Since the 1960s, geology has been revolutionized by the discovery of tectonic plates and plate collisions. After a brief introduction, this lecture will explore diagrams, photographs, and descriptions of plate collisions. How can you tell whether you are looking at a present or past collision? In some cases, rocks even record more than one collision.
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Many people wish they understood more about the rocks they encounter while traveling, and this lecture is intended to open new perspectives on the incredible arena of plate tectonics. Attendees will also have the opportunity to examine rock samples that evince past, massive, ultra-slow collisions at their localities. This offers the rare chance to quite literally touch the train wreck.
In-person attendance option
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This program will be presented virtually via Zoom webinar. If you would prefer to attend this program in-person at the Linda Hall Library, please follow this link to register:
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Mr. Shefchik has BS and MS degrees in geology from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. His Master’s thesis was a geologic mapping project of complex, alpine folding and thrust faulting in the high and remote mountains of central Idaho. .
He worked as a geologist for Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company, in Kansas City, for 37 years. Having spent a significant part of his career in the field, logging rock and soil cores, and overseeing the drilling of numerous water wells, he was privileged to see a tremendous variety of geologic settings close-up. In all kinds of weather.
He contributed geological expertise to over 500 projects, all over the US. Many of these were foundation investigations (including core drilling and geophysics) for new, large, heavily loaded structures, including power plants, water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, highway and rail bridges, solar farms, wind farms, airports, and steel mills.
He was heavily involved in geological and hydrogeological investigations to assess the stability of numerous, existing (old), large, concrete and rock-fill dams.He also investigated a wide variety of underground mines that were at risk of collapse, or actuallyundergoing gradual collapse, and in a number of cases, participated in the mitigation of risk from these mines by monitoring [early warning], and remediating them by backfilling, removing the risk of future collapse.
Mr. Shefchik applied his expertise in hydrogeology to numerous projects, including the design of water supply wellfields, plus groundwater investigations, assessments, and cleanups for both new and existing sanitary landfills, hazardous waste landfills, polluted industrial sites, old metal smelters, and several huge petroleum refineries. He contributed remedial wellfield designs to projects which have caused the cleanup of over eight billion gallons of contaminated groundwater.
Mr. Shefchik served as expert witness in geology and hydrogeology, providing litigation support in over two dozen cases by performing geological and hydrogeological analysis, to allow for just, reasonable, scientifically-based resolution of legal disputes. In addition to providing geological evaluations and explanations to the parties, he provided testimony in multiple depositions, in mediation meetings, and in court. He has also made many presentations at public hearings, government hearings, technical conferences, and has lectured at various universities and science organizations, including the glorious Linda Hall Library.
