Cornelia C. Cameron

Cornelia Clermont Cameron (1911 – August 5, 1994)

Cameron studied at the University of Iowa, where she earned a doctorate in geology and botany. Before Cameron joined the United States Geological Survey, she was a geology professor at Stephens College in Missouri, teaching earth science courses. During her time at the United States Geological Survey, Cameron received two awards. In 1977, she received the USGS' Meritorious Service Award. This award is the second-highest award and is given to employees who make an important contribution to science or have a notable career, among other criteria. In 1986, she revived the USGS' Distinguished Service Award. This award is the highest award that can be received in the department.

Cameron argued for the inclusion of geology in general science courses for non-science majors at universities. She stated that learning about geology provides students with the opportunity to think about themselves in relation to their physical environments, and develop a connection with the elements of nature that they encounter every day. After joining the geological survey in 1951, Cameron concentrated mainly in the military aspects of geology. For the military, Cameron analyzed strategic sites that included analysis of a variety of metrics, including groundwater, suitability for building roads, and suitability for building airports.

From 1972 through 1985, she served as vice-chairman of the U.S Committee of the International Peat Society. During this time, she was also a consultant for the Campobello international park commission, which would oversee the Roosevelt Campobello International Park.

In the decades leading up to her death, Cameron studied peat as a soil additive and energy source. Her work helped identify more than 70 million tons of peat in the United States. She published dozens of papers on this subject and was senior author on a text talking about peat resources in Maine. Alongside the 66 total papers Cameron had published, she was also a senior author for an army field manual that relates to terrain intelligence.

Early life

Cameron was the daughter of two scientists. Her mother, Harriet Clearman Cameron, had a master's in geology and a PhD in botany. Her father was a professor of Natural Sciences. Cameron's father died in 1918 when she was only seven years old. Her parents, especially her mother, had a profound impact on her profession. Cameron's mother continued to do fieldwork with her until she was 103 years old. Cameron's mother often went with her daughter overseas to help with fieldwork. Camerons field work consisted of travels to over thirty countries between the years 1953 and 1964, including but not limited to Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Nigeria. On the expeditions she was working as an engineering geology consultant, with the United Nations. Her mother earned her master's degree in geology in 1904 and earned her PhD in botany.

Cameron authored "The geology of selected peat-forming environments in temperate and tropical latitudes", a study for the International Journal of Coal Geology focused on her field observations. In this study, she noticed that trace elements in peat deposits are affected by the environment they are in when she found different levels of concentration and different elements in different environments. Cameron determined that these trace elements identify the type bedrock underneath the peat and how the peat transported from the source to the peat swamp. She concludes that the study of modern peat deposits will help with the study of ancient coal beds. Cornelia Cameron's paper in the Coal Geology is solidified.

Since World War II, there was a growing interest in the use of peat in the production of energy, particularly in many European countries who would undertake in large development programs of the harvesting and distribution of peat fuel. However, the fuel source isn't commercially used in very many countries, especially during periods where cheap oil is available in large supply. Also, since peat is composed of 90% water, more energy is used to evaporate the water in order to burn the peat and subsequently extract the energy, which will make it less efficient than fossil fuels.

Peat as an energy source was largely used in Ireland, England, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Finland, and the USSR. In 1971, Finland passed the first national energy peat development program focusing on protecting peat lands as well as expanding on the existing peatland to make a total of 10 million cubic meters of peat land. This was then extended to 20 million cubic meters after the price of oil began to increase during and after the war with the Middle East. Peat is also composed of inorganic materials, and these materials vary in quality and quantity. The quality and quantity of these inorganic materials contribute to the ash content, which is a factor that affects the usefulness of peat as fuel. Peat is usually mixed with mineral soil to increase the moisture-retaining capacity for sands. Peat with large mineral soil content has a higher ash content/value. 1984|Sketch maps, sections and laboratory analyses of peat resources in deposits of eastern Maine 1984|Peat resources of Maine. Volume 4. Southern and western Maine 1984|Peat resources of Maine; Volume 2, Penobscot County 1984|An expert system for mineral resources assessment in the Sherbrooke-Lewiston 1 degree x 2 degrees quadrangles, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont 1984|Geologic map of the Big Gum Swamp and Natural Area Roadless Areas, Osceola National Forest, Columbia and Baker counties, Florida 1984|Peat resources of Maine; Volume 5, Washington County 1984|Geologic map of the Hell Hole Bay, Wambaw Swamp, Little Wambaw Swamp, and Wambaw Creek Wildernesses, Berkeley and Charleston counties, South Carolina 1984|BRADWELL BAY WILDERNESS AND THE SOPCHOPPY RIVER WILDERNESS STUDY AREA, FLORIDA. 1984|Peat resources and preliminary evaluation of uranium resources in Holocene organic deposits as of 1984, Lewiston and Sherbrooke 1 degree x 2 degree sheets, northern New England 1986|Mineral resource assessment map of the Big Gum Swamp Roadless Area, Columbia and Baker counties, Florida 1986|Geology and mineral-resource potential of Seven Roadless Areas in the Apalachicola National Forest, Liberty County, Florida 1986|Some controls on trace-element concentrations, especially uranium, in selected peat deposits in Vermont and New Hampshire 1987|Geology and mineral resources potential of the Billies Bay, Alexander Springs, Little Lake George, and Juniper Prairie Wildernesses, and the Baptist Lake Roadless area, Lake, Marion, and Putnam counties, Florida 1987|Geology and mineral resources potential of the Impassable Bay Roadless Area, Columbia County, Florida 1987|Relationship between peat geochemistry and depositional environments, Cranberry Island, Maine 1988|Preliminary report of the trace element geochemistry of an Indonesian peat deposit 1989|Peat and its occurrence as a resource in Maine 1989|Wetland and peat resource map of the Sandown 7.5-minute quadrangle, New Hampshire 1989|Wetland and peat resource map of the Pinardville 7.5-minute Quadrangle, New Hampshire 1989|Wetland and peat resource map of the South Merrimack 7.5-minute Quadrangle, New Hampshire 1989|The geology, botany and chemistry of selected peat-forming environments from temperate and tropical latitudes 1990|Wetland and peat resource map of part of the Townsend 7.5-minute quadrangle, New Hampshire 1990|The geology of selected peat-forming environments in temperate and tropical latitudes 1992|Classifying and mapping wetlands and peat resources using digital cartography 1995|Wetland and peat resource map of the Exeter 7.5-minute Quadrangle, New Hampshire and Massachusetts 1992|Classifying and mapping wetlands and peat resources using digital cartography 1995|Wetland and peat resource map of the Exeter 7.5-minute Quadrangle, New Hampshire and Massachusetts 1995|The Mangrove Peat of the Tobacco Range Islands, Belize Barrier Reef, Central America 1999|Surficial geology of the York Beach quadrangle, Maine 1999|Surficial geology of the Kittery quadrangle, Maine 2007|Surficial geology of the Dover East quadrangle, Maine 2017''' Mineral Resources of the Bradwell Bay Wilderness and the Spochoppy River Study Area, Wakulla Country, Florida''