January 29, 2009

EXPLORING MARS: Geology, Climate Change and Prospects for Past Life

• Data from a recent polar lander, two still active rovers and three spacecraft in orbit are changing our perceptions about how Mars evolved. What do these new data imply for the prospects of past and present life?

Flyer: jan09flyer.pdf (Acrobat PDF)

February 19, 2009
* Special Guest Lecture *

A lecture by Martha A. Sandweiss on her latest book -

Passing Strange: A Gilded Age Tale of Love and Deception Across the Color Line"

• After leading one of the four great surveys of the western U.S., Clarence King was appointed to be the first Director of the U.S. Geological Survey in 1879. For thirteen years he lived a double life-- as the celebrated white explorer, geologist and writer Clarence King, and as a black Pullman porter and steel worker named James Todd. The fair, blue-eyed son of a wealthy China trader passed across the color line, revealing his secret to his black common-law wife, Ada Copeland, only on his deathbed.

February 26, 2009

PETROLEUM IN THE ARCTIC:

Geology, Climate, and National Interests

• For better or worse, technological advances and diminishing opportunities elsewhere make the Arctic increasingly attractive to oil and gas exploration. Retreating polar ice, shifting ecosystems, and heightened development potential are vital issues to the nations of the Arctic, to petroleum companies, and to all concerned about the region's fragile environments.

Flyer: feb09flyer.pdf (Acrobat PDF)

March 26, 2009

Can our Western Forests Take the Heat?!

Climatic change and the future of forests in the western United States

• Tree death rates have more than doubled over the last few decades in old-growth forests of our western states, possibly reflecting increasing temperatures, with potentially serious consequences for wildlife, fire risks, and the global carbon cycle
• Rising regional temperatures have lengthened the summer drought, likely stressing trees and leading to higher death rates
• Is this alarming trend a harbinger of larger, more abrupt changes in our forests?

Flyer: mar09flyer.pdf (Acrobat PDF)

April 30, 2009

SOILS, CARBON, and Global exCHANGE

• Studying Arctic Changes during the International Polar Year
• Why soils aren't just for growing crops
• What does carbon have to do with global weather and climate?
• Balancing tradeoffs between the carbon cycle, econoic concerns, and the environment
• Making choices-- from household decisions to national policies

Flyer: apr09flyer.pdf (Acrobat PDF)

May 28, 2009

International "Volcano Diplomacy"

Rapid response team prevents crises from becoming disasters

• The Volcano Disaster Assistance Program (VDAP) working with foreign counterparts responds to international volcanic crises to reduce risk and save lives
• Since 1986, VDAP scientists have responded to 24 major crises, built volcano monitoring infrastructure in 12 countries, and helped save tens of thousands of lives and hundreds of millions in property
• Recent examples from Colombia and Indonesia provide success stories of eruption forecasting and disaster prevention
• Hear about insights into the challenges, tensions, and rewards of global volcano science with humanitarian and diplomatic objectives
• Lessons learned from VDAP are applied in the United States and elsewhere to reduce the loss of life and minimize economic disruption from volcanic hazards

June 25, 2009

Tracking Mercury from Ore to Organism

Mercury Cycling and Bioaccumulation In a Mine-Dominated Ecosystem

• Nearly 300 abandoned mercury mines and prospects are found in the California Coast Range-- the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine at Clear Lake, CA is one of them
• Clear Lake is one of the most mercury-contaminated lakes in the world, but fish and wildlife there are not as mercury-contaminated as might be expected
• Learn about mercury concentration in the Clear Lake water column and sediments, mercury bioaccumulation in the food web, and which fish have mercury-contamination that exceeds recommended levels for consumption

Flyer: jun09flyer.pdf (Acrobat PDF)