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GEOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION OF NEW JERSEY2014 Annual Conference and Field Trip GANJ XXXI: Global Environmental Issues and Local Consequences: Earth Surface Processes and Urban Environmental Quality October 3rd-4th, 2014 |
Two (2) years after Hurricane Sandy, rebuilding, infrastructure repair, and beach replenishment and related work continue. Other impacts being investigated and addressed, especially since the storm made landfall in a highly developed area, include environmental pollutant impacts, such as where waste processing facilities were flooded, petroleum storage sites were damaged, and contaminated sites were eroded. The 31st annual conference and field trip of the Geological Association of New Jersey (GANJ) will discuss the coastal processes and urban impacts from Hurricane Sandy and other such storms.
For the first time, there will be a poster session at this year’s meeting, with awards for best undergraduate and graduate student posters. The teachers’ workshop will be a hands-on demonstration of the use of portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) instruments. These instruments provide non-destructive, in-situ chemical analysis; they are used in environmental, mineral exploration, and health (e.g., lead paint) applications. There will be a discussion on how to integrate instrument data into classroom activities.
Speakers for this year, from academic institutions in New Jersey and New York, are experts on coastal processes and urban environmental quality. Our keynote speaker is Nicholas K. Coch, Ph.D., of Queens College/CUNY. Dr. Coch’s published research has included work on hurricanes and their patterns of damage, including storms that have made landfall at more northern latitudes. Particularly noteworthy in this regard is his research on potential impacts to the New York City Area several years before Hurricane Sandy. Dr. Coch will talk about the impacts of Hurricane Irene (2011) and Sandy (2012).
Following Dr. Coch’s presentation will be GANJ’s annual dinner and business meeting with the election of GANJ officers for 2014-2015. The theme for our 2015 meeting is likely to be: The neotectonics (e.g., younger structures imprinting older rocks and tectonic features) of the New York Recess.
Saturday’s field trip is being organized by Stewart C. Farrell, Ph.D., Director and Founder of the Coastal Research Center of the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. Dr. Farrell is a renowned expert on coastal processes and features along the New Jersey coast. The trip will traverse Long Beach Island, from Barnegat Inlet to Holgate. The current condition of the shore will be compared to pictures of the damage right after the storm.
GANJ invites support of the annual meeting through sponsorship ($250.00). Sponsors receive recognition in the proceedings volume (1/2 page) and on the GANJ web site for a year. More important is the opportunity to support geologic education in New Jersey. If interested, please contact a board member.
If attendance at the GANJ annual meeting is considered by your school, employer, or other organization to be an acceptable professional development activity, certificates of attendance will be provided. The number of contact hours will be listed in the Fall newsletter.
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