Science Snippet: Congo Volcano

Figure 1: Location map of East Africa showing the location of the Mount Niryagongo volcano.

As you may have heard, the Mount Nyiragongo volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo has roared to life again, already claiming 32 lives as lava flowed into the city of Goma^{1 2}. The volcano sits on the western branch of the East African Rift system (Figure 1), and has recently been active off and on since 1977³. The current eruption is from multiple fissures on the sound flank of the volcano⁴. 

Although the lava flows are devastating, the current concern is that the fissure eruptions will extend south to Lake Kive and Goma. In that case, there could be a rare lake “limnic eruption,” which could expel an extensive CO₂ gas cloud into the air, potentially killing thousands. This kind of event is not unprecedented. In a tectonically unrelated setting over 1000 miles to the northwest, a landslide into the caldera Lake Nyos in 1986 in Cameroon triggered the release of CO₂ gas, resulting in the deaths of over 1700 people and thousands of animals. The source of the CO₂ was escaping gases from the magma body beneath Lake Nyos. The CO₂ dissolved into the cold lake water and was stored there for years. When the landslide occurred, it triggered the release of the CO₂, much like opening a shaken Coke can. The CO₂ is denser than air and flowed down the mountain side, suffocating the people and animals in its path. A similar tragedy is feared for Goma if a limnic eruption occurs. It is unlikely that lava from the current fissures will reach the lake and trigger a limnic eruption³.

For more information see:

¹ https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/27/world/africa/volcano-congo-goma-evacuation.html?searchResultPosition=2

² https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/africa/100000007785423/congo-africa-volcano-evacuation.html?searchResultPosition=1

³ https://phys.org/news/2021-05-limnic-eruption-dr-congo-volcano.html

⁴https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8e/UNOSAT_A3_Natural_Portrait_VO20210523COD_Geological_Information_MountNyiragongo_DRCongo_28May2021_v1.pdf

—– Dr. Mark Evans

Pandemic Progress: How CCSU GSCI Thrived in 2020-21, Part 1: Teaching

[HyFlex classroom]

COVID-19 brought unexpected changes to CCSU in March 2020 when the campus abruptly shut down right before spring break. Over the next 14 months, faculty not only retooled their classes in response to the initial shift to online learning, but took advantage of the opportunity to learn new technologies and teaching methods. The result will ultimately be many exciting changes to our teaching and learning for years to come. Here are some of the innovations our department faculty took advantage of during the pandemic:

• HyFlex: CCSU invested a significant amount of money in converting approximately 35 traditional spaces into state-of-the-art HyFlex classrooms. Broadcast quality camera and sound systems were installed which allowed some students to attend classes in-person (while practicing social distancing and other safety procedures) while other students simultaneously attended class live from home. All of the astronomy courses were taught in the HyFlex format in the 2020-21 academic year, as well as selected geology sections. In the future, the HyFlex technology opens up new opportunities to offer our courses to students off campus, as well as open up enhanced opportunities for seminars and guest speakers.

• Open Educational Resources: Faculty were able to ditch expensive textbooks for much cheaper and, in many cases, free class materials.

• At home hands-on activities: Dr. Evans put together personal geology kits for students in his classes. Students came to campus and passed through his “drive through booth” to receive their rock and mineral kits and other materials so that they could continue to gain valuable hands-on experience in online courses. Dr. Larsen developed “kitchen table” science activities for students in her SCI 211 course for students training to be elementary school teachers, again allowing them to continue gaining valuable hands-on experience with important science concepts from the safety of their own homes.

• Curriculum Development: Faculty were busy in 2021-21 making exciting updates to our department curriculum. Two new topics courses were developed, GSCI 200 Exploration in the Geological Sciences, and AST 212 Studies in Astronomy. Long-time adjunct faculty member Mr. Gomby received a CCSU Diversity grant to develop a course on Environmental Justice, which will be eligible for the new EJI (Equity, Justice, and Inclusion) designation for general education. Dr. Wizevich received a Special Curriculum Development Grant for Restructuring Sedimentary Geology Labs for Online Teaching During a Pandemic, while Dr. Piatek received a Special Curriculum Development Grant for “Life Will Find a Way: Adapting our Introductory Astrobiology Course for HyFlex Instruction.”

The past year has certainly been challenging, but it has also been a period of positive growth for the Geological Sciences Department at CCSU. Watch this space over the next few weeks for more examples of faculty and student successes during the COVID era.

CCSU Geology Students Rock Award Season!

[Kaliann Magalhaes’s award-winning research poster]

COVID-19 might have been a serious complication for student research at CCSU, but our students’s hard work shined through at virtual conferences over the past school year.

Three students or recent graduates were co-authors onvirtual posters presented at the Geological Society of America Connects 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting last October:

Brown, L., & Wizevich, M. An eolian dune in the Early Jurassic Cass Formation preserved by lava flows, Pomperaug Basin, Connecticut.

Brown, L., & Wizevich, M., Simpson, E. Geochemical analyses of septarian concretions from the Ruby Ranch Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation, Green River, Utah.

Muntz, A., Oyewumi, Y., & Evans, M. A., Geochemical assessment of legacy lead mining sites.

Weiss, J.D., & Evans, M. A. Fracture and fluid history of the northern section of the North Mountain thrust sheet, southern Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Five students were co-authors on virtual posters presented at the Virtual Northeast Section Meeting of the Geological Society of America in March 2021:

Cope, J., & Evans, M. A. Impact of land use activities on groundwater geochemistry and identification of aquifer parameters from a CCSU well field.

Enders, I., Magalhaes, K., Evans, M. A., & Oyewumi, O. Impact of land use activities on groundwater geochemistry and identification of aquifer parameters from a CCSU well field.

Lammers, H., Peluso, J. & Oyewumi, O. Impact of human activities on chemical signature of trace elements in soil, water and river sediments within eastern Rocky Hill, Connecticut.

Magalhaes, K., Enders, I., & Oyewumi, O. Assessing release of arsenic and other chemical elements from a historical agricultural farmland within western Rocky Hill, CT.

Geological Sciences students were also well represented at the CCSU Undergraduate Reseach and Creative Activity Day in April 2021:

Allen, Z., & Piatek, J. L. (April, 2021). Reanalysis of Martian Crater Ejecta Characteristics in the Thermal Infrared.

Brown, L. & Wizevich, M. (April, 2021). An Eolian Dune in the Early Jurassic Cass Formation Preserved by Lava Flows, Pomperaug Basin, Connecticut.

Enders, I. & Oyewumi, O. (April, 2021). Identification of factors controlling groundwater chemistry of a CCSU well field, New Britain, CT. 

Magalhaes, K. & Oyewumi, O.  (April, 2021). Contamination characteristics, source apportionment, and health risk assessment of heavy metals from a historic farmland in Rocky Hill, CT. Research Award Winner for the School of Engineering, Science, and Technology

Peluso, J., Ivers, C., & Piatek, J. L. (April, 2021). Collecting Stardust: The Search for Micrometeorites in Rainwater via Downspout Collection Apparatuses.

Two students also received important scholarships:

• Ian Enders: a $3,500 Scholarship from the Angelo Tagliacozzo Memorial Geological Scholarship from the AIPG Northeast Section

• Kaliann Magalhaes: a $3,500 Scholarship from the Angelo Tagliacozzo Memorial Geological Scholarship from the AIPG Northeast Section

Congratulations to all our superstars!