Jordan
As a co-director of the Dhiban Excavation and Development Project (DEDP) I am interested in understanding the landscape history of the area surrounding Tall Dhiban, in central Jordan, where marginal soils and arid conditions have made subsistence a challenge for thousands of years. Occupation at the site dates back to the Bronze Age, indicating that people have found ways to manage water resources and agricultural needs despite these environmental difficulties. Ongoing work by Knox students involves materials analysis of ceramic, plaster and faience from the site.
Presentations by Knox Students
Self, Jia, 2023, Ceramic Petrography: Analyzing Sherds from Dhiban, Jordan. Knox College Horizons Symposium, poster.
Adelsberger, K.A., S. Kasaju, B. Routledge, A. Farahani, A. Wilson, B.W. Porter and D.S. Fatkin, 2011, Slope sedimentation and soil development at Tall Dhiban, Jordan: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 43, no. 5, p.247.
Illinois
The glaciated landscapes of northwestern Illinois provide great potential for investigations into the relationship between soils and people. Knox College’s biological field station, Green Oaks, preserves some of the oldest reconstructed prairies in North America as well as forested land, an end-cut lake, and spoil banks left over from coal mining in Knox County in the 1970s. Soil investigations at Green Oaks and beyond are ongoing with the help of student researchers. Topics include soil recovery from historical agricultural activities, soil phosphorous in restored and native prairies, as well as characteristics of mining spoil bank soils. Knox has also recently started an archaeological survey project at the field station, which will continue in future field seasons.
Recent work by Knox student researchers has also focused on developing a standardized laboratory method to remove and quantify the presence of microplastics in local sediments and soils. Ongoing work will aim to track the quantity of microplastic particles deposited in local river systems.
Presentations by Knox Students
Daniel Bien, Kore Marshall, and Juan Ramirez, 2022, Environmental Microplastics in Freshwater Systems of Knox County. Knox College Horizons Symposium, oral presentation.
Wright, N., R. Cho, and K.A Adelsberger, 2019, Spatial variability of soil characteristics in restored and native prairie ecosystems of Illinois. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 51, No. 5.
Adelsberger, K.A., A.J. Steffen, and S.K. Allison, 2015. Phosphorous characterization in a restored and managed tallgrass prairie using 31P NMR. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, Vol. 47, No. 7, p.594.
North Africa
As the geoarchaeologist on projects in Dakhleh Oasis in the Western Desert of Egypt and Sai Island in northern Sudan, I previously had the opportunity to work with archaeological teams investigating human-environmental interactions in deeper time. The key component of human access to water (groundwater in Egypt, the Nile in Sudan) introduces interesting questions about habitability and the reasoning for human decisions regarding settlement location. Ongoing work by Knox students in this area involves analysis of iron deposits from a late Pleistocene wetland in what is now the Western Desert of Egypt.
Presentations by Knox Students
Adelsberger, K.A., D.L. Hill, J.R. Smith, and E.A.A. Garcea, 2013. Alluvial Sedimentology of a Holocene Archaeological Transition at Sai Island, Sudan: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 45, no. 7, p. 96.
Quesnell, K. A., Adelsberger, K. and Dybas, L., 2012, The paleomicrobiology and geomicrobiology of the Dakhleh Oasis, Egypt with scanning electron microscopy. Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science, Suppl. to vol. 105. Abstract.