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Next Meeting

Please join us for the Michigan Basin Geological Society’s membership meetings for the 2025-2026 

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​MBGS free membership meeting on Tuesday, February 10th, 2026, 7:15 - 8:30 PM

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East Lansing Public Library
950 Abbot Rd, East Lansing, Michigan 48823​

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​Speaker: Dylan Wilmeth, visiting assistant

professor, Geology department, GVSU

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The Upper Peninsula 2.2 Billion Years Ago:

Salty Seas, Giant Fossils, and Carbon Swings

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​​​​​​ABSTRACT: Halfway through Earth’s history, the

world 2.2 billion years ago was going through

extreme changes. Notable events included rising

oxygen, and mysterious shifts in Earth’s carbon

cycle, which links life with rocks, water, and air.

The carbon cycle’s balance was completely upended

2.2 billion years ago, in ways never seen before or

since. What happened?


This carbon mystery hasn’t been fully solved in over 50 years. To solve it, we must look closer at the few rocks left from this era. Dr. Wilmeth studies two locations in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: Marquette and Iron Mountain. These are perfect spots to study: they’re abundant, carbon-rich, fossil-rich, and are very understudied. Despite their closeness, Marquette and
Iron Mountain were very different 2.2 billion years ago: different fossils, different habitats, different chemistry. One was a harsh salt flat, while the other a pleasant shallow sea.


Which was which? Drop on by to find out. Come learn about the Earth’s Middle Ages, ancient life, and how Michigan might hold the key to one of geology’s biggest mysteries.

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BIOGRAPHY: Dylan is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Geology at Grand Valley State University. He is open to new positions in academia, science communication, or other corners of geology- especially in Michigan. Dylan grew up in the Midwest, with a B.Sc. in Geology from UW-Milwaukee. After getting his Ph.D. in 2018 from USC, he spent two European Research Council postdoctoral positions in France: one in Paris, and another in Brest.


Dylan is a sedimentologist and geobiologist, interested in the connections between life and surrounding environments. His research focuses on stromatolites, the preserved remains of microbial mats or “pond scum”. His most significant research has pushed the origins of oxygenic photosynthesis back to 2.9 billion years ago, examining fossils in northern Ontario and South Africa. Other work includes the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction as a parallel for modern climate change, Earth’s largest carbon isotope excursion 2.2 billion years ago, and the preservation of microfossils throughout deep time.

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Dylan is also the host and writer for Bedrock: Earth’s Earliest History, the world’s most popular geology podcast. https://www.bedrockpodcast.com/about. The show starts with Earth’s formation and works forward through time, telling Earth’s story over billions of years. Bedrock has a 4.9-star rating with over 1,000 reviews, and averages 30,000 listens every month. 

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He has a recent paper on the Randville Dolomite https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301926825002426 and his personal web page is https://www.dylanwilmeth.com/.

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Go to Presentations page for recent MBGS presentations as PDF files

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Below are links to recordings of the past (3) MBGS meetings

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A 3-D Bedrock Geologic and Hydrostratigraphic Model of Southern Ontario

Date: April 13th, 2022

Meeting Recording:

https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/NSxlqWFWWpT3pJL9CRiKnhj7PXfyCr76VpIvMo8-bSNcGdS9M4E67BBP4BQGIN1m.jGh9-MLDuhx-Wu82

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Below are the 2 original presentations that Terry presented:

 

A Revised 3-D Geologic Model of the Bedrock of Southern Ontario and Progress on Development of a 3-D Hydrostratigraphic Model

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0VZLNMxpKU&list=PLdapv5BeduhV3JoX6F4giIHGRgYI6Bkag&index=2

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A 3-D Bedrock Hydrostratigraphic Model of Southern Ontario

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GgJmOHYZtak&list=PLdapv5BeduhXJZedclmAYiccOCcSuYsMW&index=20

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Articles referenced in the presentation:

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A Hydrostratigraphic Framework for the Paleozoic Bedrock of Southern Ontario

https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/GC/article/view/31465/1882527052

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A Three-Dimensional Geological Model of the Paleozoic Bedrock of Southern Ontario,  Groundwater Resources Study 19 Geological Survey of Canada, Open File 8618

http://www.geologyontario.mndm.gov.on.ca/mndmfiles/pub/data/imaging/GRS019//GRS019_Report.pdf

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Lake Michigan Shorelines, Catastrophic Failure or Stable, That is the Question, Date: Jan 12, 2022
Meeting Recording:
https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/-Gr3efOHXLqk_SSFJqsMG9VpAk8sbQc9WWZDroawji1DYfjnD84IfzTSsc3XYh78.zXGywtGcpy1j0c_B


Grand Canyon MBGS Field Excursions, Date: Feb 9, 2022 
Meeting Recording:

https://us06web.zoom.us/rec/share/tsuSxIgrJHVChOxJ_DNG93ORQWEHYy3QWyydUky3SNrZ350kolgUBVX1Ms_7ZWA2.-Lk0MwdVkDxLzXGz

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The Cycling Geologist

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MBGS ANNOUCES 2021-22 EZ MANOS SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS

Madeleline Tan, Undergrad Student, University of Michigan, Advisor: Jeroen Ritsema Title: Seismic Receiver function analysis of the Michigan Basin
The Michigan basin is an intracratonic basin approximately 400 km wide (Howell and Van der Pluijm, 1999). It is nearly circular, reaching the largest depth to the cratonic basin sequence in present day Saginaw Bay region. Previous receiver function analysis indicates Moho depth beneath the Michigan basin reaches 53 km, thinning out beneath its flanks (Moidaki et al., 2013; Shen et al., 2013). Stein et al., 2015 posit the Moho depth is on average 45 km beneath the Michigan basin, owing to the combined result of crustal thinning, post-rift volcanism, sediment loading, and basin inversion (Watts et al., 2018). My project focuses on new seismological constraints of the crustal structure beneath Michigan and the broader Great Lakes region using P-to-s receiver functions calculated from the recordings of distant (> 4,000 km) earthquakes at seismometers in Michigan. We will use USGS seismometers in the central US and U-M seismometers near Lake Erie (courtesy of Professor Yihe Huang) to measure variations of the thickness of the crust and sediments within and outside the Michigan Basin. New seismic analyses of the structure of the crust beneath Michigan and surrounding states will help place the Michigan Basin in a broader tectonic context and to constrain dynamic scenarios of its origin. 

Mathew Bell, Graduate Student, Western Michigan University, Advisor: Dr. Peter Voice Title: Dam Failure – Hydrogeologic Consequences and Effects on the Tittabawassee and Tobacco Rivers and the groundwater systems in Southern Gladwin County, Michigan

In May 2020, a reservoir dam at the intersection of the Tittabawassee and the Tobacco Rivers collapsed resulting in a cascade of hydrogeologic and hydrologic changes in southern Gladwin County, Michigan. Along the two rivers, replacement water wells drilled since the event have shown that the water table has dropped up to 6 meters. Recent LiDAR imagery shows the water surface along the two rivers and the reservoir lake also exhibit a 6-meter drop compared to records prior to the event. A combination of water well records (Wellogic Database and more recent drillers reports) and integrating validated oil and gas well records were used to construct sections and maps of the bedrock and glacial surface and water table elevations (prior to- and post-event), for bedrock, and glacial geologic units. In order to better define the county bedrock surface, Horizontal-to-Vertical Spectral Ratio (HVSR) passive seismic data was collected across the county study area to develop a regional contact. Well records and HVSR data better defines the bedrock surface in this region and will allow a better understanding of hydrogeologic connections between the glacial sediment cover and the underlying Paleozoic bedrock. Using calibrated passive seismic measurements, the bedrock surface is analyzed to determine the complexity of the bedrock surface and interaction with the glacial drift, which can determine if there are
separate glacial and bedrock aquifer systems. The bedrock surface mapping and cross sections can provide a context for how the groundwater from the glacial material interacts with the bedrock material below.
Geology in the News

This Interactive Map Shows Where Your Home Was on Earth 750 Million Years Ago   https://dinosaurpictures.org/ancient-earth#240

Unexpected Findings Result in New Origin Theory for Earth’s Water
Enhanced views of Earth tectonics
Antarctic Neutrinos Are Being Used to Weigh the Earth’s Core

New Survey Publication – An Updated Bibliography of Michigan Geology

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John Yellich and Peter Voice, Western Michigan University Department of Geological Sciences and Michigan Geological Survey


The Michigan Geological Survey is proud to announce a new publication: Michigan Geology: A Bibliography, the second volume in the Michigan Geological Survey Data Compilation Series. This updated compilation lists over 7,700 references from all known Michigan sources, including industry, professional associations and universities and includes publications from 1818 to present. This report documents 200 years of Geological Research in Michigan. The Bibliography is sorted into four general categories – Precambrian, Basin, Quaternary, and Other.
This updated version of the bibliography also includes a short section on Michigan Stratigraphic Nomenclature, as well as brief discussion of historical trends in publication frequency in Michigan.

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The report is free to download at the Michigan Geological Survey’s webpage: https://wmich.edu/geologysurvey/research/publications.

MI_GEOL_BIBLIO_VOL2_COVER.jpg
DOUGLASS HOUGHTON MEMORIAL

Douglass Houghton, Michigan’s first State Geologist, was honored on September 10, 2016 by
the placement of a State of Michigan Historical Marker commemorating his accomplishments. The
effort was led by Arlene Anderson‐Vincent, members of the Michigan Basin Geological Society,
Keweenaw County Historical Society and faculty at Western Michigan University and Michigan
Technological University. The dedication was incorporated into a MBGS field excursion led by
Professor Ted Bornhorst of Michigan Technological University and Lawrence Molloy, President of the Keweenaw County Historical Society. The two led a field excursion that covered the geology and history of sites from Houghton to Copper Harbor and wove a tale of the rise and fall of mining in the copper range. The field excursion included the dedication of the marker, which is located in Eagle River, Michigan at the Keweenaw County Historical Museum. The dedication had many speakers and a special appearance from Kyle Bagnall, who portrayed Bela Hubbard who told the story of Douglass Houghton’s 1840 expedition along Lake Superior. Douglass Houghton died in 1845 when the boat carrying himself and his crew capsized during a storm on Lake Superior near Eagle River.

     

  Michigan Basin Geological Society

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The Michigan Basin Geological Society (MBGS) was founded in 1936 as an affiliated non-profit organization of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas relating to the field of petroleum geology through field excursions and meetings.

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Throughout the years, the role of the society has changed, and both meetings and field excursions now address a wide range of topics pertaining to the study of geology of Michigan and the great lakes area, and is open to anyone interested in geology.

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MBGS has monthly meetings typically on the second Wednesday of each month from September through May. These meeting consist of a lecture on a wide variety of Michigan geology related topics. The meetings are open to all. The Executive Committee Officers meet prior to the meeting to discuss Society issues and is open to anyone interested in attending. The society has 1-3 geological field trips per year.

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MBGS members are geologists, work in a geology related field, or are a geology student or hobbyist. The Society is dedicated to the advancement of the science of geology and related fields, disseminating knowledge of geology or related fields for the benefit of its members, and promoting the education of geology in Michigan. Annual dues are $35 per person and $10 per student.

Upcoming Events

Wednesday, March 25, East Lansing Public Library,  Alan Arbogast, MSU, Michigan Dunes

 

Wednesday, April 8, East Lansing Public Library, Bernadette Bartlett, Librarian, Library of Michigan, Helen Martin 

 

Wednesday, May 13, (Virtual) Eric Larson, Shawnee State University, central U.P. karst and stratigraphy

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June 16-17, 2006 AIPG Michigan Section 15th Annual Environmental Risk Management Workshop, RAM Center, Roscommon, Mi​

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​​EGLE Calendar of Training and Workshops
https://www.michigan.gov/egle/0,9429,7-135-3308_3333---,00.html

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Michigan State University, College of Natural Science, Department of Earth and Environmental Science,
Events https://ees.natsci.msu.edu/events/


Michigan Tech – Geoseminars ‐ http://pages.mtu.edu/~raman/SilverI/Geoseminar/Welcome.html


University of Michigan Earth and Environmental Science
Events https://lsa.umich.edu/earth


Western Michigan University, Geological and Environmental Sciences
Events https://wmich.edu/geology/events

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“..MBGS is tremendous, I just love the geologists..." D.J.T.

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