By: Kory Lanphear
Photos: Bailey Sadowsky
Be honest: when was the last time you thought about rocks? Most likely, the answer is “never.”
Luckily, there is Chelsea Pederson, Ph.D., Assistant Geology Professor at South Dakota Mines. She thinks about the importance of rocks on a daily basis.
“We have to know what came before us to know how to properly and effectively move forward,” she said. “What are we building on, where is our water coming from? Where do you want to build your house — on stable, hard rock that’s not going to dissolve or have the potential for major structural changes. And then, there is how we identify, map, and extract minerals and energy
reserves.”
As a sedimentologist, Dr. Pederson studies rocks and sediments to decode how rocks were formed and what’s happened to them since then. That information can help clarify things like how our climate has changed over millions of years.
Originally from Sonoma County, California, Dr. Pederson moved to Rapid City from Mississippi, where she worked at the University of Southern Mississippi. Her path, however, has been distinctly global.
She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Miami, where she also competed in NCAA soccer. After completing her doctorate, she relocated to Germany to pursue postdoctoral research and, while there, played professional soccer. Her career has since taken her across continents, with professional roles in Abu Dhabi and the Bahamas before returning to the States.
Now, at S.D. Mines, Dr. Pederson instructs undergraduate and graduate students in sedimentology and stratigraphy as part of the Geology program.
“This fall, I’m teaching both a lecture and a lab. The lab has been one of my favorite classes that I’ve ever taught,” said Dr. Pederson. “This semester we’ve taken our students out to explore, touch, feel, smell, and in some instances even taste the rocks! Here, the students get to experience so much in terms of geology. It’s an amazing place to teach my academic passion.”
The lab trips included going to Deadwood to see “basement” or metamorphic rocks where tectonic uplift has exposed ancient rocks. To end the semester, the class explored Rushmore Cave.
“Depending on where you go, you can find better exposures of certain types of formations. Often road cuts are a great place for geology because they create fresh surfaces and things can pop out at us visually,” Dr.
Pederson said.
Just outside of Rapid City, for example, Falling Rock presents a spectacular overview of different formations that records how things have changed over geologic time. The Badlands also demonstrates the uplift of older metamorphic rock which provides a bigger-picture context.
“Myself and a colleague from Germany are soon going to be teaching The Flugel Course in Carbonate Stratigraphy. It’s a highly sought after course that was created and based in Germany for the last 60 years,” she said. “It will be the first time it has ever been taught in the United States, and it will be based here at School of Mines. People from all over will come here for the course and to see the Black Hills’ geology, which is awesome because it’s kind of a hidden treasure.”
Teaching is only one aspect of Dr. Pederson’s role at Mines. She is also participating in multiple research projects, including two funded by the Naval Research Lab. One project examines ocean sediments and data to better predict which minerals might occur where and at what depths, because only a very small percentage of the oceans are mapped.
The third part of Dr. Pederson’s role at Mines is service to the community, and she’s very eager to get involved. The abundant mix of effort and ease that can be found in the Black Hills played a big role in the decision to make Rapid City her home.
“I have a husband, two young kids, and a dog. We love to be out in nature. When I was looking to make a transition, I knew we wanted to be somewhere with topography and somewhere where we could really tap into the type of lifestyle that we were wanting,” Dr. Pederson said. “You think it can’t get friendlier than the South, but it did! Our neighbors threw us a welcome potluck and all of the neighbors came. People here are so welcoming and we’re excited to now call this region home.”
Original Article available in the January edition of Elevate Magazine
