paleontologist. Individual research efforts involve taphonomy,
evolution of horses, evolution of decapods, ichnology (the study
of trace fossils), whale ecology, and local collecting.
Georgia Southern Mosasaur fossil skeleton
Science Education
The St. Catherines Sea Turtle Conservation Program is an integrated program of Instruction, Research, and Service in its seventh year of conservation of loggerhead sea turtles on St. Catherines Island, Georgia. Fourteen teachers are selected to reside on this remote barrier island and learn about sea turtle nesting and barrier island ecology. The program is supported by The Eisenhower Program for Higher Education (50%), The Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The St. Catherines Island Foundation, Inc., and Georgia Southern University.
St. Catherines Sea Turtle Exhibit; Geology & Geography brings science content and processing skills into Georgia's public school classrooms through this portable exhibit, classroom visits, and an 80-page web site.
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Dr. Jim Darrell acts as liaison between the College of Education and the Department of Geology and Geography and collaborates in the teaching of Middle Grades Science Methods in the College of Education.
An alternative content track for teacher preparation in science is provided by the B. A. Degree in Geology.
Geology Links