Guest Expert: Dr. Lawrence Krissek
Dr. Larry Krissek, Ohio State University
Date of Webinar: November 10, 2011, 8:00pm EST
Topic: The story of ice ages over the past 2.5 million years
Title: Reading Earth’s Climate History from Ocean Sediments (with an example from Pleistocene Glacials and Interglacials)
Description: This presentation will begin by: 1) describing how important characteristics of Earth’s climate, such as temperature, evaporation/precipitation, wind patterns and wind speeds, and distribution of glacial ice and sea ice affect physical, chemical, and biological conditions in the ocean; and 2) examining how these important conditions in the ocean can be recorded by characteristics (known as “proxies”) in marine sediments. We will look briefly at patterns of climate change that have been defined by studies of several proxies, and close by examining how one proxy – iceberg-rafted debris, or IRD – has been used to study the history of glacial fluctuations in the northern North Atlantic during the past 1 million years.
Guest Expert Bio: Larry Krissek is a Professor and the Associate Director of the School of Earth Sciences at Ohio State University. He received his B.S. in Geological Oceanography from the University of Washington, and his Ph.D. in Geological Oceanography from Oregon State University. He has been a faculty member at OSU since 1982.
His geological research focuses on reconstructing Earth’s climate history using mineralogical and geochemical evidence contained in sedimentary rocks; in particular, he has worked on understanding the past 5 million years of glacial/interglacial cycles in the Northern Hemisphere, and the past 34 million years of Antarctica’s glacial/climatic history. To conduct this research, he has participated in 9 field seasons in Antarctica, and in 7 scientific ocean drilling cruises. In addition to his geological research, he is involved in several aspects of earth science education: curriculum development, professional development, and studies of misconceptions and conceptual change.
Dr. Krissek’s Presentation:
Reading Earth’s Climate History from Ocean Sediments (.pdf)
Watch the Webinar (.wmv) – Be advised: only audio plays for the first minute of the video.
Additional Resources:
Expedition 339 in Science Daily News
Comments: The space below is intended as an interactive comment board with the Guest Experts. We encourage you to ask questions or leave comments for our Guest Experts. (Note: the comment board is moderated by NOSB Staff, so your comment may not show up instantaneously).
