Distinguished Speaker Series 2016-17

Fall 2016

August 30
Welcome Party! 
Short student presentations on summer field adventures

September 6
Matthew Fox, U.C. Berkeley, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science
History of mountain belts from the inversion of topography and thermochronometry

September 13
Leonard Sklar, SFSU, Dept of Earth & Climate Sciences
The Problem of Predicting the Size Distribution of Sediments Supplied by Hillslopes to Rivers

September 20
Kim Blisniuk, San Jose State University, Geology Department
A ~100,000 year geomorphic history of large earthquake displacements on the San Andreas fault in southern California

September 27
David Mustart, SFSU, Dept of Earth & Climate Sciences
Origin of Mineral Deposits with World-class Collectible Specimens of Native Gold and Native Silver

October 4
Amelia Vankeuren, Cal State Sacramento, Department of Geology
Combating Climate Change with Mantle Rocks: CO2 storage in the Oman Ophiolite

October 11
Fall 2016 Dawdy Lecture in Hydrologic Sciences
Scott Peckham, University of Colorado, Institute of Alpine and Arctic Research
Flow Resistance and Longitudinal Elevation Profiles for Rivers: Two Stories about Development Mathematical Models to Understand Observations

October 18
Alan Howard, University of Virginia, Dept. of Environmental Sciences
The Unexpected Splendor of Pluto as Revealed by the New Horizons Mission

October 25
Fall 2016 Distinguished Alumna Lecture
Jill Marshall, UC Berkeley, Dept. of Earth and Planetary Science
The geomorphic legacy of glacial intervals in unglaciated terrain: Insight from the A 50-ky paleo lake core in the Oregon Coast Range

November 1
Clifford Riebe, University of Wyoming, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics
The influence of bedrock composition on drought-induced mortality in southern Sierra Nevada forests

November 8
Phoebe Lam, UC Santa Cruz, Dept. of Ocean Sciences
Marine Particles in the Ocean: distribution, composition, and role in biogeochemical cycling

November 15
Cathy Busby, UC Santa Barbara, Dept. of Earth Science
2016 Ocean Discovery Lecturer – International Ocean Discovery Program
Anatomy of a Long-lived Oceanic Arc: Synthesis of Three International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expeditions in the Azu-Bonin-Marianas Arc

December 6
Student thesis defense presentations

Lan Ma
Influence of tree-level variability on tree-ring reconstructed temperature at Sonora Pass, CA

Rui Liu
Regional tectonic evolution of the Pioneer core complex, south-central Idaho

Spring 2017

January 31

Andy Collison, ESA Associates

You need an aeolian geomorphologist: modeling the impacts of solar power plants on desert ecosystems

February 7

Nick Swanson-Hysell, UC Berkeley

Failed rifting and fast drifting: North America's Mid-continent Rift and its record of rapid paleogeographic change

February 14

Alyssa Atwood, UC Berkeley

The tropical Pacific response to abrupt climate change

February 28

C. Page Chamberlain, Stanford University

Cenozoic topographic and climatic evolution of western North America - with caveats

March 7

Mary Leech, Department of Earth & Climate Sciences, SFSU

The close interplay between fluids, metamorphism, and deformation in the rocks from the lower crust and mantle

March 14

Kristina Dahl, Climate Scientist Consultant, Union of Concerned Scientists

A flooded future: Projecting the frequency of minor coastal flodding along the East and Gulf Coasts in 2030 and 2045

March 28

Laura Racca, Board for Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors, and Geologists

Building your own career: The California Professional Geologist License

April 4

Rusty Holleman, San Francisco Estuary Institute

Sea level rise, tidal dynamics, and inundation

April 11

Esther Conrad, Postdoctoral Fellow, Gould Center for Conflict Resolution, Stanford Law School and the Water in the West Program, Woods Institute for the Environment, Stanford University

Governing groundwater in California: can we cooperate instead of litigate?

April 18

Amy Luers, Skoll Global Threats Fund

Hacking wicked problems: Linking science and technology for building resilience

April 25

Student thesis defense

Jason Poague (MS) -- Zan Stine

Detecting Global Hydrological Cycle Intensification in Sea Surface Salinity

April 27

Student thesis/proposal defenses

Mayra Dudrenova (BS) – Leonard Sklar

How does hillslope sediment size vary with rock type?

Nolen Brown (BS) – Leonard Sklar
Analyzing city landscapes using techniques from earth sciences

Joey Verdian (BS) – Leonard Sklar
Influence of Cliff Face Fractures on the Size Distributions of Talus Particles

May 2

Student thesis/proposal defenses

Gionata Bianchi (MS) – Leonard Sklar

Particle Size Reduction in Geophysical Granular Flows: the Role of Rock Fragmentation

Brandon Swanson (MS) -- Mary Leech

Pressure-temprature conditions of Kyanite-bearing Migmatites at Ledge Mountain, Central Adirondack Highlands

May 9

Student thesis/proposal defenses

Jack Reeder (MS) – Mary Leech

The formation of kyanite-bearing migmatites in the central Adirondack Mountains
 

Jacob DeAngelo (MS) – John Caskey 

Developing Data-Driven Tools to Guide Geothermal Energy Exploration
 

Daniel Sullivan (BS) – John Caskey

Character of Surface Offsets on the Western Death Valley Fault Zone

May 11

Student thesis/proposal defenses

Suzanne Goldstein (MS) – Leonard Sklar

Flood Hazard Modeling for a Changing Climate: Changing Flood Frequency, Inundation Extent and Community Vulnerability in South Lake Tahoe
 

A landscape evolution model with explicit parameterization of sediment size supplied by hillslopes to channels

Lauren Finkelstein (MS) – Leonard Sklar

Measuring the resilience to changing hydrological regimes in the Tonle Sap Basin, Cambodia

May 16

Student thesis/proposal defenses

Beth Holmes (BS) – Petra Dekens

Reconstructing the Last Glacial Cycle in the Southern Bay of Bengal
 

Alexandria Lagos (MS) – Petra Dekens

Constructing a Planktonic δ18O Age-Model and Sea Surface Temperature Record for the Bay of Bengal during the Mid-Pleistocene Transition
 

Molly Mclaughlin (MS) – Leonard Sklar

Investigating the Mechanisms Behind the Affect of Caddisfly Silk (hydropsychidae) on Critical Shear Stress in Gravel Bedded Rivers