Current & Recent Events:
2025 GSC ANNUAL MEETING
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Left: Hamlin Hall, our happy hour and dinner venue, Image courtesy of Public Art CT; Right: Sneak peek at data from Christoph's talk.
Join us for the Society’s annual meeting, which is returning to centrally located Trinity College! Current GSC VP Christoph Geiss will be our keynote speaker, and longtime GSC member Harold Moritz will be bringing a rock and mineral display to accompany Christoph’s talk. Take a break from your busy schedule to relax, to enjoy conversation with friends and colleagues, and to learn about pyrrhotite, the most infamous mineral in our State. All are welcome at this event!
Where: Hamlin Hall (happy hour, dinner, business meeting, raffle & CT geology quiz drawing) and McCook Auditorium (talk), Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut
When: 5–9 p.m. on Friday, November 7, 2025
Cost: Regular member: $60; Student: $30 (includes 2026 membership); Non-member/guest: $80
Registration deadline: Thursday, October 31, 2025
Please note that after 5 p.m. parking is available on the Trinity College campus for guests in any parking lot or parking space. Parking is also available along Summit St. and by the field house.
Where: Hamlin Hall (happy hour, dinner, business meeting, raffle & CT geology quiz drawing) and McCook Auditorium (talk), Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut
When: 5–9 p.m. on Friday, November 7, 2025
Cost: Regular member: $60; Student: $30 (includes 2026 membership); Non-member/guest: $80
Registration deadline: Thursday, October 31, 2025
Please note that after 5 p.m. parking is available on the Trinity College campus for guests in any parking lot or parking space. Parking is also available along Summit St. and by the field house.
2025 GSC LATE SUMMER EVENT
Jarvis Creek Marsh Field Trip Followed by Get-Together at Lenny’s Indian Head Inn
Geologists at work at Jarvis Creek Marsh, Branford, Connecticut. Image courtesy of Ellen Thomas.
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WHERE: Met at the parking lot for Jarvis Creek Farm Trail, "732"; Leetes Island Road (aka CT-146), Branford, Connecticut, for the field trip (NOTE: please note that 732 Leetes Island Road, the purported address of Jarvis Creek Farm Trail in Google Maps, is not accurate; see meeting place location map below (parking lot symbol along CT-146) or search "Jarvis Creek Farm Trail" in Google Maps)
WHEN: Sunday, September 14, 2025 @ 11:30 a.m.
This year, in lieu of a late summer picnic, the Society hosted a field trip plus get-together at Lenny’s Indian Head Inn. The field trip focused on Jarvis Creek Marsh in Branford, Connecticut, and included a discussion of the Stony Creek Granite Gneiss as it pops up here and there along the trails through the marsh. Jarvis Creek Marsh field trip leaders Joop Varekamp and Ellen Thomas elaborated on their Long Island Sound work as presented at last year's annual meeting and demonstrate techniques to derive detailed sea level rise curves from coastal marsh deposits and to evaluate resiliency of marshes after human disturbance. Our discussion of the Stony Creek Granite Gneiss was guided by Phil Resor, with Bob Wintsch contributing to the field guide (as prior he was unavailable for the field trip).
WHEN: Sunday, September 14, 2025 @ 11:30 a.m.
This year, in lieu of a late summer picnic, the Society hosted a field trip plus get-together at Lenny’s Indian Head Inn. The field trip focused on Jarvis Creek Marsh in Branford, Connecticut, and included a discussion of the Stony Creek Granite Gneiss as it pops up here and there along the trails through the marsh. Jarvis Creek Marsh field trip leaders Joop Varekamp and Ellen Thomas elaborated on their Long Island Sound work as presented at last year's annual meeting and demonstrate techniques to derive detailed sea level rise curves from coastal marsh deposits and to evaluate resiliency of marshes after human disturbance. Our discussion of the Stony Creek Granite Gneiss was guided by Phil Resor, with Bob Wintsch contributing to the field guide (as prior he was unavailable for the field trip).
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.
This year, the Society’s annual spring field trip was lead Bill Burton and Bill Devlin on a 10-stop field trip in the Woodbury–Roxbury area. We sampled 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. The guidebook was augmented during the trip with posters that illustrated recently obtained data and the field trip leaders’ current thinking.
The guidebook was originally prepared for a 2020 field trip that was canceled. The guidebook was augmented during the trip with posters that illustrated 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
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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
A pre-picnic field trip was held on September 14 in the Hartford basin followed by a late afternoon picnic on the grounds of Dinosaur State Park. On the field trip, Paul Olsen guided us through a series of stops in the Hartford basin that illustrated concepts he discussed during his talk at last year's annual meeting. At the picnic, we had the opportunity to relax and enjoy the company of like-minded geologists. The GSC provided the picnic fare.
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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 |
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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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 SPEAKER: Paul Olsen PRESENTATION: "Volcanic Winters from Supereruptions at the Dawn of the Age of Dinosaurs" |
NEW DATE! 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
COST: $18 (covers food and cookout supplies)
Deadline: Register by noon on Friday, September 29, 2023
Parking/Location Details: See below
WHERE: Gillette Castle State Park, East Haddam, CT
COST: $18 (covers food and cookout supplies)
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)
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 GSC Annual Meeting
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The Geological Society of Connecticut held its annual meeting IN PERSON.
Along with a cocktail hour (cash bar), catered dinner, and lecture by Dr. Robert P. Wintsch, Visiting Researcher at Wesleyan University.
WHEN:
Friday, December 2 at 5pm.
WHERE:
Daniel Family Commons on the third floor of the Usdan University Center, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
SPEAKER:
Dr. Robert P. Wintsch, Visiting Researcher at Wesleyan University
PRESENTATION:
"No Stone Left Undated: An Update and Overview of the Tectonic History of Connecticut"
Along with a cocktail hour (cash bar), catered dinner, and lecture by Dr. Robert P. Wintsch, Visiting Researcher at Wesleyan University.
WHEN:
Friday, December 2 at 5pm.
WHERE:
Daniel Family Commons on the third floor of the Usdan University Center, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
SPEAKER:
Dr. Robert P. Wintsch, Visiting Researcher at Wesleyan University
PRESENTATION:
"No Stone Left Undated: An Update and Overview of the Tectonic History of 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 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 is pleased to announce a summer picnic on September 11 at Rocky Neck State Park in Old Lyme. We will meet at noon at a cluster of picnic tables in a wooded area next to the bird observation platform near the beach parking lots where we can also grill. Entry to the park is free with Connecticut-licensed cars but an event registration fee of $10/attendee will cover the food/supplies GSC will provide (hamburgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, corn, watermelon, chips, desserts, and soft drinks). Feel free to bring additional food and beverages. The event is BYOB (alcoholic beverages are allowed in the picnic areas). Please register by September 9 to reserve your meal.
During the afternoon we will hold 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 will hold 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.
2020 Geological Society of Connecticut Virtual Annual Meeting
Maureen D. Long, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University. (Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media)
Date: November 13, 2020
Keynote Speaker: Maureen D. Long, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University
Last annual meeting was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This included informal conversations about the state of the geosciences, a lecture by Dr. Marueen Long, Yale University, entitled “What lies beneath Connecticut’s geology? New images of the crust and mantle lithosphere from the SEISConn experiment” and our annual business meeting.
Keynote Speaker: Maureen D. Long, Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Yale University
Last annual meeting was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This included informal conversations about the state of the geosciences, a lecture by Dr. Marueen Long, Yale University, entitled “What lies beneath Connecticut’s geology? New images of the crust and mantle lithosphere from the SEISConn experiment” and our annual business meeting.
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.