News
At the Michigan Geological Repository for Repository for Research and Education we share news about upcoming workshops, rock cores recently received, education and research activities, and student and faculty achievements.
October 17, 2024
Geography Department Student Visitors at MGRRE
- Learned about Lidar mapping from Dr. Robb Gillespie
- Examined Cores
- Heard professional mappers discuss their work
CORE WORKSHOP OCTOBER 3, 2024, AT MGRRE
Unlocking Michigan鈥檚 Subsurface Vault
We focused on geological energy storage, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), and geological waste disposal.
- Examining Cores
- Hearing about USGS and MSG/MGRRE Research
- Learning from Michigan Experts
- Networking
Workshop Speakers
Adam Wygant, State Geologist, speaks to the group
Ashton Wiens, USGS; Bill Harrison, MGRRE; Matthew Jones, USGS (left TO right) discuss cores
Waste Disposal well core to exam
DR. PETER VOICE AND HIS CLASS EXAMINE UPPER PENINSULA CORES AT MGRRE
May 30, 2024 - Dr. Peter Voice and his students examined cores at MGRRE to see examples of rocks they will see next week in the Upper Peninsula. These are some of the oldest cores that we preserve at MGRRE.
MAY 14-15, 2024 CCUS WORKSHOP
We welcomed 40 people from other surveys, universities, governmental agencies and industry to a CCUS core workshop here at MGRRE May 14-15, 2024. More than 3300鈥 of core was available for examination and the team made several presentations about Michigan鈥檚 Carbon Systems. The main focus was on formations that can act as seals (confining systems) for underlying formations that can store CO2. Post-workshop evaluations showed that participants found the workshop to be well presented and useful. We thoroughly enjoyed presenting it.
APRIL 2024 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS EXAMINE AND DESCRIBE CORES AT MGRRE
澳门六合彩官网直播's Dr. Petcovic (second from right) and Lab Assistant Ashley Scott (far right) welcome 澳门六合彩官网直播 earth materials class students to MGRRE
澳门六合彩官网直播鈥檚 Dr. Petcovic brought her earth materials class students to MGRRE to examine and describe cores and cuttings and to discuss why we archive samples from natural resources MGRRE.
Albion College Dr. Marshall (far right) and her students describe core at MGRRE
Albian College鈥檚 Dr. Madeline Marshall鈥檚 examined the American Chem 44 and 45 cores. These cores recovered many intervals of shaley lithology that are often poorly preserved in outcrop.
MARCH 2024 UNIVERSITY STUDENTS EXAMINE AND DESCRIBE CORES AT MGRRE
Dr. Voice (second left) and his structural class students
澳门六合彩官网直播鈥檚 students in Dr. Peter Voice鈥檚 structure class examined cores from the Arms 10, Dalrymple, Polarsky 1-12B, US 2 over Sturgeon River, M-35 over Carp River, and the Roe A-2 wells, because they illustrate faults and other structural features.
Dr. Harrison (far left) welcomes MSU students and Dr. Krans (Dr. Krans, fourth from right)
Michigan State University鈥檚 students from Dr. Susan Krans鈥 sedimentary/stratigraphy class visited MGRRE for a Saturday to examine and describe clastic cores from the American Chem 44 and 45 cores from Mason County. They had previously examined these weathered formations at the Grand Ledge outcrop. Although these cored wells are within a few hundred feet of each other, they show some variability in sedimentary stacking patterns of facies that may represent lateral variability of depositional environments across this Pennsylvanian fluvial-deltaic plain.
MARCH 9, 2024 $2.25M AWARDED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY TO DR. AUTUMN HAAGSMA AND 澳门六合彩官网直播'S ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
The Department of Energy awarded $2.25M to Dr. Autumn Haagsma, Director of MGRRE and Assistant MGS Director, together with 澳门六合彩官网直播鈥檚 Engineering Department. This funding will support creating a system of direct air capture of carbon dioxide (CEAS) and then safely storing the captured carbon underground in Michigan鈥檚 ideally suited geological formations (CAS). Dr. Haagsma was interviewed by WOOD TV 8. You can see the interview . And you can read more about this research and .
FEBRUARY 2024 EASTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY GEOLOGY CLUB VISITS MGRRE
Eastern Michigan University Geology Club members talk with Bill Harrison (right).
Several members of the Geology Club from Eastern Michigan University came to examine cores and talk about subsurface geology with Bill Harrison. Some of our 澳门六合彩官网直播 Geology Club students enjoyed getting to know them too. They viewed cores from 3 wells: 1) the deepest well drilled in the state of Michigan, 2) a potash core, and 3) a well containing core from the Marshall Formation.
FEBRUARY 2024 OAKLAND ACADEMY STUDENTS EXAMINE CORES AT MGRRE
Linda Miller鈥檚 class from Oakland Academy visited MGRRE in February. They examined, smelled, and touched the samples as they learned about earth resources from Marie Solum, the Michigan Geological Survey K-12 outreach specialist.
JANUARY 24 and 25, 2024 MGRRE HOSTS GREAT LAKES GEOLOGIC MAPPING COALITION
MGRRE welcomed 35 members of the Great Lakes Geologic Mapping Coalition to hear each state give an update on their mapping, outreach, and drilling techniques. Members from Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin attended. They also examined examples of cores at MGRRE and in the Upper Peninsula.
JANUARY 19, 2024 SOMAT ENGINEERING DONATED SHALLOW BEDROCK CORES TO MGRRE
Sean Panetta, a 澳门六合彩官网直播 alum and geologist who works for Somat Engineering, arranged for Somat to donate several shallow bedrock cores to MGRRE. His firm drilled those cores for the I-75 modernization project in southeastern Michigan, and for the work on I-94 near Jackson. They also donated the geotechnical logs from the wells. We saw some coal in the cores near Jackson, where there is some concern for road collapse near some old, abandoned coal mines.
Cores from urban areas like these, that are covered with buildings and pavement, are so valuable to us. In such a densely populated area, it's very unlikely that other wells will be cored there. So, the data they provide really fills a gap.
We are always grateful that our alums think well of us and continue to help us by donating geological material that we will use in education and research.
JANUARY 2024 INTERNATINAL RESEARCHERS SAMPLE CORE AT MGRRE
MGRRE welcomed geologists to examine and sample Lower Silurian cores as part of their worldwide biostratigraphic research using Chitinozoans (microscopic flask-shaped fossils). Prof. Thijs Vandenbroucke, Ghent University, Belgium, Dr. Patrick McLaughlin, Illinois Geological Survey, and their Ghent University PhD student, Carolina Klock, sampled cores from 6 wells in 6 different Michigan counties to look for chitinozoans. Published research reports about age-dating work (by Bill Harrison, Andrew Caruthers, Matt Rine, Mohammed Al Musawi and others) using carbon isotope chronostratigraphy-dating, radioactive dating of zircons from Silurian ash beds, and conodont biostratigraphic dating brought international attention to this research and preserved cores here at MGRRE. Results from this new work will provide further time zone delineation worldwide to these Lower Silurian formations.
Upper, left to right: Bill Harrison, Patrick McLaughlin, and Thijs Vandenbroucke; Lower, left to right: Carolina Klock and Thijs Vandenbroucke
NOVEMBER 2, 2023 CORE WORKSHOP AT MGRRE
At our Carbonate Reservoir workshop, we welcomed 110 people to MGRRE. Ten speakers from industry, universities and government shared insights and experiences. We looked at cores from the Traverse, Dundee, Richfield, Niagaran, Burnt Bluff, and the Trenton/Black River formations.
Adam Wygant speaking to the group
Speakers (left to right): Bill Harrison, Adam Wygant, Kyle Patterson, Peter Voice, Matt Rine, Jacob Dunston, Autumn Haagsma, Dave Heinz, Amber Conner, and John Fowler
Bill Harrison, MGRRE Research Director, presented the MGRRE Lifetime Achievement award to both Dave Maness and Tim Maness. Growing up in their Dad Mabry Maness鈥檚 business, they have spent decades learning about geology, developing data, training interns, developing prospects, and ethically serving the industry鈥攁nd donating materials and support to MGRRE.
Bill Harrison (left) presenting MGRRE Lifetime Achievement Awards to Dave Maness (center) and Tim Maness
鈥淭his is the highlight of my professional year,鈥 said one speaker as he began his presentation. He and others not only shared their experiences, but enjoyed networking at every break and while examining cores. It was an excited, animated, heart-warming event.
October 25, 2023 CORE PRESERVATION WORK
Jen Trout worked to rebox a stratigraphy test core from near the Wayne County airport. The core preserves formations from the top of the bedrock to the Salina. In this densely populated area, there may never be another core drilled here. From older records, we know the tops of the formations. The boxes were badly deteriorated from water and insect damage, making the footages hard to read. Now that they have been reboxed and labeled for footage, they will be readily available for education and research.
SEPTEMBER 2023 澳门六合彩官网直播 CLASSES EXAMINE SUBSURFACE SAMPLES AT MGRRE
Dr. Peter Voice and his clastic sedimentology class examined cores at MGRRE on September 6.
Dr. Steve Kaczmarek鈥檚 sedimentology and stratigraphy class members sampled cores at MGRRE on September 7.
MGS/MGRRE welcomed visitors from Carbon Solutions on September 7.
JULY 2023 DRS. VOICE AND ZAMBITO LEAD UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCHERS AT MGRRE
Through a Keck Foundation grant, Dr. Jay Zambito, Professor of Geology, Beloit College and Dr. Peter Voice, Faculty Teaching Specialist, 澳门六合彩官网直播, welcomed nine undergraduate students from across the United States to MGRRE. They examined and sampled cores from the Traverse-Ellsworth interval. After their week here, the group traveled to the Beloit Paleo Lab, where they ran analyses on those samples, including magnetic susceptibility, XRF elemental data, carbon isotopes from organic matter, and SEM. Most of the students will continue to work on their projects through the academic year and will present their work at the NC-GSA meeting in April 2024.
Dr. Voice shows the class how to describe cores
Dr. Zambito helping with core sampling
Dr. Voice talks with students about subsurface resources.
JUNE 2023
"Mama, I found a brachiopod!" Although he鈥檚 only 10 years old, Conner is identifying fossils here at MGRRE. By matching photos of fossils to specimens themselves, he has sorted boxes of fossils. It鈥檚 possible he inherited some skills from his geologist Mom. Good work, Conner!
APRIL - MAY 2023 CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS
April 25-27 Autumn Haagsma Co-Chairs National CCUS Conference in Houston
Dr. Autumn Haagsma, MGRRE鈥檚 Director, delivered the opening comments as she co-chaired a national CCUS conference in Houston.
Dr. Autumn Haagsma, MGRRE鈥檚 Director, co-chaired a national Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage (CCUS) conference in Houston. More than 1400 participants met to share ideas about climate change, carbon storage, and moving the world toward a carbon-neutral and sustainable energy future.
Autumn helped create a CCUS committee and launch the first American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) supported CCUS conference in 2021. Since that time, the CCUS conference has tripled in size, gained support from multiple leading organizations including the Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) and Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). CCUS 2023 has gathered leading technical experts to demonstrate the ongoing need for petroleum geoscientists and engineers in the CCUS arena.
In her 2023 program opening remarks, she said: 鈥淏oth the subsurface technical knowledge and related data sets developed by the petroleum industry are major inputs required for the world to successfully move towards a carbon-neutral and sustainable energy future."
The conference included 130 oral presentations and 54 poster presentations. More details about the conference can be found at
May 3 Drs. Peter Voice and Bill Harrison Conduct Core Workshop at MGRRE
As part of the annual North Central Section of the Geological Society of America (GSA), Peter Voice and Bill Harrison conducted a one-day core workshop at MGRRE. Examining cores from 18 wells, participants could lay hands on rocks from the Upper Precambrian through the entire Paleozoic, and from the Pleistocene. The oldest cores were 1.1 billion years old; the youngest were just 10,000 years old.
Those cores hold raw data about our freshwater resources, aggregate materials, hydrocarbon resources, potash, and building materials including sandstone, gypsum and limestone. They also illustrate how these materials were formed and deposited in the Michigan Basin.
Because Michigan is covered with hundreds of feet of glacial sediments, there are few outcrops where you can see the bedrock. However, you can come to MGRRE and examine these preserved resources.
APRIL 2023 MGRRE Welcomes Industry Members
(Left photo) Autumn Haagsma (left) reviews sandstone cores with Battelle geoscientist Beth Vanden Berg (right).
(Right photo) Bill Harrison (left) holds potash core as he and Michigan Potash & Salt Company CEO Ted Pagano (right) discuss the deposit with industry members.
We welcomed several industry members in April. Battelle geoscientist Beth Vanden Berg came to MGRRE examine and photograph sandstone cores. Beth is an old friend, having been a graduate student here. Autumn Haagsma, MGRRE Director, is also very interested in sandstone cores, so their common interest produced some fruitful discussions.
Once again, Bill Harrison, MGRRE Research Director, welcomed Ted Pagano, CEO of Michigan Potash & Salt Company, who brought several geologists to examine and discuss this large deposit of an essential fertilizer ingredient. Having the cores preserved here proved invaluable because they yielded the raw data to show that this is a world-class deposit of potash.
April 2023 澳门六合彩官网直播 Classes Examine Cores at MGRRE
Several 澳门六合彩官网直播 Department of Geological and Environment Sciences classes visited MGRRE in April to examine cores and discuss how these materials were deposited and how they are used today.
Dr. Steve Kaczmarek leads graduate students through a lab exercise. From left to right, Jean Maurisset, Ashley Scott, Evan Hellner, Mohammed Al Musawi, Steve Kaczmarek, and Ariel Martin.
Dr. Heather Petcovic (far right), discusses cores with her incoming group of majors.
Dr. Petcovic鈥檚 students using hand lenses to examine core (left); and student taking notes about a core (right)
Dr. Peter Voice with his class (left); a student examines core (right)
April 5, 2023 Pink Evaporite in Core
Bill Harrison (above left) and Autumn Haagsma (above right) examine a core with pink salt that fills fractures in a core from a brine disposal well. Dr. Rachelle Kernen, Research Fellow with the University of Adelaide (center above), who studies evaporites, was very interested in the core. This calcareous shale in the Silurian Salina C shale has unusual large open fractures that were subsequently filled with this pink salt. In an ongoing study, we will interpret the history and mechanism of how this salt infilling occurred.
MARCH 24 and 25 2023 CMU and MSU Classes Learn about Core at MGRRE
Rachel Agardy and her sedimentation class from CMU visited MGRRE on March 24 to examine and describe one carbonate and one siliciclastic core. The formations represented in the siliciclastic core also outcrop at Grand Ledge. However, because of the destructive nature of weathering, some softer formations like shales are poorly preserved at the surface at Grand Ledge. The students could see all the formations in good preservation here in the cored samples.
Bill Harrison and Rachel Agardy (center) discuss cores with CMU students
On March 25, Susan Breightol and her sedimentology class from MSU spent a Saturday here examining two siliciclastic cores that were drilled 1,000 feet apart near Grand Ledge. All the formations are well preserved in these cores. By examining samples from these two cores, the students will be able to create a 3D view of the formations from these two well points.
Susan Breightol (left) examines cores with her MSU students
March 23, 2023 Waste Management Team Donates Core to MGRRE
Fred Sawyers and his team from Waste Management visited MGRRE to review the cores they donated to us from their recent waste disposal well. Bill Harrison talked about the rock types in the well and Autumn Haagsma discussed how we will use these cores in our CCUS research. We are always grateful when industry members donate cores and data to us.
February 2023 DOE Specialist visits MGRRE
Rose Dady visited MGRRE on February 24 to hear several Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences researchers discuss their work. Together with several Michigan legislative aids and Western鈥檚 vice presidents, they heard about unique research to positively address climate change, environmental issues, and to assess Michigan鈥檚 geological resources for energy and minerals. Rose Dady is the regional intergovernmental and external affairs specialist for the Midwest office of congressional and intergovernmental affairs of the U. S. Department of Energy.
Autumn Haagsma, Julie Schoyer, Rose Dady, and John Yellich (left to right) discuss resources
Chanho Park (left) and Dr. Mine Dogan reveal their drone
Dr. Matt Reeves speaks about his PFAS research
Our October 27, 2022 Core Workshop at the Grand Traverse Resort
The Michigan Geological Repository for Research and Education, the Michigan Geological Survey and the Michigan Oil and Gas Association jointly presented a workshop with 11 presenters and 116 participants. It was a full program where speakers addressed new techniques and practices as well as data management possibilities. After a two-year break from workshops at the Grand Traverse, it felt good to see everyone and discuss some great ideas. We are reminded again of how generously this community shares ideas and experiences.
Participants at the Workshop
Workshop Speakers
August 2022 | MGRRE Hosts Visit by Dr. Sultan and Ambassador Aboul-Enein
Ambassador Aboul-Enein (left) and Dr. Harrison (right) view potash cores and poster
Dr. Harrison (right), Ambassador Aboul-Enein (center) discuss cores used for gas storage
On August 8, MGRRE welcomed a visit by 澳门六合彩官网直播 Professor Mohamed Sultan and Ambassador Dr. Aboul-Enein, Deputy Foreign Minister and Director of the Egyptian Diplomatic Academy. Dr. Harrison shared our approach to preserving subsurface geological materials so that we can use them in education and research. It was an honor to visit with them and we hope these discussions will foster a continued interest in mutual areas of research.
July 2022 | 澳门六合彩官网直播 Hydrogeology Field Course Class Learns about Subsurface Resources at MGRRE
This year's hydrogeology field course visited the MGRRE facility to look at some shallow well sediment cores.
Hydrogeology Class examines MGS cores at MGRRE
Students examined shallow cores drilled by the Michigan Geological Survey in Ottawa County. Those samples were taken in key areas to better determine the glacial systems.
No groundwater aquifers were found in this area.
Cores in the field.
The MGS will examine these cores to prepare a NEW surface geology map of Ottawa County, replacing the 1980's version. The new map will show greater detail in these complex glacial systems.
MARCH 2022 | Our Potash Research Supports National Food Security
Russia鈥檚 war against Ukraine has limited the world鈥檚 supply of potash鈥攁 fertilizer ingredient, for which there is no substitute. Potash helps plants take up and retain moisture, and it must be applied each year to crops like soy beans and corn. Russia and Belarus had supplied 40% of all the world鈥檚 potash, and that鈥檚 unavailable now. The US imports more than 95% of its potash, which has tripled in cost in the past year. Midwest farmers are hard pressed to pay for their fertilizer, and it鈥檚 becoming harder to come by.
That鈥檚 why our research about Michigan鈥檚 potash deposit is even more important than ever. In 2008, 澳门六合彩官网直播 was very instrumental in re-discovering a rare potash deposit when from several counties that contain this critical mineral. Bill Harrison sampled the cores from 2 counties, providing raw data for an independent lab whose analyses showed the deposit鈥檚 rare qualities.
Theodore Pagano, founder and CEO of Michigan Potash and Salt Company (MPSC) worked with Dr. Harrison to further unearth data about this deposit. MPSC is now nearing completion of the development phase to produce potash from this deposit for American farmers. Providing a domestic source of this critical fertilizer component will support national food security.
Dr. William Harrison now leads a team to examine potash well records and cores from 9 Michigan counties that are preserved by the Michigan Repository for Research and Education, at the Michigan Geological Survey. Through funding from the U. S. Geological Survey, they are creating a map that will show, for the first time, the detailed grade and thickness of this rare deposit.
| Photos: Top: Bill Harrison and students examine potash cores; Center: Interested business people discuss potash cores with Bill Harrison; Bottom: Michigan Potash and Salt Company discusses potash deposit. |
Related articles and interviews
March 16, 2018 | Detroit Free Press
April 17, 2017 | USGS
Sept. 11, 2013 | WKZO
澳门六合彩官网直播 Research Facility Assists in Rediscovery of Rare Mineral Deposit
Sept. 10, 2013 | 澳门六合彩官网直播 News
Sept. 10, 2013 | MLive