Medical Geology Minerals

Dr. O'Keefe, Neace and Lemley's paper published in the 'International Journal ...

July 22, 2011 —     Morehead State University's Dr. Jen O’Keefe, associate professor of geology and science education in the Department of Earth and Space Sciences, and two MSU graduates, Erika Neace of Jackson, and Ed Lemley of Myra, had a research paper published in “The International Journal of Coal Geology.”     Dr. O’Keefe, who was the lead author for the paper, along with University of Kentucky’s Dr. Jim Hower and their team conducted a study of the “Old Smokey” coal fire, which is burning out of control beneath a mountain top site in Floyd County. The study was based on field observations completed in May and July of 2010 in conjunction with scientists and students from the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research.     "The main goal of this work was to complete an initial site survey and begin to quantify emissions from the vents,” said Dr. O’Keefe. “Now that this has been accomplished, the potential human health impacts and overall greenhouse gas contributions from the fire can be estimated. This fire is similar to other fires in eastern Kentucky in that it contributes relatively little to overall greenhouse gas budget, but is emitting several toxic compounds, including benzene, that are above NIOSH eight-hour exposure limits.     “This paper contains a small part of the on-going studies of emissions, minerals, and tars produced by coal fires burning across eastern Kentucky. We have spent the last several years making short-term measurements and are just beginning to understand coal fire dynamics in the Eastern Kentucky coalfield. We are now completing longer-term measurements of greenhouse gas emissions and working with experts in medical geology to explain the potential human health impacts of these fires.”     Dr. O’Keefe earned her Ph.D. degree in geology from UK. Since joining the MSU faculty in 2002, she has led and participated in numerous studies of coal along a spectrum from cradle (how coal formed) to grave (how coal combustion by-products behave in the environment). The teams of investigators she works with typically involve national and international collaborations and MSU undergraduate students.

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VOLCANO: Medical Geology Education -- Volcano

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Medical Geology Education
From: "Claire J. Horwell" < claire.horwell@xxxxxxxxxxxx >
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Dear All,

I am currently the Chair of IMGA's* Education Committee and am charged with carrying out a survey of opportunities for medical geology education.

We are developing and maintaining a list of academics and organizations seeking students for medical geology programs, to work on medical geology research projects, and as candidates for job opportunities. If you have, or anticipate having, an opportunity for students to advance their education and/or training we are asking you to fill out the form below and provide any other relevant details about the opportunity. This information will be compiled into a master database that will be available on the IMGA, SEGH, and GSA Geology and Health Division websites. The term 'medical geology' is broad and encompasses fields such as Environmental Health or Geochemistry and Health.

I would appreciate it greatly if you could help disseminate this request by passing it on to colleagues at your institution and others and through any other listservs that you may be a member of.

Please could you return any information to me by the end of August 2011.

Best wishes,

Claire Horwell
*International Medical Geology Association

IMGA Education Form

1.       Name

2.       Position

3.       University

4.       Department

5.       Country

6.       Email

7.       Your field of research

8.       Undergraduate course on offer - please include those with even just a single module relevant to medical geology and name module

9.       Postgraduate course on offer - Masters, Diploma or equivalent

10.   PhD on offer

11.   Job on offer

12.   Information on duration of offer

13.   Other information of interest


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