Carsyn Ames

As the Samples Coordinator, I manage our geologic collections and core repository. I curate the Survey’s geologic samples and ensure samples are properly archived to best serve current and future research. That involves working closely with the staff at the WGNHS to ensure that physical samples and data generated from projects are properly collected and archived. I work on improving the organization of our physical collections and ensuring that the data about them is accurate.

Additionally, I coordinate visits for researchers who would like to view, sample, and analyze our core or cuttings collections. I also oversee a lab space in our main office in Madison, which includes WGNHS’s pXRF lab.

Current projects

My current projects can be explored through this interactive map:

View interactive map

More about my work

• Lake Superior Geology Field Trip (video, external)
• Research that Rocks: A Look Inside the WGNHS Core Repository (external)
• Making samples and data readily accessible

Publications

• Bremmer, S., Ames, C., Stewart, E.K., Haas, L., 2023, Evaluating pXRF instrument performance using reference materials: Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Open-File Report 2023-01, p 81. https://wgnhs.wisc.edu/catalog/publication/000994
• Ames, C., Stewart, EK., Batten, W., Stewart, ED., Orland, I., 2023, Field Trip 2- Wisconsin’s Paleozoic stratigraphy and tour of Crystal Cave. in Lodge, R. (Ed.), Institute on Lake Superior Geology Proceedings, 69th Annual Meeting, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Part 2 – Fieldtrip Guidebook. v.69, part 2.
• Ames, C., Gottschalk, B., Rose, C., Sibley, D., 2023, The Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey’s (WGNHS)’s 2020 and 2021 National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP) Projects. in Ames C. (Ed.), Institute on Lake Superior Geology Proceedings, 69th Annual Meeting, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Part 1 – Abstracts and Proceedings. v.69, part 1, p.4.
• Ames, C.J., 2018, Insights for provenance analysis of modern watersheds from detrital apatite and detrital zircon U-PB geochronology–Talkeetna Mountains, southcentral Alaska: Iowa City, University of Iowa, M.S. thesis, 172 p., https://doi.org/dvjb.
• Ames, C., Finzel, E., Enkelmann, E., and Thomson, S., 2017, Insights for provenance analysis from U/PB geochronology applied to modern watersheds–Talkeetna mountains, southcentral Alaska: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 49, no. 6, https://doi.org/dvjc.
• Ames, C., Leier A., and Leckie, D., 2016, The detrital zircon record of Cenozoic fluvial systems in the Great Plains of the northern United States and southern Canada: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 48, no. 7, https://doi.org/dvjd.

Professional affiliations

• Geological Society of America, member
• UW–Madison Science Alliance, member
• Wisconsin Federation of Museums (WFM), member
• Institute on Lake Superior Geology (ILSG) Board, 2023–2026, chair