As the samples coordinator, I manage our 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 stored. I work on improving the organization of our physical collections and ensuring that the data about them is accurate.
I also manage the WGNHS Core Repository. I coordinate visits for researchers who would like to view, sample, and analyze our core or cuttings collections. No two days are the same, and managing a core facility is fun and a great way to meet people and learn about their research.
Current projects
In addition to managing the core repository, physical samples, and data, I am also working on the following projects:
- Completing the latest re-inventory of the core in the repository, a 4-month team effort
- Indexing, inventorying, and re-boxing cuttings from the New Jersey Zinc mine in southwestern Wisconsin (funded by NGGDPP FY2019 grant)
- Inventorying the rocks, powders, field notes, and maps from 20th century Wisconsin geologists (funded by NGGDPP FY2020 grant)
- Doing fieldwork in southwest Wisconsin for a bedrock model (STATEMAP project)
See all my projects on an interactive map
Read about my work
Publications
- 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
- Institute on Lake Superior Geology, member