Charlotte Boehme at GSA
Author: Charlotte Boehme | Major: Geology, Physics | Semester: Fall 2025
On October 18th, 2025, I traveled to San Antonio, Texas to attend the annual meeting of the Geological Society of America (GSA). Although I was one of several University of Arkansas students who presented at this conference, I was the only undergraduate to present their research. This conference is usually attended by graduate students, professors, and geologists from both industry and the governments, so attending as an undergraduate was an exciting experience for me.
My research focuses on how climactic conditions during cave formation can influence the shape of cave passages, especially their cross-sectional shapes. I focus on a special case of cave passage shape, called a keyhole passage, where the cross section has a round top with a canyon incised in the bottom. This forms a keyhole shape in the cross section, which is where the passage type gets its name from. Keyhole passages are formed when a cave passage switches from water-filled to partially air-filled. My research aims to determine how this switch occurs and how climactic conditions such as water chemistry and rainfall can change the shape of the passage.
I was at GSA for four days, during which I got to present my research, learn about other research in karst hydrogeology, and meet a variety of people from several fields within the geosciences. I presented my research as an oral presentation in the “New Frontiers in Cave and Karst Science” technical session, during which I got the opportunity to hear other research about emerging techniques for karst research. When it came time for me to present, I got several thought-provoking questions from the audience about potential new avenues to explore in my research.
One of the important reasons for going to GSA this year was to obtain field locations for the next phase of my research, where I look for the patterns that the model has predicted in real-world caves. I’m happy to report that I managed to obtain 7+ field locations for the next phase of my research. These locations are scattered across the United States and include places like New Mexico and New York.
During this conference, I had many opportunities to network, both as official GSA events and as organic conversations with professionals in my field. In particular, I spoke to scientists from the National Cave and Karst Research Institute (NCKRI). I had planned to speak with scientists from the National Park Service and United States Geological Survey, but unfortunately both organizations were unable to send scientists this year.
This was not the first conference I had attended, but it was my first national-level conference. The most important thing I learned from this conference was the importance of pacing yourself and not trying to do everything. GSA had over 300 technical sessions and over 50 associated events, as well as an exhibit hall with over 30 universities present. I had to learn that I couldn’t go to every talk or speak with every poster presenter, which was a marked difference from past conferences I’ve attended.
I am glad to have attended this conference as I got to share my research with scientists from across the continent and receive feedback on my project. I connected with a great number of other geoscientists and obtained several field sites for the next phase in my research. I hope to attend other conferences within the next calendar year to share my field research progress with professionals in my field.