Oil in the Flint Hills

On a December day in 1915, on a rise just north of El Dorado, drillers gathered around a well. They were using a cable tool rig, one that lifts and drops a sharpened iron tool into the ground, pounding a hole into the earth, really, rather than drilling. Back in September and October, they’d seen shows of oil on their way down, at 550 feet and 650 feet. But on this day, at about 2,500 feet, they found more. Much more

Water And The Flint Hills

Nobody wants rain tonight. But ask yourself, If rain fell here, where would it go? To truly understand a place, you must know something about its water. That’s true for all of Kansas, and it’s certainly true for the Flint Hills

An Introduction to the Flint Hills and the Tallgrass Prairie

It was Zebulon Montgomery Pike who first coined the name Flint Hills when exploring the region in 1806. In his journal, September 12th, he described the following near the headwaters of the Verdigris River in southeastern Chase County: “Commenced our march at seven o’clock. Passed very ruff flint hills. My feet blistered and very sore.” He went on to say that from one view he could see buffalo, elk, deer, cabrie [pronghorn], and panthers

Springs of the Flint Hills

Jack Spring is a prairie oasis. Tucked away in southwestern Chase County, it\u27s only a few miles from the Kansas Turnpike, but a world away in terms of the setting. The spring spills out of dark openings in a limestone bluff, then drops down into a creek choked with bright green watercress. Minnows dart in the water. Leaves rustle in the cottonwoods

Springs of the Flint Hills

Introduction: Jack Spring is a prairie oasis. Tucked away in southwestern Chase County, it’s only a few miles from the Kansas Turnpike, but a world away in terms of the setting. The spring spills out of dark openings in a limestone bluff, then drops down into a creek choked with bright green watercress. Minnows dart in the water. Leaves rustle in the cottonwoods. Jack Spring is just one of many places in the Flint Hills where, for centuries, water has brought together people, plants, and animals. (Originally published in the 2009 Symphony in the Flint Hills Field Journal.

The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment: Exploring Fundamental Symmetries of the Universe

The preponderance of matter over antimatter in the early Universe, the dynamics of the supernova bursts that produced the heavy elements necessary for life and whether protons eventually decay --- these mysteries at the forefront of particle physics and astrophysics are key to understanding the early evolution of our Universe, its current state and its eventual fate. The Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment (LBNE) represents an extensively developed plan for a world-class experiment dedicated to addressing these questions. LBNE is conceived around three central components: (1) a new, high-intensity neutrino source generated from a megawatt-class proton accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, (2) a near neutrino detector just downstream of the source, and (3) a massive liquid argon time-projection chamber deployed as a far detector deep underground at the Sanford Underground Research Facility. This facility, located at the site of the former Homestake Mine in Lead, South Dakota, is approximately 1,300 km from the neutrino source at Fermilab -- a distance (baseline) that delivers optimal sensitivity to neutrino charge-parity symmetry violation and mass ordering effects. This ambitious yet cost-effective design incorporates scalability and flexibility and can accommodate a variety of upgrades and contributions. With its exceptional combination of experimental configuration, technical capabilities, and potential for transformative discoveries, LBNE promises to be a vital facility for the field of particle physics worldwide, providing physicists from around the globe with opportunities to collaborate in a twenty to thirty year program of exciting science. In this document we provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess.Comment: Major update of previous version. This is the reference document for LBNE science program and current status. Chapters 1, 3, and 9 provide a comprehensive overview of LBNE's scientific objectives, its place in the landscape of neutrino physics worldwide, the technologies it will incorporate and the capabilities it will possess. 288 pages, 116 figure

Agglutination of benthic foraminifera in relation to mesoscale bathymetric features in the abyssal NE Atlantic (Porcupine Abyssal Plain)

Abyssal hills, small topographic features rising above the abyssal seafloor (< 1000 m altitude), have distinct environmental characteristics compared to abyssal plains, notably the presence of coarser-grained sediments. As a result, they are a major source of habitat heterogeneity in the deep sea. The aim of this study was to investigate whether there is a link between abyssal hills and the test characteristics of selected agglutinated benthic foraminiferal species. We analysed 1) the overall morphometry, and 2) the granulometric and chemical (elemental) characteristics of the agglutinated tests of ten common foraminiferal species (Adercotryma glomerata, Ammobaculites agglutinans, Cribrostomoides subglobosus, Lagenammina sp.1, Nodulina dentaliniformis, Portatrochammina murrayi, three Reophax sp. and Recurvoides sp. 9) at four sites (two on top of abyssal hills and two on the adjacent plain) in the area of the Porcupine Abyssal Plain Sustained Observatory, northeast Atlantic. The foraminiferal test data were compared with the particle size distribution and elemental composition of sediments from the study sites in order to explore possible grain size and mineral selectivity. We found differences in the visual appearance of the tests (i.e. the degree of irregularity in their shape), which was confirmed by morphometric analyses, related to seafloor topography. The agglutinated foraminifera selected different sized particles on hills and plains, reflecting the distinct granulometric characteristics of these settings. These characteristics (incorporation of coarse particles, test morphometry) could provide evidence for the recognition of ancient abyssal hill environments, as well as other palaeoceanographic settings that were characterised by enhanced current flow. Furthermore, analyses of sediment samples from the hill and plain sites using wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence (WD-XRF) yielded different elemental profiles from the plains, probably a result of winnowing on the hills, although all samples were carbonate-rich. In contrast, the majority of the agglutinated tests were rich in silica, suggesting a preferential selection for quartz

Review of \u3ci\u3eRoadside Geology of Nebraska\u3c/i\u3e By Harmon D. Maher Jr., George F. Engelmann, and Robert D. Shuster

Like many of the fly-over states, Nebraska suffers from a bad reputation when it comes to scenery. But the Sand Hills of northwestern Nebraska are one of the most stark, yet entrancing landscapes in the country. The Platte, the Missouri, and the Niobrara are great places to see river systems at work. Nebraska\u27s Cretaceous rocks and Oligocene-Pleistocene sediments have produced classic vertebrate fossils that grace museums in Nebraska and throughout the world. The roadside geology series, published by Mountain Press, has helped introduce a large, generally non-geological audience to the rocks and fossils of many states. This addition to the series, by three geologists at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, not only does a good job of making Nebraska\u27s geology accessible to visitors, but probably will teach Nebraska natives a thing or two