Graphics Provided for Discovery Channel
Charles Dowding of Northwestern University requested that Illinois State Geological Survey staff prepare electronic stratigraphic columns and descriptions of bedrock down to at least 2,000 feet in the Chicago area. The materials were to be used during an interview by the Discovery Channel for "You Can't Build That!" The show examined the topic of building a city 2,000 feet below Chicago. The show provided questions for ISGS geologists about materials that would be encountered and wanted graphics that would be shown behind the interviewee and host. Curt Abert at ISGS created an animation of the state of Illinois showing the location of Chicago. The view then spins to the northeast corner of the state and expands to view the geology below the city. Robert Bauer added a stratigraphic column and labeling for the final frames of the animation and provided strength properties for the various layers of bedrock. Donald Mikulic provided information about the geologic history and descriptions of the various layers of bedrock. He also answered many of the questions concerning the character of the bedrock materials, mining history, potential impacts from the massive amount of rock waste materials that would be removed in such a project, and ground water impacts. All of the materials were provided by the ISGS in electronic format.