{"id":36042,"date":"2015-03-25T09:16:06","date_gmt":"2015-03-25T13:16:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=36042"},"modified":"2017-04-11T15:05:51","modified_gmt":"2017-04-11T19:05:51","slug":"geology-gem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2015\/03\/25\/geology-gem\/","title":{"rendered":"Geology gem"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"David<\/a>

David Schmidt, director of undergraduate programs in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, has found a welcoming audience in the community for his research on how geology has influenced the Dayton region\u2019s history.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Dayton region sits over enormous underground canyons that would likely be national parks if they were on the surface.<\/p>\n

The region\u2019s plentiful supply of fresh clean water is largely responsible for Dayton\u2019s rise as a major manufacturing center in the 20th century.<\/p>\n

And Dayton\u2019s limestone-like dolostone was quarried centuries ago, but can still be seen today in building foundations, curbs, tombstones and the Old Courthouse.<\/p>\n

These are some of the geologic gems in the arsenal of David Schmidt, Ph.D., director of undergraduate programs in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences<\/a> at Wright State\u2019s College of Science and Mathematics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And Schmidt has begun sharing his wealth of knowledge with local residents as part of the university\u2019s community outreach efforts.<\/p>\n

Schmidt\u2019s presentation in February \u2014 titled \u201cBoulders, Bedrock and Brewing Water: How Local Geology has Influenced the History of Oakwood and the Surrounding Area\u201d \u2014 drew a standing-room-only audience of more than 115 people to The Oakwood Historical Society.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was obvious with people sitting on the floor and spilling out the doorway that this was a topic of great interest,\u201d the society wrote in its newsletter.<\/p>\n

Schmidt grew up in a west Kettering home surrounded by vacant lots and new construction that supplied ample piles of dirt and rock to explore.<\/p>\n

\"David<\/a>

David Schmidt received bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees in geology at Wright State and now recruits and advises undergraduate students in the College of Science and Mathematics<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThere was always fresh stuff,\u201d he said. \u201cI liked puzzling over the rocks, especially the fossils that I would find there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schmidt received his bachelor\u2019s and master\u2019s degrees in geology at Wright State and his Ph.D. in geology from The Ohio State University, where he investigated the paleontology and sedimentary geology of Ohio and Indiana.<\/p>\n

He was hired by Wright State in 2007 and primarily recruits and advises undergraduate students.<\/p>\n

His interest in local geology, its effect on the human history of the area and how it can lead to future economic growth and jobs led to the development of his presentation. That growth could create demand for scientists who understand how to treat water and do environmental permitting.<\/p>\n

The region has 1.5 trillion gallons of fresh clean water. It is a prize that would be valued by other areas such as southern California, which is moving to purify seawater, and by Florida, where sinkholes created by overdrawing water out of the ground are swallowing cars and homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of places are hurting for water, whereas we almost have too much of it,\u201d said Schmidt. \u201cWe have this tremendous fresh-water aquifer system underlying Dayton. The Great Miami River is a little puddle over this huge buried canyon that is full of water.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the area\u2019s early geologic history, bedrock was deposited, the seas receded, and the area was subjected to a long phase of weathering and erosion. Large canyons were cut into the bedrock.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we didn\u2019t have all of the glacial material over the top, we might have some spectacular national parks here because these canyons are miles wide and hundreds of feet deep,\u201d Schmidt said.<\/p>\n

Much of the bedrock underlying the region is called the Dayton Formation and consists of dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock that contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go into the old neighborhoods like Grafton and St. Anne\u2019s Hill, you see this rock used in building foundations, the stone curbs, gate posts and tombstones,\u201d Schmidt said. \u201cIt was used before concrete became widespread and was used for just about anything you can think of concrete being used for.\u201d<\/p>\n

The enormous reservoir of underground water was instrumental in Dayton\u2019s economic development, helping give rise to NCR, Delco, Frigidaire, soap companies and breweries. Businessman Adam Schantz of Oakwood had a patent for aerating and purifying water. Called Lily Water after the lily on the family crest, Schantz used the purified water in brewing and producing bottled water long before it was fashionable.<\/p>\n

The region had several hydraulic power districts that channeled river water to mills and other industries. Water wheels would provide rotary power through belts and pulleys for drill presses, lathes, sewing machines and other machinery.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t hear much about that, but it\u2019s an important part of Dayton\u2019s early history,\u201d Schmidt said.<\/p>\n

There is also a sizable, now largely underground waterway called Rubicon Creek that runs along the Dayton-Oakwood border. The creek powered local mills and was followed by the railroad line that brought the quarry rock into Dayton.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless you\u2019re looking at the history books, you may not even know that creek exists,\u201d Schmidt said.<\/p>\n

Businesses in Dayton were taking water out of the ground faster than it was going back in until about 1970, when manufacturing began to wind down. Today, the water table is back up and occasionally creates flooding problems for low-lying Sinclair Community College, the Montgomery County Administration Building and the University of Dayton Arena.<\/p>\n

The water is clean because as it percolates down through the sand and gravel, contaminants adhere to the surfaces of the particles. But the limestone makes it very hard, enabling water-softener companies to do a good business.<\/p>\n

When he is not recruiting and counseling students, Schmidt teaches an occasional class at Wright State. He says the university is a special place.<\/p>\n

\u201cI greatly enjoyed being a student here \u2014 the curiosity I developed and the wonderful instruction and advising that I had,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen I went up to Ohio State, the friends that I had made here in the department were very committed to my success.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schmidt\u2019s interests extend beyond geology. His outdoor adventures have included scrambling up mountains in Wyoming and Montana, canoeing past wild moose in Idaho, crawling through caves in Kentucky and scuba diving in the Bahamas.<\/p>\n

His favorite expression: \u201cWhat\u2019s the worst that could happen?\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wright State\u2019s David Schmidt finds welcoming audience for research on how geology has influenced the Dayton region\u2019s history. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":36044,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,4299,2066,711,725,715,746,2061],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-alumni-profile","category-earth-environmental-sciences","category-faculty-staff","category-home-news-sidebar","category-news","category-science-mathematics","category-undergraduate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36042"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36060,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36042\/revisions\/36060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36044"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}