Registration for the AIPG MN Section's March 5th, 2024, technical talk is now open online!

The March technical talk is co-hosted by the MN Section of AIPG and the Minnesota Chapter of the Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG MN Chapter)!

The cost is $10 for non-members and $5 for members. Students may attend free of charge. 

As always, non-members and non-geologists are welcome to attend!   

Fees go toward supporting the online meeting platform and the Education Fund. Your contribution to the Education Fund helps support many activities, please see our Giving Back page.

Insights Into the Southwestern Superior Province: New Geophysics, Geochronology, and Geochemistry in Northwestern Minnesota

Presented by Amy Radakovich Block, PG, Minnesota Geological Survey

Presentation Overview

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI) program recently funded a high-resolution airborne geophysical survey and acquisition of new geochronologic, petrologic, and geochemical data in a part of northwestern Minnesota that is prospective for numerous Archean critical-mineral-producing systems. The Minnesota Geological Survey (MGS) worked in concert with the USGS, the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI), and the MN Department of Natural Resources (MNDNR) to collect and interpret these data and produce a new geologic map and forthcoming technical report and mineral potential model of this five-county area.

The study area comprises several subprovinces of the Superior Province, a vast, stable Archean craton that stretches from the north-central United States to east-central Canada. Previous geologic mapping in the area was limited by an absence of outcrop, sparse drill hole data, and the existence of only one geochronologic age. New data support 1:100,000 scale re-mapping and comprehensive re-interpretation of the geologic setting and mineral potential of northwestern Minnesota. This presentation will highlight 7+ new geochronologic ages and will summarize what these ages and 130+ new detailed geochemical analyses can tell us about the tectonic evolution of the southwestern Archean Superior Province. Crucial new geophysical interpretations of the Mentor Anorthosite Intrusive Complex will also be discussed. 
 

Biography

Amy Radakovich Block, P.G., is a geologist with the Minnesota Geological Survey (MGS), where her work focuses on mapping the Precambrian bedrock geology and bedrock topography of the state of MN. She received her B.S. in geology from St. Norbert College and her M.S. in geology from the University of Minnesota Duluth before joining the MGS in 2013. The bulk of Amy's career has been spent mapping Midcontinent Rift rocks in northeastern Minnesota and Neoarchean terranes in west-central and northwestern Minnesota. Amy serves as a regional delegate for the Association for Women Geoscientists (AWG), is the assistant treasurer for the Institute on Lake Superior Geology (ILSG), and currently serves on the board of the SME Southern Subsection. She is also dedicated to DEI work at the University of Minnesota, and passionate about making science accessible to the public.