Desert rock? The phrase may conjure up images of Coachella, but we're talking granite rock, mostly, and the star is Associate Professor Nicholas Van Buer from the Department of Geological Sciences.
Van Buer is using his sabbatical to film a YouTube series that will chronicle his 500-mile journey (on foot) through the Mojave Desert, from the Mexican border near Yuma, Arizona, to the Sierra Nevada in Olancha, California. The trip will take about 35 days. He'll collect rock samples along the way for dating and analysis.
Prior to his departure on Jan. 24 he was interviewed by Yuma, Arizona TV station KYMA.
Much of Van Buer's research focuses on the Mojave Desert. His last student field trip explored the tectonics of Death Valley. He recorded 15 videos from that trip.
Students were able to observe and interpret a variety of geological features, including rocks formed during and after "snowball earth," the global freezing that occurred some 635 million years ago. Students visited faults related to the building of the Rocky Mountains some 100 million years ago.
"Students saw where marine limestones were pushed over fossil sand dunes, and a 'metamorphic core complex' near Death Valley where rocks from the middle crust, over 20 kilometers deep, were pulled up to the surface by a giant extensional fault," Van Buer said.
Also notable were rocks that came from a "supervolcano" in Arizona some 19 million years ago. The volcano spread hot ash as far as Barstow.
Students who participate in the field trips conduct research on the sites they visit and make presentations to the class.
Van Buer's proposed YouTube series of the Mojave Desert will be an educational resource for students unable to attend field trips in person and will also allow him to continue his research. "Very few of the Cretaceous rocks found in the Mojave have been dated. I started doing that in 2014," he said.
"My work is largely focused on the late Mesozoic (~150-70 million years). Most of the hypotheses about geologic happenings during this period, including the proposed collision of an oceanic plateau, are based on studies of the western margin of the Mojave," he said.
That's why Van Buer will travel across the central/eastern side. Because he'll be on foot, he will drop rock samples near vehicle accessible points to be picked up later. The samples will undergo dating at Stanford, where Van Buer completed his Ph.D., using U-Pb and Ar-Ar radiometric dating.
Because he'll be alone, and on foot, he'll have to travel light. He will sleep in a pup tent. He's designated 23 supply points along the way, at least two of which will be for food. Like explorers before him, he plans to carry flour and bake bread.
Safety measures include GPS communications that will update his location every 10 minutes. Rattlesnakes are a concern but they should be dormant in winter.
Van Buer's inspiration for doing a video series came from watching GeoWizard's YouTube series, "Walking Across Wales in a Straight Line."
Van Buer concluded with, "Although hiking 510 miles across a desert may sound a bit extreme, I've actually completed about six desert field seasons since 2006. Each trip included about 500 miles of foot travel, albeit usually spread over about 8 weeks of geologic investigation per season rather than compressed into 5 weeks of dedicated hiking. I go through a lot of hiking boots."
To see the latest updates from his trip visit:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHMNjgp97lQEooIJwLbggjg/videos