Current & Recent Events:
2025 GSC ANNUAL FIELD TRIP
"On the Mapping Menu in Western Connecticut: Main Course of Migmatites and Metasediments with a Side of Basin"
Examples of lithologies from the general area of the field trip that we will sample during our field-trip buffet: banded migmatite biotite gneiss (left), garnetiferous schist (center), and Pomperaug basin arkose (right). Images courtesy of Bill Burton.
Join us for the society’s annual spring field trip! Trip leaders Bill Burton and Bill Devlin will guide us on a 10-stop field trip in the Woodbury–Roxbury area. We will sample a broad buffet of lithologies and structures and, with the help of ancillary data, put together a depositional and tectonic history for this geologically complex area that underwent Paleozoic contractional and Mesozoic extensional tectonics.
The guidebook was originally prepared for a 2020 field trip that was canceled. It will be augmented during the trip with posters that illustrate recently obtained data and the field trip leaders’ current thinking.
The guidebook was originally prepared for a 2020 field trip that was canceled. It will be augmented during the trip with posters that illustrate recently obtained data and the field trip leaders’ current thinking.
2024 GSC ANNUAL MEETING
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This year the meeting moved to the Owenego Inn, a classic New England inn on the Connecticut shoreline. As usual, the meeting provided the chance to catch up with colleagues and friends on the happenings of the past year. The views from the inn will provided the perfect ambiance for our keynote talk on the formation and subsequent history of Long Island Sound. All were welcome at this event!
Where: Owenego Inn, 40 Linden Avenue, Branford, Connecticut
When: 5–8:30 p.m. on Friday, November 1, 2024
Schedule of Events
5–6 p.m. Happy Hour
6–7:30 p.m. Dinner, Business Meeting, Raffle, CT Geology Quiz Drawing
7:30–8:30 p.m. Talk
Where: Owenego Inn, 40 Linden Avenue, Branford, Connecticut
When: 5–8:30 p.m. on Friday, November 1, 2024
Schedule of Events
5–6 p.m. Happy Hour
6–7:30 p.m. Dinner, Business Meeting, Raffle, CT Geology Quiz Drawing
7:30–8:30 p.m. Talk
Ten Thousand+ Years of Long Island Sound History: From Marine Inundation to Human Domination
by
Joop Varekamp and Ellen Thomas
by
Joop Varekamp and Ellen Thomas
Joop and Ellen spoke about the formation and subsequent history of Long Island Sound. Ellen covered the fossil record of the LIS sediments, including recent/ongoing work with her PhD student at Yale on genetic data on invasive foraminifera in the Sound. Joop spoke about dating, shifts in the carbon cycle and temperature–dissolved oxygen–salinity records, the sea level rise record in conjunction with crustal rebound scenarios, and pollution over the last 400 years.
Please consider making a donation to the GSC Student Fund.
Please consider making a donation to the GSC Student Fund.
2024 GSC ANNUAL LATE SUMMER PICNIC: Geology of the Hartford Basin and Cookout at Dinosaur State Park
Join us on September 14 for a pre-picnic field trip in the Hartford basin and a late afternoon picnic on the grounds of Dinosaur State Park. On the field trip, Paul Olsen will guide us through a series of stops in the Hartford basin that illustrate concepts he discussed during his talk at last year's annual meeting. At the picnic, we will have the opportunity to relax and enjoy the company of like-minded geologists. The GSC will be providing the picnic fare.
SUMMARY: This year the annual late summer picnic will be preceded by a field trip in the Hartford basin led by Paul Olsen. You can sign up for the field trip, the picnic, or both. Details below.
SUMMARY: This year the annual late summer picnic will be preceded by a field trip in the Hartford basin led by Paul Olsen. You can sign up for the field trip, the picnic, or both. Details below.
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WHERE (field trip): Meet at Dinosaur State Park, 400 West Street, Rocky Hill, Connecticut WHEN (field trip): 9 a.m.– 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 14, 2024 COST (field trip only): FREE for GSC members WHERE (picnic): Dinosaur State Park, 400 West Street, Rocky Hill, Connecticut WHEN (picnic): 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 14, 2024 COST (picnic): GSC member: $25; Guest of GSC member: $25; Non-member: $35 (covers picnic pavilion fee and cost of food and soft drinks) |
Registration deadline: Noon on Wednesday, September 11, 2024
Special information: Please bring a lunch if you are attending the field trip. The picnic event is BYOB.
Special information: Please bring a lunch if you are attending the field trip. The picnic event is BYOB.
2024 GSC Annual Spring Field Trip - Geologic Evolution of the Lower Connecticut River Valley: Influence of Bedrock Geology, Glacial Deposits, and Sea Level
Left: LiDAR DEM/hillshade combination from Haddam, Connecticut, showing a glaciodeltaic terrace along the Connecticut River. Center: Delta topset beds in a gravel excavation in Portland, Connecticut. Right: Outcrop of Hebron Gneiss below Gillette's Castle in Hadlyme, Connecticut.
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WHERE: Met at DEEP Marine Headquarters, 333 Ferry Road, Old Lyme, Connecticut
WHEN: 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, 2024 with post-trip libations at Concentric Brewing Company in Portland, Connecticut, from 4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
Trip leaders Janet Stone, Ralph Lewis, and Phil Resor guided us on a field excursion traversing the eastern side of the Connecticut River in the towns of Old Lyme, Hadlyme, East Haddam, East Hampton, and Portland where we examined bedrock outcrops and glacial gravel pits and landforms.
WHEN: 8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 4, 2024 with post-trip libations at Concentric Brewing Company in Portland, Connecticut, from 4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.
Trip leaders Janet Stone, Ralph Lewis, and Phil Resor guided us on a field excursion traversing the eastern side of the Connecticut River in the towns of Old Lyme, Hadlyme, East Haddam, East Hampton, and Portland where we examined bedrock outcrops and glacial gravel pits and landforms.
2023 GSC Annual Meeting
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SPEAKER:
Paul Olsen PRESENTATION: "Volcanic Winters from Supereruptions at the Dawn of the Age of Dinosaurs"WHEN: Friday, November 3 at 5pm. WHERE: Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut
SCHEDULE: 5:00 – 6:00 Happy Hour 6:00 – 8:00 Dinner, Business Meeting, Raffle, CT Geology Quiz Drawing 8:00 - 9:00 Talk by Paul Olsen |
2023 GSC Annual Late Summer Picnic - Cookout and Geology of Gillette Castle State Park
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WHEN: Saturday, September 30, 2023 at noon
WHERE: Gillette Castle State Park, East Haddam, CT
Deadline: Register by noon on Friday, September 29, 2023
Parking/Location Details: See below
WHERE: Gillette Castle State Park, East Haddam, CT
Deadline: Register by noon on Friday, September 29, 2023
Parking/Location Details: See below
MORE DETAILS COMING SOON!
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2023 Spring Field Trip - Ashford Dams
Left: LiDAR DEM/hillshade combination from Ashford CT showing an old road, stone walls, building foundations, and mill dam structures preserved under modern day forests; Center: remnants of the Depot Road Mill site in Coventry, where the Mill Brook has been dammed since the late 1790s; Right: charcoal enriched soil layers typically seen on relict charcoal hearths (from Raab et al., 2017)
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WHEN:
Sunday, June 4 - 8:30am to 4:30pm.
WHERE:
Meet at Ashford Dairy Bar, 432 Ashford Center Rd, Ashford, CT 06278
SPEAKER:
Dr. William Ouimet (University of Connecticut) with support from Sam Dow, Robert Thorson, Andy Fallon
PRESENTATION:
"Historic Land Use and Mill Dam Legacies in Eastern Connecticut"
Sunday, June 4 - 8:30am to 4:30pm.
WHERE:
Meet at Ashford Dairy Bar, 432 Ashford Center Rd, Ashford, CT 06278
SPEAKER:
Dr. William Ouimet (University of Connecticut) with support from Sam Dow, Robert Thorson, Andy Fallon
PRESENTATION:
"Historic Land Use and Mill Dam Legacies in Eastern Connecticut"
2022 Spring Field Trip - Geology and Mineralogy of the Old Mine Park Area, Trumbull, Connecticut.
Rare outcrop showing the lower contact of The Straits Schist (top) with the upper marble and upper amphibolite members of the Saganawamps section of the so-called The Straits Schist basal member.
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WHEN: Saturday & Sunday; May 7 & 8, 2022 (Choice of one date, 25 member limit each day); 9 am to 4 pm
WHERE: Meet at Cooper Surgical, 50 Corporate Drive, Trumbull
COST: FREE to members (this trip is members only, please join/renew as a member if you would like to attend); Donations to the student research funds are appreciated
The trip will be led by Harold Moritz, Bill Devlin and Bob Wintsch, co-authors of the guidebook and accompanying map.
WHERE: Meet at Cooper Surgical, 50 Corporate Drive, Trumbull
COST: FREE to members (this trip is members only, please join/renew as a member if you would like to attend); Donations to the student research funds are appreciated
The trip will be led by Harold Moritz, Bill Devlin and Bob Wintsch, co-authors of the guidebook and accompanying map.
2021 Geological Society of Connecticut Annual Meeting
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Date: November 19, 2021
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Will Ouimet, Associate Professor of Geosciences, University of Connecticut
The 2021 Annual Meeting was once again held in a virtual format due to the ongoing pandemic. The meeting included conversations about future Society activities, a lecture by Dr. Will Ouimet, University of Connecticut, entitled “The LIDAR Revolution in Earth Surface Mapping” (with contributions from Janet Stone) and our annual business meeting.
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Will Ouimet, Associate Professor of Geosciences, University of Connecticut
The 2021 Annual Meeting was once again held in a virtual format due to the ongoing pandemic. The meeting included conversations about future Society activities, a lecture by Dr. Will Ouimet, University of Connecticut, entitled “The LIDAR Revolution in Earth Surface Mapping” (with contributions from Janet Stone) and our annual business meeting.
Late Summer Picnic at Rocky Neck State Park
Rocky Neck State Park - Glacial Smoothing with Striations - Folding in Background
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WHEN: Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 12pm
WHERE: Rocky Neck State Park, Old Lyme, CT
COST: $10
WHERE: Rocky Neck State Park, Old Lyme, CT
COST: $10
The Geological Society of Connecticut hosted a summer picnic on September 11 at Rocky Neck State Park in Old Lyme. We met at a cluster of picnic tables in a wooded area next to the bird observation platform near the beach parking lots where. GSC provided refreshments (hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, corn, watermelon, chips, desserts, and soft drinks) to all who registered.
During the afternoon we held an informal field trip discussing both glacial geologic and shoreline dynamic features and bedrock geologic and quarrying features. These areas are covered in depth in field trip guides from previous trips (NEGSA 2012: DEEP guidebook #9 and GSC 2015: GSC guidebook #6), which we will have on hand to share.
During the afternoon we held an informal field trip discussing both glacial geologic and shoreline dynamic features and bedrock geologic and quarrying features. These areas are covered in depth in field trip guides from previous trips (NEGSA 2012: DEEP guidebook #9 and GSC 2015: GSC guidebook #6), which we will have on hand to share.
Meetings and Field Trips Archive
Thanks to our great members, all GSC events were enormously successful! Click the Archive to see past events.
Thanks to our great members, all GSC events were enormously successful! Click the Archive to see past events.