IGS staff members talk to a group of students

IGS Demonstrates Well Installation and Soil Core Extraction

Friday, June 7, 2024
Matthew Streeter and Thomas Stoeffler led a demonstration for Muscatine high school students at the Muscatine Agriculture Learning Center. They showcased the operation of a drill rig to install a monitoring well and extract soil cores to teach soil health principles
Okoboji regional flow maps

Groundwater Flow in Hummocky Glacial Terrain in the Iowa Great Lakes Area

Friday, May 17, 2024
Iowa Geological Survey researchers investigated groundwater flow patterns within the Spring Run pothole wetland complex located east of East Lake Okoboji. Results are helping IGS develop a better understanding of the hydrology present within the IGL watershed and the larger PPR region.
Multi-colored rocks

Hydrogeologists’ Corner: Understanding Groundwater

Monday, February 5, 2024
The field of hydrogeology (hydro- meaning water, and -geology meaning the study of the earth) is the area of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of groundwater in the subsurface. Groundwater can be an abstract idea to folks because it is occurs below ground and cannot be directly observed.
Photo of wetlands

Monitoring the Impacts of an Agricultural Wetland

Thursday, December 21, 2023
Anyone who has driven across Iowa knows that the state is dominated by agriculture. But among the fields lined with corn, soybean, and livestock, a new feature is becoming more common: wetlands.
A box containing rock samples

Dating Minerals to Determine the Age of Iowa’s Rocks

Monday, December 11, 2023
Evidence of how Iowa has evolved over Earth’s 4.6-billion-year history is preserved in the rocks. The job of an IGS geologist is to study these rocks using a variety of tools and methods and from the data collected continue to reveal and refine our understanding of that history.