San Salvador Island provides a natural laboratory for undergraduate and graduate students to compare the history preserved in rock with the modern environment.
Ten students from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, spent spring break in the Bahamas, investigating the geological history and honing their abilities to observe, record, analyze, and interpret as part of a Field Geology course.
“San Salvador Island is an incredible natural laboratory where students can explore a range of geologic and environmental science topics, including marine geology, coastal geomorphology, sedimentary rock formation, cave formation, and water resources,” said Johns/Bibee Professor Alycia Stigall, head of the Department of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences (EEPS), who led the course with Professor Daniel Hembree.
Upper-level undergraduates and graduate students can take the course more than once, and the locations shift. “Each field course teaches foundational skills such as geologic observation, field notebook production, analyzing rock units, and interpreting multiple geologic settings,” Stigall said.
“We teach many of the same skills in the classroom and laboratory on campus,” said Hembree, “but putting these skills into practice in the field is an entirely different, and essential, experience.”
In 2024, the class explored the Appalachian Mountains in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia, and the following year they traveled to northern Arizona to study the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest National Park, Hoover Dam, and volcanic fields.
“EEPS faculty are working on developing field courses to a number of different locations to provide students with as much experience as possible,” said Hembree. “Each one has its own unique focus, but the skills that are taught and applied are the same.”
This was the first time Stigall and Hembree have taken UT students to San Salvador Island, where Troy Dexter (MS geology, ’06) is director of the Gerace Research Station. On the site of a former US naval base, the center allows students and researchers to study not only geology, but archaeology, biology, anthropology, marine science, and more. “We are looking forward to an ongoing partnership,” Stigall said.
Pleistocene to the Present
Starting at about 8 a.m. each day, the students traveled by van to multiple locations around the island, where they walked along rocky coastlines, crawled in caves, and examined exposed rock between thorny plants.
“We examined eolian dune deposits, karst formations that created extensive underground cave systems, preserved coral reefs, and trace fossil evidence of past life recorded in the rocks,” said Courtney McHan, a junior geology major. “After lunch, we shifted our focus to the modern environment by snorkeling in the ocean. This allowed us to observe an active beach system firsthand, including coral reefs and ripple marks in the sand.”
With her focus on hydrogeology, graduate student Claire Bohman usually is thinking in terms of building a model for future events, such as what might happen in an aquifer during a storm surge. This course required her to learn what she can infer about the past from her observations in the present.
“We spent all morning looking at prehistoric reefs and fossilized reefs and fossilized dunes,” said Bohman. “Then we were in the water seeing reef formation happen in real time, and in a couple hundred thousand years this reef might look like what we found up on the rock formation today.”
Stigall said, “The ability to link modern and ancient is truly unparalleled and really allows students to build complex and holistic understanding of geologic processes.”
“Understanding how planets form and evolve has fascinated me for as long as I can remember,” McHan said. “I enjoy learning how the Earth is constantly evolving, from ancient geological history to the dynamic systems we observe today. Experiences like this field course have strengthened my interest in pursuing a career in geology and given me a clearer picture of what that could look like.”
Support for Learning
After dinner the students met with Stigall and Hembree to review the day’s observations, preview the next day’s plan, and work on completing their field notebooks.
Bohman earned her undergraduate degree in atmospheric science and was drawn to UT for graduate school because of the opportunities to work in hydrogeology and modeling, skills that can lead to careers in areas such as the oil industry. “I came in with absolutely no knowledge of field notebook techniques, how to write one, how to take good field notes,” she said. “By the time I left, I had this whole new skill set. My field notebook skills grew exponentially.”
All the students supported each other as they were learning. “As someone that came in a little unsure, an older student, a master’s student that had never done this before, I never felt stupid for not knowing something,” Bohman said. “It was always an exciting opportunity for Alycia or another student to show me their knowledge.”
“UT is an incredible place to do something new, do something challenging, and do it in a welcoming environment,” she said.
“Field Geology is a course that truly allows students to take their classroom knowledge to a new level of understanding and synthesis,” Stigall said. “It’s a tremendously important and impactful course which is made possible through donations of our alumni and friends.”
The Patrick A. Hammond Field Experience Fund, Bob and Diana Hatcher Field Trip Endowment, the William Ross Field Camp Scholarships, and Don W. Byerly Field Camp Scholarships all provide funding for students taking the course. “We are also seeking additional support to expand these types of experiences for our students,” Stigall said.
Connecting classroom insights to real-world experience allows EEPS to develop leaders who will shape the future of the geosciences.
by Amy Beth Miller