Mark Abolins, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Geosciences at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and his master’s and doctoral degrees at the California Institute of Technology. His research examines central Tennessee’s geologic structures, caves, and karst landscapes, including how folds influence cave passages and how local geology contributes to sinkhole flooding. His teaching emphasizes Earth science, field investigation, and undergraduate and graduate research, and he has led National Science Foundation–supported research experiences for future science teachers and collaborated on a project advancing undergraduate science literacy. His outreach includes geology professional development for Tennessee park rangers and interviews with news organizations about Nashville’s limestone bedrock and the proposed Music City Loop tunnel. His work is particularly relevant to inquiries about Tennessee geology, cave and karst resources, student research, geoscience education, and public outreach. He lives in the Bellevue neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee wih his wife Ginger, 17-year-old Aidan, and dog Rosie.

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MOST RECENT PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATION

Information sheet (pdf)

Implications for groundwater exploration (technical video)

Role and origin of joints in cave passage development (technical video)

Abolins, M., Firkaly-Paciera, J., King, B., Ocasio-Valentin, C., Slighter, J., Sullivan, T., Whited, J., 2025. The relationship between lineaments and cave passages in unfaulted gently-folded strata, Snail Shell Cave, central Tennessee, USA. International Journal of Speleology, 54(2), ijs2544. https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.ijs2544

PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS

(* undergraduate co-author)

Abolins, M., and Ogden, A., 2023, Topographic Controls on the Duration of Sinkhole Flooding in Central Tennessee, USA: Environmental & Engineering Geoscience, v. 29, n. 4, p. 275-290, https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/aeg/eeg/article-abstract/29/4/275/630560/Topographic-Controls-on-the-Duration-of-Sinkhole?redirectedFrom=fulltext  .

Abolins, M., and Ogden, A., 2023, Sinkhole flooding above a shallow bedrock aquitard in a rapidly-urbanizing community, central Tennessee, USA: Geomorphology, v. 425, 108586, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169555X23000065?via%3Dihub .

Abolins, M, and Ogden, A., 2021, Application of the global SRTM and AW3D30 digital elevation models to mapping folds at cave sites: International Journal of Speleology, v. 50, p. 75-89.

Abolins, M., Bush, R.*, Han, A.*, and Ogden, A., 2018, Mesoscale faults, macroscale folds, and inferred basement structures, Nashville dome, central Tennessee, in Engel, A.S., and Hatcher, R.D., Jr., eds., Geology at Every Scale: Field Excursions for the 2018 GSA Southeastern Section Meeting in Knoxville, Tennessee: Geological Society of America Field Guide 50, p. 95-119, https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/books/book/2075/chapter/114336849/Mesoscale-faults-macroscale-folds-and-inferred .

Abolins, M., Young, S.*, Camacho, J.*, Trexler, M.*, Ward, A.*, Cooley, M.*, and Ogden, A., 2015, A road guide to the Harpeth River and Stones River fault zones on the northwest flank of the Nashville dome, central Tennessee, in Holmes, A.E., ed., Diverse Excursions in the Southeast: Paleozoic to Present: Geological Society of America Field Guide 39, p. 1-20, doi:10.1130/2015.0039(01).

Abolins, M., 2014, Undergraduates discovering folds in “flat” strata: An unusual undergraduate geology field methods course: Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 62, p. 264-277, doi:10.5408/12-371.1.

Abolins, M., 2004, A Student-centered Regional Planning Group Activity for Non-science Majors, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 52, p. 472-480.

Wernicke, B. P., J. L. Davis, R. A. Bennett, P. Elosegui, M. J. Abolins, R. J. Brady, M. A. House, N. A. Niemi and J. K. Snow, 1998, Anomalous strain accumulation in the Yucca Mountain area, Nevada, Science, v. 279, no. 5359, p. 2096-2100.

Bennett, R.A., B.P. Wernicke, J.L. Davis, P. Elosegui, J.K. Snow, M.J. Abolins, M.A. House, G.L. Stirewalt, and D.A. Ferrill, 1997, Global Positioning System constraints on fault slip rates in the Death Valley region, California and Nevada, Geophysical Research Letters, v. 24, p. 3073-3076.

Abolins, M., 1997, Introducing volcanic hazards with free digital data, Journal of Geoscience Education, v. 45, p. 211-215.

BOOK CHAPTERS

Abolins, M., 2022, Archival Airborne Visible/infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) Image of Faults in a Mixed Carbonate-Clastic Succession, Northwestern Spring Mountains, Nevada, USA, in Misra, A.A., and Mukherjee, S., eds.: Atlas of Structural Geological and Geomorphological Interpretation of Remote Sensing Images. Oxford: Wiley, p. 177-184, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/9781119813392.ch17 .

Abolins, M., 2019, Techniques for the field measurement and analysis of the orientation of gently-dipping strata, in Billi, A., and Fagereng, A., eds.: Problems and Solutions in Structural Geology and Tectonics. Developments in Structural Geology and Tectonics, v. 5. Cambridge: Elsevier, p. 25-41, https://www.sciencedirect.com/bookseries/developments-in-structural-geology-and-tectonics/vol/5/suppl/C .

Abolins, M., 2019, Geographic Information Systems in an Undergraduate Structural Geology Course: a Pilot Project at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, TN, in Mukherjee, S., ed.: Teaching Methodologies in Structural Geology and Tectonics. Singapore: Springer Nature, p. 201-219, https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9789811327803.

OTHER SELECT PUBLICATIONS

Deng, M., L. Di, M. Abolins, H. Gong and G. Zhou, 2006, Making Differences: Uses of GeoBrain in Classroom Teaching of Earth System and Geospatial Information Sciences at Higher Education Institutes Worldwide, in Proceedings, Ninth Global Spatial Data Infrastructure Conference.

Abolins, M., R. L. Oskin, A.R. Prave, C.L. Summa, and F.A. Corsetti, 2000, Neoproterozoic glacial record in the Death Valley region, California and Nevada, Geological Society of America Field Guide, v. 2, p. 319-335.

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Select presentations

2026

Summer Solstice Presentation — NPS event announcement

Ignite Your Canvas Course with AI! — MTSU workshop description and recording link

2025

Effectiveness of the CLUE Wearable Air Temperature and Humidity Sensor Curriculum Among General Education Community College and University Students — GSA abstract

Atmospheric Science Knowledge Gain Among Pasadena City College Students Completing the CLUE Wearable Air Temperature and Humidity Sensor Curriculum — GSA abstract

Using Spectral Feature Fitting of Visible and Near-Infrared EMIT Data to Add Alluvial Deposits and Mined Lands to a 1:62,500 Scale Geologic Map of the Western Humboldt Range, Nevada — GSA abstract

2024

Teaching with Investigation and Design in the Undergraduate Science Classroom — Webinar description, slides, and recording

Undergraduate Wearable Sensor Project Reveals Classroom Temperatures Outside Recommended Ranges — GSA abstract

Exploring the Controls of Karstification by Analyzing Karst Surface Drainage Across the United States — GSA abstract and recording link

New Resources for Climate Literacy Instruction and Assessment at the Introductory University Level — GSA abstract and recording link

2023

Using Dove Satellite Images to Update a Map of Sinkhole Flooding at Stones River National Battlefield, Tennessee — Proceedings paper, beginning on printed page 28

Older presentations (2014-2018)

Abolins, M., 2018, Relationship between the orientation of the Nashville Rift in central Tennessee and the orientation of macroscale folds in post-rift Paleozoic strata: evidence for rift fault reactivation: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 50, No. 6, ISSN 0016-7592, doi: 10.1130/abs/2018AM-324897

Abolins, M., 2018, Learning with ArcGIS within an undergraduate structural geology course at Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 50, No. 6, ISSN 0016-7592, doi: 10.1130/abs/2018AM-324863

Abolins, M., Bush, R., Han, A., and Ogden, A., 2018, Inferred reactivation of basement structures within the Nashville Dome, central Tennessee: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 50, No. 3, ISSN 0016-7592, doi: 10.1130/abs/2018SE-313116

Abolins, M., and Levandowski, J., 2017, Uplift of the Nashville dome, central Tennessee by inversion of the previously-undescribed Nashville rift: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 49, doi: 10.1130/abs/2017AM-307585

Abolins, M., 2016, Using the spatial analysis of a structure contour map to compare fold hinge and fault orientations within the Harpeth River fault zone, a cratonic fault and fold zone in central Tennessee: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 48, doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-287942

Abolins, M., 2016, On-line educator professional development for the alumni of a summer undergraduate pre-service STEM teacher science research experience: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 48, doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-287606

Birkofer, J., and Abolins, M., 2016, Educators collaborate on-line to develop an education module aligned with a high school science next generation science standard: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 48, doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-287144

Deal, D.*, and Abolins, M., 2016, Collaborative development of a karst curriculum aligned with the next generation science standards: Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 48, doi: 10.1130/abs/2016AM-287536

Abolins, M., and Ogden, A., 2016, Groundwater Flow within the Western Limb of the Stones River Syncline, Rutherford County, Central, Tennessee: Proceedings of the 2016 Tennessee Water Resources Symposium, p. 1C-13-1C-21, https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/12ed7af3-57dc-468c-af58-da8360f35f16/downloads/Proceedings2016.pdf?ver=1617384962238 (accessed 4/6/21).

Abolins, M., Young, S.*, Camacho, C.*, Trexler, M.*, Ward, A.*, Han, A.*, Flores, J.*, and Cooley, M.*, 2015, Inferred Paleozoic reactivation of Precambrian basement faults within a cratonic flexural bulge, Nashville dome, central Tennessee, Geological Society of America Abstracts

Abolins, M., 2015, Relationship between an intensive nine-week undergraduate pre-service teacher science research experience and lesson plans and career plans, Geological Society of America Abstracts

Bomar, B.*, Evans, I.*, and Abolins, M., Impact of a 2014 nine-week intensive undergraduate research experience on a pre-service teacher’s active learning practices at the Salvation Army’s Summer 2015 Day Camp in Nashville, TN, Geological Society of America Abstracts

Abolins, M., 2014, The first year of the National Science Foundation Geosciences Directorate’s first pre-service teacher Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU), Geological Society of America Abstracts

Camacho, J.*, Young, S.*, and Abolins, M., 2014, Pre-service teachers involvement in nine-week structural geology research experience, Geological Society of America Abstracts

SELECT OTHER PRESENTATIONS

(* undergraduate co-author)

Abolins, M., and Estep, T.*, 2006, Validation of previously-mapped lineaments in and near part of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, Arkansas, Missouri and Tennessee with free data from global image archives, Geological Society of America Abstracts

McMillin, T.L.*, and Abolins, M.J., 1999, The expression of floods on visible/infrared satellite images of the Obion River, northwestern Tennessee, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 31, n. 7, p. 270.

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Mark Abolins’s research and scholarly activity connect structural geology, cave and karst science, and geospatial analysis (including remote sensing). His geological investigations examine faults and folds in central Tennessee, including the Nashville dome, and use digital elevation models to reveal relationships between rock structures and cave passage orientations. His published work also addresses sinkhole flooding in an urbanizing Tennessee community. Undergraduate and graduate student participation is a recurring feature of his scholarship, with students contributing to published cave research and undertaking projects involving imaging spectroscopy and geological mapping. In geoscience education, he has led a National Science Foundation–funded research program for future science teachers and collaborated on a $260,000 NSF project using student-collected atmospheric temperature and humidity measurements to strengthen science literacy.

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2026

WKRN+, Tennessee’s tunnels: Exploring the state’s underground future, https://youtu.be/TIhdxTlzWA0

Nashville Scene, Out of the Loop: Talking About the Music City Loop With an MTSU Geoscientist, https://www.nashvillescene.com/news/coverstory/mtsu-geology-professor-music-city-loop/article_d7c86e07-fd4c-4c27-836c-283bd0f009ec.html

Yahoo News, New details released on construction challenges for the Music City Loop, https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/details-released-construction-challenges-music-225621709.html

News 2, The Boring Company addresses 'unique challenges' to Music City Loop tunnel, https://youtu.be/fOHSGCi2n6w?si=4pN4PobIA7P2UTYt

2025

News 2 at 6PM & Yahoo News, Expert, leaders react to The Boring Company’s Music City Loop environmental impact assessment, https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/nashville/music-city-loop-eia-reactions/     https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/expert-leaders-react-boring-company-005128424.html

WZTV Fox 17 Nashville, Boring Co. says underground tunnel will benefit environment, despite issues in Las Vegas, https://fox17.com/news/local/boring-co-says-underground-tunnel-will-benefit-environment-despite-issues-in-las-vegas

News 2 at 6 pm & Yahoo News, More Equipment for Music City Loop Arrives in Nashville, https://youtu.be/4Z3cZyShE6M?si=RLeqBmOwAkx14oNc     https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/equipment-arrives-music-city-loop-002440617.html

WSMV4 Investigates, Music City Loop: A goldmine of questions beneath Nashville, https://www.wsmv.com/2025/11/03/music-city-loop-goldmine-questions-beneath-nashville/

The Tennessean & Yahoo News, How will Elon Musk's Boring Company tackle Nashville's limestone for the Music City Loop? https://www.tennessean.com/story/money/industries/2025/07/30/how-will-elon-musk-boring-company-create-music-city-loop-nashville-limestone/85412546007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=false&gca-epti=z1140xxp000250c000250e1140xxv000236&gca-ft=128&gca-ds=sophi     https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/elon-musks-boring-company-tackle-121053822.html

MTSU News, MTSU geosciences students benefit from PE Limited’s $2.76M software donation, https://mtsunews.com/2-7-million-pe-limited-software-aids-mtsu-students/

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