![\"This](\"http:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Oak-Openings-Region-UTNews-copy.jpg\")
<\/a>This digital elevation model by Dr. Tim Fisher shows the Oak Openings Ridge (at grey elevations) formed initially as a spit of land built into glacial Lake Warren about 14,200 years ago. After Lake Warren drained, wind from the west reworked much of the sand into thousands of parabolic-shaped sand dunes that migrated onto the flat lake plain east of the spit, according to the UT professor. Only a few of the dunes are indicated by the white circles. The Wilkins Road dune just south of the bike trail was found to be 12,500 years old. Other sand dunes in the area range between 13,000 and 8,200 years old. The distribution of the flora and fauna in the Oak Openings region, much of it on state endangered lists, has adapted to this unique sandy environment.<\/p><\/div>The origins of the Oak Openings region were investigated in the study titled \u201cStratigraphic and Chronologic Analysis of the Warren Beach, Northwest Ohio, USA.\u201d<\/p>\n
Conducting the research were Melinda Higley, UT alumna and doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Dr. Tim Fisher, UT professor of geology and associate editor of the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences; Dr. Harry Jol, professor of geography and anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire; Dr. Kenneth Lepper, associate professor of geology at North Dakota State University; and Dr. James Martin-Hayden, UT associate professor of geology.<\/p>\n
\u201cMelinda was curious to know how much sand was in the Oak Openings region and wanted to get a better idea about what the depositional environment was for the large sand ridge,\u201d Fisher said. <\/p>\n
The results of the study indicated that the Oak Openings Region is a spit, a landform developed along a shoreline where sand builds a ridge out into deeper water. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe research filled in a lot of information about something not known much about. In general, we knew what happened in the past, but we didn\u2019t have any specific details,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cMelinda collected 4.4 line kilometers of ground-penetrating radar data, which is a lot of work, as part of a master\u2019s thesis; so we had quite a broad dataset to work with. We also used a variety of other techniques, which added strength to the interpretations in our conclusion. It\u2019s a fairly detailed and thorough study of an important landscape in northwest Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n
Researchers also gained an understanding about the various layers of sand the area contains, the thickness of the sand, and the depositional environment such as off-shore sand, beach sand, and sand blown up into dunes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a better idea about how old the area is,\u201d Fisher said. <\/p>\n
The researchers used a technique called optically stimulated luminescence dating to determine that the Oak Opening ridge formed about 14,000 years ago, and the sand dunes adjacent and overtop it formed between 13,000 and 8,000 years ago. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the goal of what we do in geology. Most of the events we study are in the past, but part of what we are trying to do is reconstruct the past to understand the present and be able to predict the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Editor\u2019s Choice award recognizes articles of particularly high-quality and topical importance. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an international journal so you\u2019re being recognized by the editor of an international journal, which tells you that you\u2019re doing high-quality research,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cThe department, faculty and students are being recognized internationally for the work they are doing, so that should raise the prestige of the department, college and University. We want to have a high-quality program, and this is evidence that we\u2019re growing and moving in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n
The journal\u2019s editor-in-chief also granted Internet users permanent, open access to the article, a privilege given to a few, select articles each year. <\/p>\n
\u201cLooking at a landscape is sort of like looking at a painting; it\u2019s a bunch of colors and shapes. But if you know more about the artist, the artist\u2019s background, and what\u2019s going on at the time, with that information you suddenly appreciate that painting a lot more. It\u2019s the same with geologic landscapes. You look at it and it\u2019s pretty, but if you recognize the different elements of it and understand what the story is behind it, you\u2019ll have a better appreciation for it.\u201d <\/p>\n