Slide measuring device installation
Julian Waeber, Phd candidate in Geological Engineering at U.C. Berkeley has installed a device to track the landslide in the garden, part of the larger Blakemont slide. The solar powered device will communicate with a satellite daily to track the amount of movement of the landslide. Also installed will be a USGS seismograph to monitor the Hayward fault that runs through the upper part of the garden.
EPS 50 geology class visits Blake
On Saturday April 9th, UC Berkeley Professor Chi Wang brought his EPS 50 geology class to the garden as part of a tour of Bay area geology. He met with his students at the 30' blue schist outcropping in the lower part of the garden, where he gave a short talk about the nature of this special rock outcropping which contains the rare mineral lawsonite: [media id=27 width=480 height=360]Glauconite Swale
In order to direct water from our dirt road and into the creek, Jesse, one of our work-study students, is continuing a big project that was started last semester by work-study student Nathan. On Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, you will find Jesse working on a swale lined with Glauconite schist, a blue-green metamorphic stone that is found on the property.
EPS Students measuring gravity at Blake
David Alumbaugh, Adjunct Professor in Earth & Planetary Sciences at UCB began a project at Blake Garden with his students this past weekend. [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="384" caption="Setting up under the big oak. Prof. Alumbaugh on the right."]
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They brought with them a geo-electromagnetic instrument and began measuring gravity underground on the Hayward Fault that runs through the upper part of the garden. The measurements will be used to determine the earth and fluid structure under the surface.
[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="384" caption="Taking measurements."]
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EPS 50 Geology class visits Blake Garden
On April 10th, UC Berkeley Professor Chi Wang brought his EPS 50 geology class to the garden as part of a tour of Bay area geology. He met with his students at the 30′ blue schist outcropping in the lower part of the garden. They discussed the index minerals that are found in the large rock: Lawsonite and Glauconite. Lawsonite is named for UC Geology Professor Andrew Lawson (1861-1952), although it was actually discovered by one of his students, who named the mineral in his honor. After visiting the rock, volunteer Peter Suchecki brought the group to "the seep" to talk about the spring that is supplied with water from the deep subsurface.
Water Tests
Luis Barranco, the UC Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design Department's financial assistant is also a Koi fish expert. He agreed to help us test water samples in the garden to determine the waters' content. We are discussing whether it would be wise to pump water from a seep from the Australian hollow to higher elevations in the garden to feed the pools which contain fish and possibly use as irrigation.
EPS 50 Geology class visits Blake Garden
On April 24th, UC Berkeley Professor Chi Wang brought his EPS 50 geology class to the garden as part of a tour of Bay area geology. He met with his students at the 30' blue schist outcropping in the lower part of the garden. They discussed the index minerals that are found in the large rock: Lawsonite and Glauconite. Lawsonite is named for UC Geology Professor Andrew Lawson (1861-1952), although it was actually discovered by one of his students, who named the mineral in his honor. Course desciption for EPS 50: An introduction to the physical and chemical processes that have shaped the earth through time, with emphasis on the theory of plate tectonics. Laboratory work will involve the practical study of minerals, rocks, and geologic maps and exercises on geological processes.
