GeoSociety Winter Trip to New Mexico
Students Explore Outcrops during Four Days of Field Work
On January 4, 2015, GeoSociety embarked on its annual Winter Trip with 35 undergraduates, two Ph.D. students and four professors. The trip consisted of four days of field work examining the structures of Eagle’s Nest and Granite Hill. The structures are outcrops found in South East Luna County, New Mexico, near the town of Deming.
Unlike past Winter Trips that emphasized geo-tourism, this year’s trip incorporated a research component that generated six undergraduate research projects.
Research was conducted under the supervision of Dr. Peter Copeland and Dr. Stuart Hall of the University of Houston, Ph.D. student Marie De Los Santos of the University of Arizona, Mary Dowse of Western New Mexico University, and Dr. Tim Lawton of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Selected student researchers conducted a gravity survey, measured joint orientation and collected samples for paleo-magnetic analysis, zircon dating and provenance determination of the Lobo formation.
The researchers hope to clearly distinguish the nature of a high-angle fault separating Granite Hill and Eagle’s Nest and better define the influence of Laramide and Basin and Range tectonics on the region.