Arts - Buffalo State College

With increasing grade there is both general coarsening in the pelitic
layers and shallowing of foliation dip, but relatively consistent ENE-
WSW strike. Foliation is steeply-to-moderately dipping in the lower
grade zones (N), and shallowly-to-moderately dipping in the higher
grade zones (S). Oriented specimens of pelitic schist were collected
from 47 stations, and thin sections were made for microscopy
according to fabrics in order to document the progression of
porphyroblast (larger mineral) - matrix (bulk rock) fabrics along
the field gradient. Microstructures and kyanite porphyroclasts
indicate retrograde metamorphism, and field relations indicate
a sharp boundary between shear zone-affected and non-affected
rocks. Our data illustrate a direct relation between the metamorphic
field gradient and the strain associated with the shear zone
system in the N, consistent with previous studies that cite regional
deformation the cause of the metamorphic zone pattern in this part
of the Appalachian orogen. However, our data show the transition
from shear zone rocks to “wall” rocks is much more abrupt than
anticipated.
Presentation Type and Session: Poster VI
Tifft Nature Preserve Soil and Water
Analysis
Annabelle Wardzala, Josh Vernold, and Brice Reed,
GES 460: Environmental Field Methods and Analysis
Faculty Mentor: Professor Elisa Bergslien, Earth Sciences and
Science Education
The 264-acre Tifft Nature Preserve is a former Brownfield used
from the late-1800’s to mid-1900’s “as a dump site for slag, fly ash,
foundry sand, harbor dredge spoils, and refuse” (Tifft Management
Plan, 2009). During the 1950’s and 1960’s a garbage dump, located
in the northwest portion, was used for industrial waste, with no
proper precautions taken to prevent the spread of contamination.
Tifft Nature Preserve is famous for its garbage mound hills, called
“The Mounds,” which were filled with 2 million cubic yards of
garbage during the 1970’s. Buffalo Sewer Authority followed high
quality landfill procedures in the Mounds. We will collect soil and
water samples from throughout the area to test for contaminants
associated with landfill leachate, and heavy metals associated with
industrial manufacturing. Soil samples will be tested for arsenic,
chromium, lead, mercury, and zinc. Water samples will be tested for
dissolved oxygen, pH, and temperature which indicate the overall
quality of the water; as well as salinity, phosphates, nitrates, iron,
chromium, lead, and arsenic. There is also a 74-acre wetland,
Cattail Marsh, which was never used for dumping; we will also
collect samples from this area. Due to the past land use on the
site we expect to see elevated levels in the soil of heavy metals, and
phosphates, nitrates and dissolved salts in the water. We also expect
to see differences in the contaminant levels between Cattail Marsh,
the Mounds, and the northwest industrial disposal fields due to their
distinctive pasts.
Presentation Type and Session: Poster VIII
Physical Geography, Sciences, and Mathematics
Tourmaline In Relation To the Sebago
Pluton Contact Zone In Sebago, Maine
Maxwell Hain, Geology
Faculty Mentor: Professor Gary Solar, Earth Sciences and Science
Education
Collisional tectonic processes create very large mountains
(e.g., the Himalayas), but are mostly recorded in rocks at great
depth (>10 km), out of direct view. Therefore ancient cores of
mountain belts/collision zones are studied where rocks are exposed
after erosion (e.g., the Appalachians, collision ca. 400-300 million
years ago). This project research focuses on rocks in the northern
Appalachians, north of Portland, Maine, where rocks are part of
such a belt. Partial melting of rocks occurred during the collision,
and emplacement of granite bodies (plutons) of various sizes. For
this project, I examined rocks, in particular looking at tourmaline
crystals, at the eastern edge of the ca. 293 million-year-old Sebago
pluton. This work built on former undergraduate researcher
projects that either mapped or studied individual exposures in this
area. My work focused on individual mineral tracks in the Sebago
pluton-surrounding rock system to answer the question of how
tourmaline in granites as an accessory mineral has recorded the
pluton emplacement. Several traverses were conducted to produce
a detailed map across the pluton showing the different locations of
tourmaline, and their textural and structural variations in relation
to the pluton. In all, 19 localities were examined, and 15 samples of
tourmaline-bearing granite were collected and processed in the lab
for further study. Results show that although there are many different
types of granite, tourmaline occurs in one of two styles in them,
either disseminated, and smaller (2-4 cm), and within the granite
in the north, or isolated in dikes, and larger (2-8 cm) in southern
exposures. Although I interpret the formation of tourmaline in dikes
to processes similar to those documented for gold mineralization
(because both occur in contact with quartz), work at the microscale
is ongoing to assess the textural significance of the disseminated
tourmaline found in the northern locations.
Presentation Type and Session: Poster VIII
Trends In U.S. Mathematics Achievement
Over Forty Years
Tara Blair, HON 400: All College Honors Colloquium
Faculty Mentors: Professor David Wilson, Mathematics and
Professor Andrea Guiati, Director, All College Honors Program
The United States is faced with the realization that American
education is falling behind to its foreign counterparts. However, is
math one of the subject matters in which the United States does
not seem to excel within? Through collected data from assessments
such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the First
International Mathematics Study, and the Second International
Mathematics Study, I hope to highlight the trend in mathematical
competency in the United States and compare it internationally
starting in the 1960’s and working my way to the 2000’s. By
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