Western Region - Evening Public Lecture Series

2005 Video Archive

** Note: To view the archived video, you will need Windows Media Player. Windows Media Player is already installed on most Windows systems (START:/Programs/Accessories/Multimedia/). Macintosh users can download the required software for free.

December 8, 2005	Frozen in Time
	How Ice Cores Are Revealing the Composition and Temperature of Earth's Atmosphere During t he Past Million Years
	By Todd Hinkley, Geologist
	Scientifically invaluable ice cores taken from Antarctic and Arctic ice are stored and safe guarded at the U.S. National Ice Core Laboratory, operated by the U.S. Geological Su rvey These ice cores are the only systematic record of the composition (including "greenhou se" gasses) and temperature of the Earth's atmosphere over the past million years The ice cores show that most of Earth's geologically recent climate history has been characterized by great instability and rapid, extreme swings of temperature, beyond anything we have experienced in historical times These ice cores are our only source of information about natural, pre-industrial level s of toxic trace metals and other substances deposited from the atmosphere into the world' s ecosystems
	* Flyer: dec05flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF) **Video: mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/science/dec05.wmv

November 17, 2005	Shifting Shoals and Shattered Rocks--
	HOW MAN HAS CHANGED THE FLOOR OF SAN FRANCISCO BAY
	By John Chin and Florence Wong, Geologists
	San Francisco Bay is one of the world's finest natural harbors and a major center of maritime trade All ships visiting bay ports are funneled through the central bay Bedrock knobs that rise from the central bay floor have been repeatedly blasted to accommodate vessels of increasingly deeper draft Sediment dredged from harbors and shipping channels has been disposed of on the bay floor Since the early 1900s, the bay floor has been mined for sand and gravel New tools are allowing scientists to create detailed views of the bay floor, revealing changes that man has made since the Gold Rush
	* Flyer: nov05flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF) **Video: mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/science/nov05.wmv

October 27, 2005	Earthquake Storms
	The Very Long Reach of Very Large Earthquakes
	By Susan Hough, Seismologist
	How did the 1992 Landers quake in the remote Mojave Desert change scientists' thinking about earthquake sequences? What is the explanation for "aftershocks" of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake reported in Arizona? How do large quakes shake up distant faults and volcanic areas ? Are new theories of earthquake interactions making the conventional terminology-- foreshock, mainshock, aftershock--inadequate? Do large earthquakes have a long reach on human cultures as well?
	* Flyer: oct05flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF) **Video: mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/science/oct05.wmv

October 21, 2005	A Crack in the Edge of the World America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906
	By Simon Winchester
	The international bestselling author of The Professor and the Madman and Kra katoa vividly brings to life the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake that leveled a city symbolic of America's relentless western expansion. Simon Winchester has also fashion ed an enthralling and informative look at the tumultuous subterranean world that produces earthquakes, the planet's most sudden and destructive force. In the early morning hours of April 18, 1906, San Francisco and a string of towns to i ts north-northwest and the south-southeast were overcome by an enormous shaking that was compounded by the violent shocks of an earthquake, registering 8.25 on th e Richter scale. The quake resulted from a rupture in a part of the San Andreas fault, which lies underneath the earth's surface along the northern coast of Calif ornia. Lasting little more than a minute, the earthquake wrecked 490 blocks, toppled a total of 25,000 buildings, broke open gas mains, cut off electric power lines th roughout the Bay area, and effectively destroyed the gold rush capital that had stood there for a half century.^M Simon Winchester brings his inimitable storytelling abilities -- as well as his unique understanding of geology -- to this extraordinary event, exploring not only what happened in northern California in 1906 but what we have learned since about the geologica l underpinnings that caused the earthquake in the first place. But his achievement is even greater: he positions the quake's significance along the earth's geolo gical timeline and shows the effect it had on the rest of twentieth-century California and American history. A Crack in the Edge of the World is the definitive account of the San Francisco earthquake. It is also a fascinating exploration of a legendary event that changed the way we look at the planet on which we live.
	**Video: mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/science/oct05a.wmv

September 29, 2005	Toxic Mercury in Aquatic Ecosystems
	Why Quality Trumps Quantity
	By Mark Marvin-DiPasquale, Microbial Ecologist
	Different mercury sources generate different forms of mercury with different environmental consequences Learn how mercury is transported and transformed in air and water, and how it ultimately accumulates as toxic methylmercury in wildlife and humans How do mercury-methylating bacteria react with "new" mercury from atmospheric deposition and with "old" mercury from remobilized sediments? Why are fish in Florida’s Everglades as contaminated with mercury as those in San Francisco Bay, even though total mercury inputs are much higher in the Bay? How do differences in landscape and vegetation type affect mercury cycling and bioaccumulation pathways?
	* Flyer: sep05flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF) **Video: mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/science/sep05.wmv

August 25, 2005	A Delicate Balance
	Salt Ponds, Wetland Restoration, and Wildlife in San Francisco Bay
	By A. Keith Miles and John Y. Takekawa, Wildlife Biologists
	Nearly 15,000 acres of salt ponds were purchased in 2003 for restoration by a partners hip of Federal, State, and non-profit organizations How important are the salt ponds for migration and wintering of waterfowl and shorebir ds? Restoration of wetland in the Nation\x92s most urbanized estuary faces many challenges Will it be possible to manage concentrated salts, low dissolved oxygen, and toxicity o f sequestered mercury as pond levees are opened? Restoring wetlands while controlling invasive species, such as smooth cord grass, may prove very difficult
	* Flyer: aug05flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF) **Video: mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/science/aug05.wmv


July 21, 2005	California Rock and Roll
	Viewing and Touring the San Andreas Fault system in 3-D * *3-D glasses will be provided at the lecture
	By Phil Stoffer, Geologist
	Experience a virtual tour of the San Andreas Fault with classic 1950s 3-D* images Discover some basic facts and features of California geology Learn of public places to explore the San Andreas Fault in the Bay Area- and beyond Grasp how 3-D* images can markedly enhance remote interpretation of landscapes
	* Flyer: jul05flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF) **Video:Due to technical difficulties this webcast is not available. A re-recording may be available in the future.


June 30, 2005	Tsunamis
	Lessons and Questions from the Indian Ocean Disaster
	By By Eric L. Geist, geophysicist, Bruce E. Jaffe, oceanographer, and Brian F. Atwater, geolo gist
	What do computer animations reveal about transoceanic tsunamis? What varied marks of its force and height did the December 26 tsunami leave in the coa stal environment? Why did waves 100 feet high strike norhtern Sumatra in December, while low-lying Bangl adesh was spared? Can a Sumatra-size tsunami occur on the U.S. Pacific coast? What is the tsunami threat to central California, and how is this region getting prepa red?
	* Flyer: jun05flyerB.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF) **Video: mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/science/jun05.wmv


June 14, 2005	Deep Freeze
	The Impact of Science on U.S. Climate-Change Policy
	By Judy Layzer, MIT Political Scientist, and Herman Karl, USGS Earth Scientist
	Why have science and scientiests had so little impact on U.S. climate-change policy? Hear about the present implications of past societal collapses resulting from climate change Can citizens and scientists work together to find creative and durable solutions to th e climate-change crisis? Learn how flood-management projects in the San Francisquito watershed may be affected by climate-change policy How can programs like the MIT-USGS Science-Impact Collaborative help thaw the deep fre eze?
	* Flyer: jun05flyerA.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF) **Video: mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/science/jun05A.wmv


May 26, 2005	Sonoran Desert
	Fragile Land of Extremes
	A video presentation and discussion
	By Research Ecologists Cecil Schwalbe and Todd Esque will introduce the 2003 USGS video Sonoran Desert: Fragile Land of Extremes, present an update on recent research, and answer your questions.
	Learn about the fantastic biodiversity in North America's lushest desert The venomous Gila Monster is turning out to be a medical miracle Why is the saguaro cactus, icon of the Sonoran Dessert, going up in smoke? Scientists hop to it!--to help the lowland leopard frog face the challenges of fire, flood, drought, and disease What can we do about the threat posed by buffelgrass, an aggressive invasivespecies fr om Africa?
	* Flyer: may05flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF) **Video: mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/science/may05.wmv


April 28, 2005	Earthquakes at the USGS
	Blowing the Lid off Seismic Science for 40 Years
	By Ross Stein, representing the USGS Earthquake Hazards Team
	The Parkfield earthquake of 1966 launched a torrent of research at the USGS in Menlo Park. With the San Andreas Fault as a backyard lab and global earthquakes as a guide, the USGS has changed the landscape of earthquake science in: MAKING RAPID EARTHQUAKE ASSESSMENTS PROMOTING PUBLIC SEISMIC SAFETY DISCOVERING NEW AND HIDDEN FAULTS MEASURING FAULT STRESS AND STRAIN IMPROVING SEISMIC ENGINEERING UNDERSTANDING GROUND SHAKING FORECASTING FUTURE EARTHQUAKES
	* Flyer: apr05flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF)
	**Video: mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/science/apr05.wmv


January 27, 2005	Deciphering an Estuarine Ecosystem
	35 Years of San Francisco Bay Studies
	By John Conomos, Scientist Emeritus
	USGS research in the Bay system began in the 1960s with a search for underwater earthquake faults In the 1970s, the research team expanded to cover studies of water properties and quality, water mixing and flow, and estuarine ecology Early scientifc findings clashed with assumptions behind massive and unbridled modifcations of the Bay system and served to stimulate much public debate The USGS Bay research program and its scientists became renowned-- they have set the standards for the study of estuaries Thirty-five years of scientifc data and publications form a unique resource for decisions by legislators, planners, and coastalzone managers
	* Flyer: jan05flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF)
	**VIdeo: mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/science/jan05.wmv

February 24, 2005	When Rocks Fall and the Land Slides
	Understanding and Coping with Slope Failures
	By Gerald F. Wieczorek, Geological Engineer, and Raymond C. Wilson, Landslide Geologist
	Hear why California makes an ideal environment for landslides North face Learn about rock falls, debris flows, and other landslides Rocks fall There have been more than 500 documented rock falls and other slope failures in Yosemite National Park what triggers these? How do park rangers deal with this hazard? John Muir gave a remarkable account of an 1872 rock fall in Yosemite Valley Large rock falls in Yosemite can generate air blasts potentially dangerous to campers and hikers How did ancient glaciers help create the rock-fall hazard in Yosemite? ascent
	* Flyer: feb05flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF)
	**Video: mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/science/feb05.wmv

March 31, 2005	Commotions in the Oceans
	USGS Shipboard Research Sparked Scientific Advances
	By William R. Normark, and David W. Scholl, Marine Geologists
	Alaskan work from the Survey's M/V Eider in the 1950's led to visualizing how great earthquakes and tsunamis originate along trenches In the 1970's, researchers discovered deep-sea "black smokers" and the Survey's R/V S.P. Lee found massive sulfide deposits on the Juan de Fuca Ridge USGS scientists on the R/V Farnella confirmed and mapped humongous submarine landslides off Hawaii's coasts in the 1980's Extensive international Pacific Ocean expeditions of the Lee in 1982-84 yielded a rich harvest of discoveries, including sea-floor cobalt concentrations Where we are heading-what are the challenges for future discoveries in the oceans?
	* Flyer: mar05flyer.pdf (Adobe Acrobat PDF)
	**Video: mms://video.wr.usgs.gov/science/mar05.wmv

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