Volcanic Activity in Virginia

Volcanic Activity in Virginia

  When most people think about Virginia, volcanoes do not immediately come to mind. However, many of us are living and working on top of what used to be one of the most volcanically active places in the world. On a recent soil study in Fauquier County, we uncovered tangible evidence of our states tumultuous geologic history. Pictured above is a piece of lower Jurassic vesicular basalt. This odd looking rock was formed between 201 and 174 million years ago as the ancient supercontinent Pangaea, broke apart to form the Atlantic Ocean and the continents of Africa and North America. While the Earth’s continents appear to be static, they are actually continuously moving around on giant “islands” of the Earth’s crust called tectonic plates. These plates move at a rate of about one inch per year, driven by convection currents in the soft upper portion of the mantle. This movement results in a number of interactions between tectonic plates and can result the creation and destruction of mountains, ocean and continents as well as the formation of, volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis and more. When the supercontinent Pangea broke apart during the lower Jurassic period, lava from beneath the Earth’s crust rose to the surface and flooded onto the land forming the igneous rock basalt. The vesicles (cavities) that are apparent in the basalt that we uncovered resulted from the process of extrusion.  As the magma rose to the surface of the Earth (extruded) the gases that were dissolved in the hot magma expanded as the pressure decreased. When the magma quickly cooled upon reaching the surface, the gas bubbles froze in place leaving behind a vesicular texture. Not that we think soil is boring, but its little discoveries like this that help to keep us excited about going out day after day, playing in the dirt. -Nick...

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New Soil Tech for Hadley Environmental – Nicholas Jewitt

New Soil Tech for Hadley Environmental – Nicholas Jewitt

We are happy to announce that Nicholas Jewett has recently joined the Hadley Environmental team as our new soil science technician. He is currently pursuing his Masters of Science in Environmental Science at Johns Hopkins University. Nick tells us that he has been enjoying the opportunity to apply his background knowledge of geology, hydrology, and soil science to find solutions for real world situations. We are excited to help foster his growth as a soil science...

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Congratulations to Newly Licensed Onsite Soil Evaluator Rick Hadley

Congratulations to Newly Licensed Onsite Soil Evaluator Rick Hadley

Rick Hadley has passed his Onsite Soils Evaluator Test through the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation. Rick is now licensed by the Board for Waterworks and Wastewater Operators and Onsite Sewage System Professionals for his Conventional Onsite Soil Evaluator License. Feel free to contact Rick for your next soil evaluation, drainfield construction permit, well permit, certification letter, or...

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Streamlined Solutions & Services

Streamlined Solutions & Services

Our company was formed to make the process of obtaining a health department sewage disposal permit, well permit, or certification letter as easy as possible for our clients.  This process can be very confusing and time consuming without an experienced team.  We will coordinate the entire process for you, or just complete the soils work and application packet for health department submittal. Many of our clients like the one stop shop idea. Having one contact makes the job less cumbersome and keeps things on the right track. Hadley Environmental Services will be your project manager, including soils, survey, engineering design, site plans, system installation, and wetland delineation.  We are happy to coordinate one or several of these services.  We believe we have the right experienced affiliates to give you the best product on the market at competitive...

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