January 31, 2002

The 1915 Eruptions at Lassen Peak, California

A geologic and volcanic detective story

By Robert L. Christiansen, Research Geologist

• These historic volcanic eruptions were among the first to be well documented photographically, but there was no direct scientific observation
• Why did such relatively small eruptions cause substantial devastation, but only on one side of the volcano?
• Two destructive debris flows and associated floods were triggered two days apart.what explains the greater damage caused by the second event?
• Combining modern geologic observations with the historical record lets us reconstruct the events and processes of this eruptive episode.
• Learn how the 1915 eruptions may help scientists understand possible hazards from future volcanic activity, at Lassen Peak and elsewhere

Flyer: jan02flyer.pdf (Acrobat PDF)

February 21, 2002

Secrets of a Frozen World Science and life in Antarctica

Science and life in Antarctica

By Arthur B.Ford, Geologist and Polar Wanderer, Author of Encyclopedia Britannica article on Antarctica

• Learn about Earth's highest, driest, windiest, and coldest continent
• Though it has 90% of the world's ice (70% of the world's fresh water), Antarctica is also the world's largest desert
• Was Antarctica.once the site of lush tropical vegetation.a migration pathway for Australia's strange animals?
• Antarctica's blue-ice fields have yielded some 20,000 meteorites, including samples of Mars and the Moon
• Who owns Antarctica and what is it worth?

Flyer: feb02flyer.pdf (Acrobat PDF)

March 28, 2002

Play Video

LOSING THE RACE FOR SURVIVAL?
The catastrophic decline of the desert tortoise in California

Kristin H. Berry, Desert Ecologist

• Learn about the unique social behavior and fragile ecology of the desert tortoise, some of whose populations have declined by 70-90% in the past 20 years
• Why is this fabled creature sometimes referred to as the "Methuselah of the Desert"?
• What is the importance of this species, already listed as Threatened (and perhaps soon as Endangered), in the desert ecosystem?
• How can tortoises reproduce when females lay eggs only in the spring and males have viable sperm only in the late summer?
• How have human activities influenced the increasingly important role of diseases in tortoise mortality?

Flyer: mar02flyer.pdf (Acrobat PDF)

April 25, 2002

The Perilous Geography of Petroleum
Issues concerning the supply, uneven distribution, and use of oil and gas

By Donald L. Gautier, Geologist

• Is the world in imminent danger of running out of oil and gas?
• With only 6% of the world.s population, the United States consumes 25% of the oil and gas and accounts for 30% of the CO2 humans add to the atmosphere
• Most of Earth's resources of oil and gas are in the politically unstable Middle East and former Soviet Union
• How the U.S. copes with the perilous geography of petroleum will shape the global political landscape of the 21st century.

Flyer: apr02flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF)

May 30, 2002

Deciphering Geology from Space
Clues from Satellite Imagery of Faults, Fold Belts, and Volcanoes

By Michael J. Rymer, Geologist

• Take a vicarious global tour-- View spectacular fold belts in Morocco, volcanoes in Guatemala, faults in the Mojave Desert, and much more
• See the longest strike-slip fault exposed on land (it's not the San Andreas)
• Learn how innovative false-color imagery brings out clues to geologic events
• How has the view from space changed our perception of Earth's geologic features?

Flyer: may02flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF)

June 27, 2002

Play Video

Finding Elusive Earthquake Faults
New Mapping Techniques Reveal Potential Seismic Sources Beneath Seattle

By Richard J. Blakely, Geophysicist and Ralph A. Haugerud, Geologist

• Geophysical methods reveal "the landscape beneath the landscape"
• Why does the Seattle Fault exist, and why is it so hard to locate and map?
• LIDAR imagery can depict faults and other geologic features hidden under dense forest
• Learn how geologists unravel and translate the stories concealed in landscapes
• Does the research in the Seattle area have implications for other urban areas?

Flyer: jun02flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF)

July 25, 2002

Play Video

Beyond the Golden Gate
Oceanography, Geology, Biology, and Environmental Issues In The Gulf of the Farallones

by Herman A. Karl, Marine Geologist, and Edward Ueber, Director, Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary

• Learn about the complex marine geology offshore from the San Francisco Bay region
• Hear the story of the 47,000 barrels of radioactive waste that were dumped near the Farallon Islands.and how they were found
• Has the highly radioactive aircraft carrier USS Independence, scuttled somewhere in the Gulf in 1951, been located?
• The Marine Sanctuaries are facing the challenges of protecting complex and diverse marine ecosystems adjacent to densely populated metropolitan areas
• Why is the Gulf of the Farallones a favorite habitat for great white sharks?

Flyer: jul02flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF)

August 29, 2002

Play Video

Revealing the Hidden World Beneath Monterey Bay
Explore the diverse features on and below the sea floor in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

by Steve Eittreim, Marine Geologist

• See---
  • Drowned bedrock pinnacles that provide shelter for rockfish
  • Earthquake faults that slice through the sea floor
  • New, highly detailed views of the tortuous Monterey Canyon
• Learn---
  • About buried former seacliffs now 40 meters below sea level
  • About Monterey Bay.s muds that are migrating toward San Francisco
  • About the value and importance of a marine sanctuary

Flyer: aug02flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF)

September 26, 2002

Play Video

Healing the Redwood Creek Watershed
Successes and Failures in a Large-scale Watershed Restoration Program

by Mary Ann Madej, Geologist

• Can we undo the effects of decades of logging and road-building on salmon habitat and redwood forest?
• The Redwood Creek restoration program in California--one of the Nation.s largest and longest-running watershed projects-- was begun nearly 25 years ago
• What do agencies like the National Park Service actually do to restore a watershed?
• The large 1997 floods in the Redwood Creek area provided the first real test of the restoration efforts
• What lessons have been learned at Redwood Creek that can be applied to restoring other disturbed watersheds?

Flyer: sep02flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF)

October 24, 2002

Play Video

Plumbing the Mysteries of the San Andreas Fault
Deep Drilling to Test Fundamental Theories About Faulting and Earthquakes

By Stephen H. Hickman, Geophysicist

• Scientists will make measurements, obtain samples and place instruments directly within the fault at a depth of 2.5 miles, creating the San Andreas Fault Observatory at Depth (SAFOD)
• SAFOD's instruments will continuously measure fluid pressure, deformation, temperature, and seismic shaking through multiple earthquake cycles
• A 1.4-mile-deep pilot hole drilled this summer is already providing earthquake data; Congressional approval is pending for the deeper SAFOD hole
• Data from these drill holes are providing a third dimension to the ongoing Parkfield Earthquake Experiment (see http://quake.usgs.gov/research/parkfield)
• Learning what really happens in the fault zone before, during,and after earthquakes will help scientists betterpredict the timing and severity of future quakes

Flyer: oct02flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF)

USGS Public Events Calendar (Recorded Message) --- (650) 329-5000
For additional information on the USGS Evening Public Lecture Series please contact Amelia Barrales: abarrales2@usgs.gov or telephone (650) 329-5136.