144
required only two people—my assistant and myself. In spite of its downsizing, the
ultra-light vibracorer could still collect 30 ft. (9.1 m) long cores in the metal tubes.
Once again, I had a great time drilling the back-barrier wetlands and tidal channels of Georgia’s barrier islands. My colleague, Dr. V.J. (Jim) Henry had a World
War II landing craft that he converted into a research vessel (Fig. 9.6). This carried
the vibracorer and three worker bees (VJ, his post-doc, Faisal M. Idris, and me)
through tidal channels deep into the Georgia salt marshes (Fig. 9.7). Jim would
anchor his landing craft and dive into the tidal channels for an afternoon swim. I
would jump in and hang on to a rope tied to the boat because the tidal currents associated with 3 m (9.8 ft) diurnal tides were strong enough to sweep me away.
Meanwhile, the alligators were roaring like lions. But no worries, we were collecting cores and enjoying the natural beauty of the geologic landscape. For me, field
work in remote natural areas is akin to going on vacation.
Onward to the North Carolina Geological Survey (NCGS) in 1991. Stationed at
a Core Storage Facility to boot! A library for rocks: this to me, is Nirvana! (Fig. 9.8).
Many coring operations that I participated in or observed during this period included
big rigs capable of drilling deep coreholes, and, the cores were then stored in our
rock library! A mud-rotary, wireline coring operation, for example, collected a
1300 ft. (400 m) long core at Kure Beach, NC. This core, collected during a project
related to aquifers and water resources, penetrated a thick section of Cretaceous
rocks that were deposited when dinosaurs inhabited what was to become the eastern
United States 66 million years later.
Another project where I participated as a collaborator with Drs. Steve Culver,
Dave Mallinson and Stan Riggs of East Carolina University, and others, included
cores that penetrated the Quaternary section beneath North Carolina’s Outer Banks
barrier islands and the adjacent mainland (Fig. 9.9). I also drilled scores of coreholes to describe the shallow stratigraphy (<300 ft. = <90 m) of parts of the Neuse
Fig. 9.6 Jim Henry’s WWII landing craft refurbished for coastal research in Georgia. Note the
load of 30 ft. (9.1 m) aluminum vibracore pipes (Image by K.M. Farrell)
K. M. Farrell
required only two people—my assistant and myself. In spite of its downsizing, the
ultra-light vibracorer could still collect 30 ft. (9.1 m) long cores in the metal tubes.
Once again, I had a great time drilling the back-barrier wetlands and tidal channels of Georgia’s barrier islands. My colleague, Dr. V.J. (Jim) Henry had a World
War II landing craft that he converted into a research vessel (Fig. 9.6). This carried
the vibracorer and three worker bees (VJ, his post-doc, Faisal M. Idris, and me)
through tidal channels deep into the Georgia salt marshes (Fig. 9.7). Jim would
anchor his landing craft and dive into the tidal channels for an afternoon swim. I
would jump in and hang on to a rope tied to the boat because the tidal currents associated with 3 m (9.8 ft) diurnal tides were strong enough to sweep me away.
Meanwhile, the alligators were roaring like lions. But no worries, we were collecting cores and enjoying the natural beauty of the geologic landscape. For me, field
work in remote natural areas is akin to going on vacation.
Onward to the North Carolina Geological Survey (NCGS) in 1991. Stationed at
a Core Storage Facility to boot! A library for rocks: this to me, is Nirvana! (Fig. 9.8).
Many coring operations that I participated in or observed during this period included
big rigs capable of drilling deep coreholes, and, the cores were then stored in our
rock library! A mud-rotary, wireline coring operation, for example, collected a
1300 ft. (400 m) long core at Kure Beach, NC. This core, collected during a project
related to aquifers and water resources, penetrated a thick section of Cretaceous
rocks that were deposited when dinosaurs inhabited what was to become the eastern
United States 66 million years later.
Another project where I participated as a collaborator with Drs. Steve Culver,
Dave Mallinson and Stan Riggs of East Carolina University, and others, included
cores that penetrated the Quaternary section beneath North Carolina’s Outer Banks
barrier islands and the adjacent mainland (Fig. 9.9). I also drilled scores of coreholes to describe the shallow stratigraphy (<300 ft. = <90 m) of parts of the Neuse
Fig. 9.6 Jim Henry’s WWII landing craft refurbished for coastal research in Georgia. Note the
load of 30 ft. (9.1 m) aluminum vibracore pipes (Image by K.M. Farrell)
K. M. Farrell