Date: May 01, 2012

Geology Department to Host U.S. Geological Survey Water Science Symposium

Featuring Research and Projects Concerning Long Island and Manhattan Areas

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY – On May 3, 2012 the Department of Geology at Hofstra University will be host to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Water Science Symposium.  The event begins at 9:15a.m. with opening remarks and includes a series of panels and research presentations that conclude at 3:15 p.m. All events are free and open to the public and will take place in the Leo A. Guthart Cultural Center Theater – South Campus.

Two morning panels will address the impact of hurricanes on Long Island and in New York City:  at 9:50 a.m. researchers will examine “Tracking the storm tide from Hurricane Irene” followed by a second panel called “Identifying and Dating Hurricane over wash deposits in marsh sediments on the south shore of Long Island”.  Click here for the full schedule.

The symposium will feature presentations by USGS scientists as well as by Hofstra faculty and a student in the Geology Department.  Other topics to be addressed include maintaining groundwater quality on Long Island, investigating New York City’s water supply tunnels, and gas deposits in the Marcellus Shale.  

Currently, two alumni are working at the USGS Water Science Center in Coram, New York, and will be participating in the symposium: Dr. Frederick Stumm ’87, and Michael Como ’09.  At least 25 geology alumni are currently employed in water science and environmental remediation, many in the New York region. Geology Department Chairman Charles Merguerian, PhD, is researching the bedrock geology of New York City and has appeared as an expert on CNN and in The New York Times.  Geology professors Christa Farmer, PhD, and  Bret Bennington, PhD, are currently working on a project to reconstruct the history of major hurricane impacts on Long Island from sediment cores.  These projects will be discussed in two of the symposium presentations.

The United States Geological Survey is a science organization administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior that provides impartial information on the health of our ecosystems and environment, the natural hazards that threaten us, the natural resources we rely on, the impacts of climate and land-use change, and the core science systems that help us provide timely, relevant, and usable information. The USGS serves the Nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life.

Hofstra University is a dynamic private institution where students can choose from about 140 undergraduate and more than 150 graduate programs in liberal arts and sciences, business; engineering; communication; education, health and human services; and honors studies, as well as a School of Law and the Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine.

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