astronomy

Nora Noffke

Nora Noffke is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nora Noffke rather than just read about it. In short: Nora Noffke is a German geologist who is a professor in the Department of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. Noffke's research focuses on the sedimentology of biofilm forming sedimentary structures in modern aquatic environments, where clastic deposits dominate.

Key takeaways

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Reproduce the core statement of Nora Noffke from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nora Noffke is a German geologist who is a professor in the Department of Ocean and Earth Sciences, Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia, USA. Noffke's research focuses on the sedimentology of biofilm forming sedimentary structures in modern aquatic environments, where clastic deposits dominate. Such structures occur in the fossil record as well. Her studies are interdisciplinary combining sedimentology with microbiology, geochemistry, and mineralogy.

Early life Noffke's interest in fossils originated from her early years when she would spend time hiking with her parents on the Schwaebische Alb, a mountain chain in Germany. The area was rich in fossils, paving the way for her lifelong career in the field of paleontology and geology.

Education Noffke received a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Sciences (Diploma) in geology-paleontology from the University of Tübingen, Germany. Her diploma thesis advisor was Dolf Seilacher. Together they carried out research on trace fossils including Daedalus halli from the Lower Arenigian, Montagne Noire, France. Noffke did her Ph.D. in Geomicrobiology at the University of Oldenburg, Germany where she worked alongside Gisela Gerdes, a microbiologist who conducted research in the field of modern microbial mats in siliciclastic deposits. In 2000, Noffke migrated to the US, where she was a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Organismic Biology and Evolution, at Harvard University, as a guest of Andy Knoll. Shortly thereafter, she became professor for sedimentology at the Department of Ocean and Earth Sciences at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia.

Career and research Noffke is known for her work on microbial mats causing microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS) in sandy deposits. Her work employs the actuopaleontological approach in the examination of the Earth's past. MISS allow insight into past prokaryote and single-celled benthos, and the paleoenvironment and paleoclimate. Noffke discovered 17 different types of MISS that result from microbial growth and EPS-production, trapping, biostabilization, baffling, and binding. The Dresser Formation, Pilbara, Western Australia, includes some of the oldest MISS. The fossil microbial mats covered clastic tidal flats, channels and pools. MISS at Dinosaur Ridge, added knowledge on paleoenvironmental conditions under which the Upper Crustaceous "J" Sandstone formed, and broadened insight of track sites development. In collaboration with Gerdes, Thomas Klenke, and Wolfgang E. Krumbein, Noffke suggested a new, fifth group to Pettijohn and Potter's classification of primary sedimentary structures. They called the group bedding modified by microbial mats and biofilms, and divided it into two classes: one for those on bedding planes, and the second for those within beds. The first class includes microbial wrinkle structures, mat/sand chips, erosional remnants and pockets, palimpsest/multidirectional ripple marks, shrinkage cracks and mat curls. The second class, within beds, includes biolaminites, gas domes, sponge pore fabrics and fenestrae structures, as well as "microbially induced sedimentary textures (MIST) such as oriented grains, sinoidal laminae, and mat-layer-bound grain sizes. Noffke's work on microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS) in sandy deposits is summarized in a textbook. The book describes MISS as biosignatures valuable for the exploration extraterrestrial life. Noffke is Acting Chair of the Subcommission on Precambrian Stratigraphy of the International Stratigraphic Commission, and is the editor for the volume Prokaryota of the Treatise of Invertebrate Paleontology. Noffke has organized the SEPM Field Conference on Siliciclastic Microbial Mats 2010, and together with John Stolz has established the Gordon Research Conference: Geobiology. She was one of the early chairs of the Division for Geobiology and Geomicrobiology of the Geological Society of America (GSA). In honor of Noffke's service to the science community, a 550 million year old fossil group from the Ediacaran Grant Bluff Formation, Australia, was named after her: Noffkarkys storaaslii ('net of Noffke') Noffke was named a fellow of the American Association for the advancement of Science (AAAS). This award is the equivalent of an Oscar for an actor. The AAAS cited her for her work.

"seminal contributions to the field of geobiology, particularly for elucidation of the previously unrecognized 3.5 billion year fossil record of microbially induced sedimentary structures".Recently, she was elected president of the geological society of Washington, D.C.

Publications

Noffke, Nora (2010). Geobiology. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-12772-4. ISBN 978-3-642-12771-7. Noffke, N., ed. (2005). Geobiology: Objectives, Concepts, Perspectives. doi:10.1016/C2009-0-06348-X. ISBN 978-0-444-52019-7. Noffke, N.; Gerdes, G.; Klenke, T.; Krumbein, W. E. (September 2001). "Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures: A New Category within the Classification of Primary Sedimentary Structures". Journal of Sedimentary Research. 71 (5): 649–656. Bibcode:2001JSedR..71..649N. doi:10.1306/2DC4095D-0E47-11D7-8643000102C1865D. Gerdes, Gisela; Klenke, Thomas; Noffke, Nora (April 2000). "Microbial signatures in peritidal siliciclastic sediments: a catalogue". Sedimentology. 47 (2): 279–308. Bibcode:2000Sedim..47..279G. doi:10.1046/j.1365-3091.2000.00284.x. Noffke, Nora; Christian, Daniel; Wacey, David; Hazen, Robert M. (December 2013). "Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures Recording an Ancient Ecosystem in the ca. 3.48 Billion-Year-Old Dresser Formation, Pilbara, Western Australia". Astrobiology. 13 (12): 1103–1124. Bibcode:2013AsBio..13.1103N. doi:10.1089/ast.2013.1030. PMC 3870916. PMID 24205812.

Awards and honors 2007: SEPM James Lee Wilson Award for Excellence in Sedimentary Geology by a Young Scientist 2007: Fellow of the Geological Society of America 2010: Outstanding Contributions to Geobiology, GSA Division for Geobiology 2014: Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2020: College of Science Distinguished Teaching Award, Old Dominion University

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nora Noffke

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nora Noffke claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nora Noffke before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nora Noffke ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nora Noffke

In research: Nora Noffke appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nora Noffke in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nora Noffke is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 21st-century American women, American geologists, American women academics, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nora Noffke outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nora Noffke in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nora Noffke means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nora Noffke out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nora Noffke in simple terms?

Why does Nora Noffke matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nora Noffke?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nora Noffke.