By exploring how the Earth works, environmental geoscientists at Notre Dame are finding clues to pollution remediation that are earth-friendly. Hollywood’s Julia Roberts made a big splash as Erin Brockovich, the feisty young mother who fought and won a monumental law suit against the giant corporation responsible for contaminating the water supply of a small town, causing devastating illnesses and several deaths. The movie, perhaps more than any single event in recent history, brought the issue of safe drinking water to the surface. From the time the Earth was formed, water has been continuously circulating; it’s called the hydrologic cycle. As water evaporates, it forms clouds, eventually returning to the earth as precipitation. It is the precipitation that becomes part of the groundwater supply. Fifty percent of the population of the United States depends solely on groundwater generated from the cycle for its drinking water. Groundwater is generally a safe source of drinking water. However, just as they did in the movie Erin Brockovich, pollutants can contaminate water supplies. Compounds from the Earth’s surface or man-made “products,” such as storage tanks, hazardous waste sites, landfills, even catalytic converters, can potentially move through the soil and leach into groundwater supplies and the food chain in a variety of ways, affecting the circle of life. The water cycle is just one example of the natural systems and processes that environmental geoscientists study. Environmental geoscience is the examination of Earth’s natural cycles that potentially impact or are impacted by mankind. Thus, environmental geoscientists engage in a wide variety of research from the atomic to the planetary scale to provide a unique and quantitative perspective of Earth’s complex systems, including an understanding of the role time plays in natural processes. Environmental geoscientists observe, measure, and analyze air, water, soil, and rock formations to make recommendations on how best to preserve the environment. They use their knowledge to design and monitor waste disposal sites, safeguard water supplies, and reclaim contaminated soil. They also study the composition and structure of the physical aspects of the Earth -- past and present -- in order to make predictions about its future. “In many ways,” says James A. Rigert, C.S.C., associate professor of civil engineering and geological sciences, “environmental geoscientists build on the role of the traditional geologist. The environmental thrust provides an added enthusiasm to students, while faculty continue to emphasize the fundamental knowledge of geology that will help mankind understand the physical systems of the earth and remain good stewards of its resources.” There are many environmental study and geoscience programs at universities across the country. What makes Notre Dame’s program unique is the fact that it melds the two disciplines into a broad field which includes aspects of geology, environmental engineering, chemistry, physics, biology, and mathematics. Notre Dame’s program combines fundamental and applied research to help students understand how the environment impacts humanity, as well as how humanity impacts the environment. “Environmental geoscience is very interdisciplinary,” says Patricia A. Maurice, associate professor of civil engineering and geological sciences. “Students need to know geology, chemistry, physics, math, and biology, and they have to be able to integrate them.” Why? Because environmental geoscientists look at the big picture. For example, researchers have to understand the mineral cycle, plate tectonics, and how continents move. As the foundation of this knowledge, they must also be familiar with the history of the earth and significant changes that have occurred over time. Consider volcanic activity, natural occurrences which strongly impact human life and ecosystems. The Hawaiian Islands wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for such activity. On the other hand, whole communities have been badly damaged and some totally destroyed by volcanic eruptions. Environmental geoscientists might study methods of diverting lava flows or ways to predict eruptions. They might also study the earth’s movement over time to predict where the next earthquake will hit or to offer advice on construction and land use projects. Environmental geoscientists spend a lot of time in the field, but they also spend a great deal of time in their laboratories in pursuit of answers. What follows is a sampling of the current research efforts of the faculty in the environmental geosciences program at Notre Dame: The Geologic Time Scale It looks very different from a Hallmark® calendar. Rocks, fossils, and other artifacts mark its “pages.” The function of the geologic time scale is to help researchers understand the world in which we live. Since the Earth is constantly changing, knowledge of its features and the natural processes relating to the Earth’s past are just as vital to understanding the planet today as is mineralogy, petrology, structural geology, oceanography, and environmental geology. Contrary to what the Jurassic Park movies would have people believe, fossils encompass more than dinosaur bones. They are the remains -- bones, shells, leaves, and other evidence such as tracks, burrows, or impressions -- of life on earth millions of years ago. Researchers who study fossils are called paleontologists. The purpose of their work is to determine what happened in earth’s history and when it happened. The three most important things to remember about fossils are: • They represent the remains of once-living organisms. • Most of the fossils found belong to extinct species. • The fossils found in rocks of different ages are also different because life on earth has throughout time. Often the rocks in which fossils were formed provide as much useful information about the environment or a historic natural event as do the fossils themselves. For example, in 1999 a team led by J. Keith Rigby, associate professor of civil engineering and geological sciences, studied an area near the village of Chuanjie in the Yunnan Province of China in order to determine the age of the materials found there and develop an understanding of what happened to the dinosaurs buried at the site. “What we discovered,” says Rigby, “indicates three separate burial events, meaning the site was visited continually or at least predictably for some time.” Rigby believes there was some kind of mechanism to draw the animals into the area, such as a playa lake, much like the temporary lakes formed in the mountain basins of the western United States. It is likely that the water grew so rich in mineral deposits that it became toxic and killed the creatures that drank from the lake. Clues from the soil and rock at the site support the theory that the site was covered by three individual mud flows, probably during rainy seasons, burying the carcasses and setting the stage for the next playa lake and burial event. Rigby has also been very involved in several digs and a museum project at Fort Peck, Mont. When completed, the Fort Peck Interpretative Museum will feature a display of up to 60 dinosaurs with supporting specimens from the environment of their day ... all based on the information found in the fossils themselves and the rocks surrounding them. The information gained from studying the past will hopefully help in understanding the world of today, its natural chemical and physical processes. Clues from the past can guide industry in the search for new sources of water, oil, and coal. They may help researchers determine where to expect earthquakes, floods, or landslides. They can also assist mankind in becoming better stewards of the environment. By knowing what happened on earth in the past and why, man can make the future world a better one.