| Director: |
Jose Luis Antinao |
| Other Researchers: |
Matthew Johnson,
Patrick McLaughlin,
Cristian Medina,
Rebecca Meyer,
Drew Packman,
Robin Rupp
|
| Funding: |
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) - STATEMAP Program
|
| Issue: |
The 1:000,000-scale Elkhart quadrangle is located in northern Indiana, a critical location to analyze the interplay between glacial deposits of the Saginaw, Huron-Erie, and Michigan Lobes of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The coarse diamictons and collapsed gravel fans that make most of the materials underlying the high relief morphology are a primary source of construction aggregate in the area. Deeper sand and gravel buried outwash bodies are an important resource as deeper, protected aquifers for this rapidly growing region of the state. |
| Objective: |
The primary goal of mapping the portion of Elkhart quadrangle in Indiana is to gain an improved understanding of the chronology and 3-D stratigraphy of the glacial and glaciofluvial units in the area, already well mapped by earlier STATEMAP efforts at a more detailed scale. |
| Approach: |
The area of the map will be mapped as a two-year effort. Year 1 of 2 is dedicated to mapping the geology of the western half of the quadrangle (Elkhart-Middlebury-Topeka area). The stratigraphy already defined in earlier detailed mapping efforts will be checked and supplemented with new geochronology to be obtained from shallow cores and outcrops. An integrated chronostratigraphic approach will then be used in mapping, in order to yield new insights into 3-D stratigraphic models central to characterizing aquifer resources. |
| Products: |
This project will deliver a preliminary geologic map for the western half of the USGS 1:100,000-scale Elkhart quadrangle as an interim product (year 1 of 2). The final map for the entire quadrangle will be delivered at the end of year 2 (May, 2019). |
| Benefits: |
The results of this study will be directly useful to land-use planners (near the urban areas of Elkhart-Goshen, Middlebury-Shipshewana, Topeka), water utilities, the aggregate industry, and those developing unconventional energy resources in the area. |
