Allie Baczynski is an organic geochemist interested in using the chemical signatures of biomarkers derived from ancient plants to reconstruct past landscapes and climate. She is currently a post-doctoral scholar at Penn State working to lower biomarker sample size requirements for isotope analysis. Today, the Bighorn Basin in north-central Wyoming is mostly badlands – dusty hills home to […]
Bethany Ladd was an MSc student working on the role dissolved gas pressure in geyser eruption with Dr. Cathy Ryan in Geoscience at the University of Calgary. They continue to work together unlocking the mysteries of dissolved groundwater gases with a number of applications. In Yellowstone, a visitor curious about geysers might read a sign […]
When most people think of methane production and aqueous geochemistry, they probably think of shale gas. However, about 8% of the natural gas produced United States in a year comes from coalbeds. In the Powder River Basin, the majority of the natural gas is produced by groups of microorganisms that break down the coal and […]
Yellowstone is the site of the largest geothermal system in North America, which is fueled by a giant magma reservoir that is only 4 km beneath the surface. The most recent supereruption took place 640,000 years ago, which ejected >1,0003 km (240 mi3) of material and produced the 45 x 85 km (28 x 53 mi) Yellowstone […]
The Grand Tetons and the Idaho farmland The Grand Tetons are a prominent N-S mountain range in Wyoming. I am tempted to argue that the Grand Tetons have the most complex and long lasting geologic history of any mountain range on the planet. Within the range, the Grand Teton dominates the skyline standing nearly 4200 […]
