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The Geology of New Zealand Field Camp
Integrated Mapping Techniques for Understanding Sedimentation and Structure
Three Credits - December 28, 2023 - January 13, 2024
Four Credits - December 28, 2023 - January 18, 2024
Application Deadline: open
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Cost: Undergraduate - $5,295.00 - Four Credits and
$4,295 -Three credits Cost: Graduate - Contact Dr. Uzunlar Deposit $300 (required upon registration). Cost includes
tuition, fees, food, lodging, and transportation to field sites from Auckland.
Cost does not include airfare. Students will be picked up from Auckland Airport
(AKL) and dropped off at Christchurch Airport (CHC) for the 3- and 4-credit
camps. As of October 1, 2019, students will need to request an Electronic Travel
Authority (ETA). Learn more here https://www.newzealand.com/us/visas-and-immigration/ |
Introduction: This is a newly
redesigned course at South Dakota Mines addressing field geology topics that are
important, timely and challenging. Starting Auckland and finishing
in Christchurch, our New Zealand field camp gives students an understanding of
the broad scope of sedimentary basin analysis, sedimentation, stratigraphy,
structure, active tectonics, and geophysics.
Co-taught by our team of sedimentary and
structural geologists, this field camp covers the geology of both the North
Island and South Island of New Zealand. Our field camp is divided into five main
themes: 1) volcanic and mixed glacial to volcanosedimentary mapping of the Taupo
volcanic zone in and around Tongariro National Park (a UNESCO world heritage
site); 2) sedimentary basin mapping of world-class Neogene deepwater deposits in
the Taranaki Basin; 3) active tectonics and earthquake fault rupture mapping
near Wellington and Kaikoura; 4) South Island plate tectonics (Australian and
Pacific plate boundary); and 5) glacial geomorphology and tectonic sedimentation
of the Mt Cook/ Aoraki area.
Field mapping areas featured in this course are known for their spectacular
outcrop exposures. Field areas include volcanic zones of the central, west and
southern portions of the North Island to the coastal rocky beaches and tallest
mountains of the South Island. This is an opportunity to learn about the
Cenozoic structural evolution of New Zealand and its basins due to the complex
interaction of tectonics, sedimentation, and climate.
The five-project course is designed to provide students an opportunity to
compare complex geological processes recorded in several types of basin settings
associated with the Australian and Pacific plate boundary. Key methods
pertaining to source-to-sink (S2S) sediment transport and sequence stratigraphy
will be emphasized throughout the course. Students will be introduced to
geologic risks in energy resource exploration and development, including those
pertaining to oil and gas drilling. The structural and stratigraphic projects in
this course are in part based on recent publications including numerous PhD
dissertations, articles in research journals Marine and
Petroleum Geology and AAPG Bulletin, and one new textbook on the broad topic of
marine sedimentary geology (Deepwater
Sedimentary Systems: Science, Discovery and Applications
– Elsevier, 2022). These field areas have been applied as analogs for
decades to help understand the subsurface geology in both active and passive
margin settings around the world.
Key mapping exercises will
emphasize preparation of
stratigraphic columns, geologic maps, structural cross sections, depositional
system models, stereonets, and completion of formal reports. Successive
projects will involve greater geologic complexity, and one project will
emphasize the assessment of energy resources. Subsurface data including seismic
data and well logs will be used to illustrate key points on the structure,
tectonics, and overall formation of sedimentary basins. Practical applications
to mapping and interpreting subsurface geology, including resource exploration
and development (i.e., new ventures, exploration, development and production of
oil and natural gas) and geological hazards (LiDAR mapping, earthquake and
landslide hazards, assessments, risks, mitigations) are emphasized. These
skills are also extensively used for mapping the subsurface in the broad field
of environmental sciences. Mapping techniques practiced in this course
prepare students for roles in industry, government, and academia. Further,
interactions with professional geoscientists during the trip provide a panel of
perspectives about what it is like to live and to work as a geoscientist in New
Zealand. By the end of the course, students will be able to:
Prerequisites: Sedimentology,
stratigraphy, mineralogy,
petrology, structural geology. Geophysics is helpful but not required.
Exceptions considered on request. In your application, please specify why you
wish to attend this field course, and what you aim to get out of the field
course experience (less than one page, double-spaced, please).
Physical demands: Field work will involve mapping remote areas
and will include daily hikes of considerable length. Students should be
physically and mentally prepared for work in coastal and mountainous terrain in
New Zealand.
Climate: Weather in New Zealand during the summer months is
generally fine. However, students should be prepared for hot days (90° F /
32° C), and cold, rainy weather (45° F / 7° C) during storms. Students should
respect the variability in the daily tides and frequently changing weather
patterns in the high elevations of the
Taupo volcanic zone and Southern Alps. In December 2022 to
January 2023, temperatures for our camp ranged from 40-80° F.
Facilities: Lodging for the program will
be cabin camping in holiday parks equipped with modern shared facilities.
Our accommodations will roam with us. We will stay in
Whakapapa Village, New Plymouth, Wellington,
Kaikoura,
Glentanner (Mt Cook/ Aoraki), and Christchurch. Students
will need to supply their own bedding (sheets or sleeping bag).
Other required equipment: Basic geology tools including
hammer, hand lens, write-in-the-rain notebook, map case, colored pencils,
Brunton compass (or equivalent) tuned to the declination of New Zealand.
Students will need a laptop for written reports. Suitable clothing for
working in hot, coastal environments and cool, mountainous environments
including wide-brimmed hat, sun-proof shirts and pants, sturdy boots, and
appropriate socks is required. A complete and detailed equipment list will
be provided for students ahead of the camp. Select images of the field mapping areas stretch along the coastal areas of New Zealand. The majority of the mapping will occur along the beaches of Taranaki, where the outcrop exposures provide exceptional access to view the broad variation of Neogene sedimentary basin fill and evidence for Miocene to recent tectonism.
View south from Tongaporutu River of the Upper Mount Messenger Formation outcrop exposures in the 250-m-tall Whitecliffs. These deposits are interpreted to represent a submarine apron near the base of slope. These marine depositional systems will be compared and contrasted with perched, ponded, and stepped continental slopes, as well as variations of submarine fans including fan valleys and unconfined fans during this field course. Mt Taranaki is in the distance (far right) with a cloud at its summit.
![]() View from a Maori settlement known as a pā overlooking the black-sand Pukearuhe Beach and the Tasman Sea, North Island, New Zealand. Pukearuhe Beach is one of the prime outcrop locales to observe the deep-water slope deposits of the Miocene Mount Messenger Formation and is located approximately 40 km (25 mi) northeast of New Plymouth. This channel–levee and overbank succession is comprised chiefly of turbidites and extends into the subsurface of the Taranaki Basin where it has been a producing interval in several fields for decades. Today, the deep-water Miocene outcrops exposed along the coast of the Taranaki Basin serve as valuable analogs for other fine-grained, heterolithic, poorly indurated, litharenite petroleum reservoirs around the world. ![]() The seismic-scale mass-transport deposits (MTD) of the Miocene Mohakatino Formation provide a unique window into the architecture of these contorted and overturned masses of sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone. Structural analysis of the folds and deformation bands in these strata are useful in interpreting their movement. MTD result from the largest sediment movements on Earth, and form upwards of 50-70% of some continental margins and about a quarter of all continental slopes on average. Deep-marine environments represent the final resting place for sediment on Earth and are important to understand as the ultimate sink for a number of elements including organic carbon.
The course concludes with a visit to the UNESCO world heritage site Tongariro National Park. Tongariro is home to Mt Ruapehu and Mt Ngauruhoe (Mt Doom in the movie Lord of the Rings) and represents the boundary of the Pliocene to modern Taupo volcanic zone (TVZ). While the TVZ wasn’t actively feeding the Taranaki Basin during the Miocene, submarine andesitic volcanism played a key role in feeding voluminous amounts of sediment into Taranaki during the late Miocene.
For more information, please contact: Dr. Jon R. Rotzien Adjunct Professor, Dep. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences University of Houston Science and Research Building 3507 Cullen Road Houston, TX 77 204Mobile (650) 862–0574
or
Dr. Nuri Uzunlar Director, Black Hills Natural Sciences Field Station Professor, Geology and Geological Engineering Department South Dakota School of Mines and Technology Phone: (605) 431-1275
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