Category: Locations of Interest

2020-05-24 Glacial Erratic Challenge

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Glacial Erratic Challenge.

As part of the Jefferson Land Trust’s “Extending your Reach” online lecture series, Michael Machette presented a lecture on the Glacial Geology of the Quimper Peninsula. One of the three lecture topics was “Glacial Erratics.” And the closing slides presented A Challenge and a Reward

Challenge: Find the biggest erratics in our area. 

None under 6 ft (2 m).  Small ones are too easy. 

Respect private property, get permission to access.

Area of search:  Quimper Peninsula north of Hwys 104 and 101. (This area is within the glacial limit.)

Collect as many sites as you like. 

When you’ve found some examples, send the following to Michael  Paleoseis@gmail.com

A digital photo (image)

Largest dimension:  xx m (xx ft)

GPS coordinates:    48° 7’ 0.68” N
   (e.g. JLT office)   122° 45’ 39.98” W

Deadline for entry has expired, but we encourage you to continue with your observation skills… As a winner of the Erratic Challenge, you have received a “Land Trust Erratic Hat.”

To see the results of the Erratic Challenge click here…

2020-12-12 Will Gallin — Geologic Carbon Sequestration in Washington State

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The Subject

What is carbon sequestration?  What are the benefits and risks of geological carbon sequestration in Washington State? And what is technologically possible and economically feasible?

We will examine these questions and explore the current state of the science. The Washington Geological Survey is part of a three-year partnership of 13 western states, stimulated by the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE). The member institutions, consisting of state geological surveys, universities, and national laboratories (under Dr. Robert Balch of New Mexico Tech), will identify commercially viable interstate networks between carbon emitters and potential subsurface carbon reservoirs. With this initiative as a backdrop, we will learn about current sequestration projects across the western U.S., along with the economic drivers and infrastructural hurdles these projects face. We will focus specifically on the proven case for permanent mineralized carbon sequestration in Columbia River basalts and the potential for future, longer-term projects in Washington State.

The Speaker

Will Gallin is the carbon sequestration project lead at the Washington Geological Survey’s (WGS) Dept of Natural Resources (DRN). He has worked for the Dept. of Ecology in Lacey, the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Socorro, New Mexico, and the Hess Corporation—an oil and gas exploration and production company in Texas. He graduated in 2005 from Carleton College in Minnesota, and got his MSc in 2010 from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. His other DRN job is as a mapper for the landslide hazards program.  His favorite geological disciplines are sedimentology, stratigraphy, paleontology, and salt tectonics.