FieldTripCampus_Lab
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School
Binghamton University *
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Course
111
Subject
Geology
Date
Apr 3, 2024
Type
Pages
8
Uploaded by DoctorHeat13765
Geology 111: Campus Field Trip
Name:
___________________________ Lab Partner(s):
______________________ Lab Instructor:
______________________ Lab Day (Circle One): M T W R The SUNY Binghamton campus is constructed primarily from cement, concrete, brick, steel, glass, aluminum, brass, bronze, asphalt, linoleum, resin, plastic, and plaster. These are all produced from natural rocks, minerals, and mineraloids, extracted from the Earth: cement
= produced from crushed and roasted limestone mixed with clay (second largest source of human-made CO
2
to the atmosphere). concrete
= a man-made conglomerate or breccia, formed from a mixture of cement and gravel (conglomerate ) or cement and crushed rock (breccia). Stronger than cement alone. brick
= a man-made stone produced from a mixture of clay and sand, at high temperature. steel
= produced from iron ore (hematite or magnetite), lime (roasted limestone), and coke (incompletely combusted coal), plus additives such as chromite (Cr) or ilmenite (Ti). glass
= produced from pure quartz sandstones plus additives, primarily NaCl and borates. aluminum
= refined from bauxite (AlO-OH) using lots of electricity, salt, and fluorite as flux. brass
= an alloy of copper and zinc, refined from various Cu and Zn sulfides. bronze
= an alloy of copper and tin, refined from Cu sulfide and Sn oxide. asphalt
= a man-made breccia using tar (refined from oil) as the binder or matrix. linoleum
= a mixture of tars and fibers (in older linoleum - asbestos). plastic
= generally produced from petroleum products refined from oil. resin
= an organic polymer produced from petroleum or natural plant material, often mixed with rock or shell fragments, and then polished to make flooring that is more resistant than linoleum. plaster
= gypsum (CaSO
4
-2H
2
O) formed from anhydrite (CaSO
4
) + water (H
2
O) There is also a scattering of natural building stone on campus. Cut stone is called “dimension stone” in the industry and is usually put into one of two categories: “granite” = stone cut with a diamond saw, or “marble” = stone cut with a steel saw. Granite dimension stone would include rocks that a geologist would call granite, gneiss, syenite, anorthosite, or gabbro, but which would be sold as “pink or gray granite”, “banded or mahogany granite”, “blue granite”, “pearl granite”, or “black granite”, respectively. Marble dimension stone would include rocks that a geologist might call marble, limestone, dolomite, soapstone, travertine, or serpentinite, but which would be sold as “pink or white marble”, “black, white, or fossiliferous marble”, “white, pink, or mottled marble”, “soapstone marble”, “travertine marble”, or “verde antique”, respectively. Stone that can be naturally split is called “slate” if it can be split and trimmed into uniform thin tiles; “flagging” if it is split into thicker, random sized, slabs; or blockstone if it is cut into thicker rectangular blocks and would include rocks that a geologist might call slate, phyllite, schist, quartzite, sandstone, siltstone, shale, limestone, basalt, or diabase. On this field trip we will see
some “granites”, “marbles”, “slates”, and "blockstone" and try to determine what rocks they have been made from. At each stop, note the grain-size, texture, composition (if you can tell), and minerals present (if it is coarse enough). Try to determine if it is sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic. See if you can assign a rock name! You will get credit for using your logic and working through your answers, not necessarily what the “correct” answer is- we’re developing your geologic intuition! Important note: all of these can be accessed by sidewalks, or by using stairs/elevator, though there will be some that extend off the sidewalk and those may not be accessible. Use what you need and if you need to ask for help if anything is not accessible, please do. 5pts. Stop 1
- From room 163, turn right down the hall, go up the stairs, and into one of the gender-neutral restrooms (room 253 or 255) and examine the stone panels. A.
What textures can you see in the stone panels in the restroom? Describe them. B.
Is this a sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic rock? Depending on your answer, discuss the important defining characteristics (e.g., if sedimentary, grain size and rounding, etc.; if igneous, crystal size, etc.; if metamorphic, protolith, the foliation, or lack thereof, etc.), mineralogy of the rocks if possible. Identify the rock name. C.
Note the dark streaks- this is graphite (chemical formula is C). Typically, the formation of graphite is from organic carbon under high pressure and temperature. Does this information agree with your answer in (B)? Why or why not? 5pts. Stop 2.
- From stop 1, go down the hall to the west, down the stairs to the bottom, and out the loading dock doors. Turn right and go down the ramp. Cross the open area and enter Science 2 under the eight-story tower and you will be in the lobby. Note the obvious layering in the wall panels. A.
Are the layers smooth or rough? Is the rock solid or porous? B.
Is this a sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic rock? How do you think this rock might have formed? As a helpful hint, if you were to put acid on it, it would fizz. Give evidence to back up your response.
C.
Look at the panels to the left and right of the RIGHT elevator (#4). Can you see crystal growth patterns? Sketch them and provide them below. 5pts. Stop 3.
- Go back outside, down the sidewalk, straight across the driveway, and enter Academic Building B. At the base of the stairs, circle to the right and find the elevators just to the south and west of the stairs. Examine the stone next to the elevators. The rock is sedimentary limestone. A.
Is this a clastic or a chemical sedimentary rock? Why do you think so? B.
What trace component do you think causes the pink color? Is this formed in an oxygen-rich or oxygen-
poor environment- why? C.
Look at the white veins that cut across the stone. How do you think they formed? Look at them closely, and in the thicker ones you can see crystals growing from the edges towards the center of the white lines, perpendicular to the sides. How did these crystals form? Discuss this with your lab mates and write down your hypothesis. Then, listen to your instructor- they will walk you through this. You will not be graded on correctness here, just your thought process. D.
Did the veins or the rock form first? How do you know? 5pts. Stop 4 -
When you are done at stop 3, go up the stairs, turn left at Jazzman's and continue east down the hall. Go around the corner and back into Science 1 (south wing). Notice the resin floor in Academic B (newer), which changes to linoleum (older) when you enter Science 1. Go out the doors at the end of the hall and stop at the entrance to Science 1.
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A.
The columns here were originally made of limestone, but the stone panels were replaced during the summer of 2006 with the new stone you see. Why do you think that is? B.
What textures do you see? Is the rock felsic, mafic, or intermediate? Why? Describe this igneous rock using geologically appropriate terminology. C.
Note the minerals in it that are visible by eye. The pink is orthoclase, white is plagioclase, clear is quartz, and black is amphibole. Is this rock plutonic or volcanic-why? D.
Combine your answers to B and C to give this rock a name: 5pts. Stop 5
- Walk out into the plaza and cross over to the library tower. Enter the lobby of the Library Tower –the floor here is man-made. It is poured into molds on the floor, and then sanded down and polished to show the small stones in the man-made resin matrix. This is the same type of floor we saw in Academic B. Further down the hall, the floor is made up of a dark, fine-grained, split metamorphic stone. A.
What metamorphic rock is this? Note grain size, texture, and any foliation in your answer that led you to your conclusion. What was the likely protolith? 5pts. Stop 6
- Turn left (east) just inside the lobby and go up the stairs to the next floor. Go through the double doors then turn left through a second set of double doors and go right down the hall to find the Men's and Women's restrooms on the right side of the hall- be respectful of others’ using the restroom, please! Both restrooms have the same features. To avoid being in the way of people who might be trying to use the restrooms for non-geological purposes, please try to look at this quickly
.
A.
What features do you see in the panels? You should see fossils. Take a photo of at least one fossil with extreme care to only take an image of the fossil itself, as opposed to the bathroom. Take a guess here as to what organism that fossil is! B.
What type of rock is this? Igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary? If it’s sedimentary, is it clastic or chemical? Why do you think? 5pts. Stop 7
- After stop 6, go back the way you came to the entrance and exit the building through the doors that you came in. Look down at the stone just outside the door. A.
What minerals can you see in these slabs? B.
How do you think this rock might have formed? How would you describe the grain size? Does it have a visible fabric- what is it? Is this a sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic rock-why? 10 pts. Stop 8
- Go across the plaza to the fountain and examine the vertical panels. The minerals are mostly silicates. The pink is orthoclase, white is plagioclase, gray-clear is quartz, and black is amphibole. A.
How does the texture compare to what we saw at stop 4? Is this rock Igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary? Is it possible for it to be more than one? Consider what you learned about how different minerals melt. B.
Is this layering (sedimentary) or foliation (metamorphic)? C.
Was this rock brittle or ductile when it formed (did it flow = ductile; or break = brittle)?
D.
Look toward the left side of the vertical panels if you’re facing Science 1- you’ll notice some reddish-
brown, larger crystals- identify them. What does that indicate for formation temperature (look at your metamorphic notes)? E.
Examine the black horizontal stones along the top and along the bottom edge of the fountain. What textures do you see? What is the grain-size? What type of igneous rock is this-mafic, felsic, plutonic, volcanic? What rock name would you give it and what environment on Earth could it have formed? F.
Look down at the cobbles in front of the stone wall (some may be slightly outside the definition of cobble, making them either coarse gravel or boulders, but we’ll just simplify here). There are MANY to choose from. Choose one rock (individually, not in a group)
to describe. Is it igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary? What defining features are there? What environment could it have been formed in? Can you identify a rock name? All of the rocks are different, so all of you will have different answers! Take 2 good quality photos of your rock to use in your final lab report and refer to the images to aid your answer. Very important- put the rock back where you found it. Your instructors and I do not have the mental bandwidth to be an accessory to a crime. 5pts. Stop 11 – Not too far from the fountain are a series of
low stone walls next to the sidewalk . It is composed of a type of stone blocks called "bluestone" that is mined locally (there is a quarry about 10 miles west and south of campus on the New York/Pennsylvania border) and in the Catskills. It is composed mostly of fine rounded grains of quartz with a little clay. A.
Describe this sedimentary rock- grain size, sorting, maturity etc. B.
Walk around the stones for a bit until you see one of the flat stones on top that has a bumpy, 3D texture to it (if you’re confused, your TA can point to one)- this is a sedimentary structure, indicating fluid
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movement. What sedimentary structure is it- what type of environment might it have been formed in? Why? 5pts. Stop 12. Return to Science 1. Use the entrance nearest to the fountain. Examine the steps made out of gray stone blocks in front of you. This rock is composed mainly of silicates. A.
Is it igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary? Describe the rock’s features that led you to your answer (e.g. mafic, foliated, presence of fossils, etc- none of these are necessarily true here, just examples of the types of info). What environment was it formed in? How do you know- what name would you give it? B.
It is finer grained but has a similar texture to the stone we examined at stop 4 and is rich in quartz and feldspar, but the feldspar is mostly white with only a little pink. What does this mean about the temperature at which THIS rock was formed compared to the one in Stop 4. Why? 5pts. Stop 13. - Stop outside the Science 1 north entrance just by the stairs in 11 and examine the stone facing on the columns. A.
What has happened to the lower part of the columns compared to the upper parts? What type of weathering do you think caused this? B.
Are these columns made from sedimentary, igneous, or metamorphic rocks? Do you see any fossils? Describe what you see and describe the rock based on what type you think it is (e.g., if igneous, describe grain size and composition, if sedimentary, clastic or chemical, grain size and rounding, grain components ,etc.) C.
Look toward the top of the columns (and toward the middle on some of them) and you might see some sedimentary structures. What do you see? Sketch them below. What do these structures indicate about the environment in which this rock was formed? =
When you are done, go inside, and return to your lab room. If you ran out of time during your lab section, finish the lab on your own. Type up your report and include any images or sketches you may have taken to submit next week- all of that should be in your own words (i.e., your lab mates should all have their own responses and images). Bonus: find one other on or off campus location that uses natural stone building- describe the location, what type of rock it is, how you came to the conclusion, and the rock name. Provide a photo to refer to with your description.