Geology Lecture Series

Each year the SCC Science Department presents the Geology Lecture Series, four evening presentations addressing general topics in the earth sciences. The Geology Lecture Series brings in noted scientists from around the United States and Canada, to speak on subjects of popular appeal. Each presentation is free and the public is welcome. Videos of previous GLS presentations are available in the SCC Instructional Media Lab (533-8085), located within the SCC Learning Resources Center, Building 16.

2009-2010 Schedule

• October 15, 2009, 7 p.m. - rescheduled (from spring 2009)!
  Ice-Age Impacts on Tundra Plant Diversity
  Dr. Eric DeChaine, Biology Department, Western Washington University
  » View Flash video of this lecture
  
  Travel across various mountainous and arctic regions on an adventure researching the beautiful world of tundra flowers and plants. Dr. DeChaine's research investigates the role of ice-age climate cycles on the development of tundra plant evolution and diversity along with what changes are presently being observed as a result of today's warming global conditions. In this presentation, see beautiful landscapes and scenery and even more spectacular plant life that developed in some of the world's harshest climate regions.
  
  
• February 16, 2010, 7 p.m.
  Historic and Cataclysmic Eruptions of Kilauea Volcano
  Dr. Don Swanson, United States Geologic Survey, Hawaii Volcanoes Observatory
  This lecture is free and open to the public.
  Location: SCC Lair Auditorium, Building 6, Spokane Community College
• April 20, 2010, 7 p.m.
  Ocean Acidification: The Other CO2 Problem!
  Dr. Richard Feely (www.pmel.noaa.gov/co2/personnel/feely.html)
  NOAA, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory
  This lecture is free and open to the public.
  Location: SCC Lair Auditorium, Building 6, Spokane Community College

• Please check this site for added presentations throughout the year.

GLS Sponsors

These popular community events would not be possible without the generous support of regional businesses and the SCC Student Activities Council. The current sponsors include:

Schedules from Previous Years

2008-2009 Schedule

• November 12, 2008, 7 p.m.
  A Sky Full of Mountains - Michael Collier - Geologist, Photographer, and Author
  Michael Collier is a geologist, photographer, and pilot. This unique combination of skills has provided him with the ability to interpret mountains and landscapes from a perspective most of us never get to enjoy, from the air. This presentation, "A Sky Full of Mountains," is beautifully illustrated with aerial photographs from around the United States as well as Mexico and Canada. The talk described how panoramas are geologically interpreted from the air and how photographs can be framed at 150 miles per hour.
• January 28, 2009, 7 p.m.
  The Arctic on the Fast Track of Change - Dr. Julienne Stroeve - National Snow and Ice Data Center
  The planet is presently experiencing the "collapse" of a major geo/ecosystem. Loss of the Arctic (seasonal) summer ice cover will have profound and negative effects to Arctic ecosystems (ocean and land) as well as to subsistence populations. Observations and measurements (2007 record low year) are causing scientists to rethink the rates of Arctic ice loss due to global warming; rates of warming, glacial and permafrost degradation are accelerating faster than believed just five years prior. This talk presents the most recent research in the Arctic and observations being made by glaciologists and atmospheric scientists working in the Arctic regions.
• » View streaming video of this lecture
  
  ...or get it as a podcast
    
      
  
• CANCELED April 28, 2009, 7 p.m.
  Ice-Age Impacts on Tundra Plant Diversity - Dr. Eric DeChaine, Biology Department, Western Washington University
  Travel across various mountainous and arctic regions on an adventure researching the beautiful world of tundra flowers and plants. Dr. DeChaine's research investigates the role of ice-age climate cycles on the development of tundra plant evolution and diversity along with what changes are presently being observed as a result of today's warming global conditions. In this presentation, see beautiful landscapes and scenery and even more spectacular plant life that developed in some of the world's harshest climate regions.

2007-2008 Schedule

• October 10, 2007, 7 p.m.
  Alaska Walkabout - Marty Zajanc, Traveler-explorer
  Marty Zajanc began with nothing in Alaska but the desire to follow beauty, detour for adventure, and search for the hidden path of knowledge. Ten years later, after nine different treks and seven months of travel, he walked into Barrow, completing a 3,000 mile serpentine journey across one of the last great wilderness areas on the planet. He was smiling....
  Location: SCC Lair Student Auditorium, Building 6, Spokane Community College
• » View streaming video of this lecture
  
  ...or get it as a podcast
    
      
  
• April 24, 2008, 7 p.m.
  Louisiana's Hurricane Blues - Dr. Ivor van Heerden, Louisiana State University Hurricane Center
  Location: SCC Lair Student Auditorium, Building 6, Spokane Community College
• » View streaming video of this lecture
  
  ...or get it as a podcast
    
      
  
• May 27, 2008, 7 p.m.
  Terroir in the Pacific Northwest: Relation of Geology, Soils, and Climate to Great Wines - Dr. Scott Burns, Portland State University
  Location: SCC Lair Student Auditorium, Building 6, Spokane Community College
• » View streaming video of this lecture
  
  ...or get it as a podcast
    
      
  

2006-2007 Schedule

• November 7, 2006, 7 p.m., Catastrophic Extinction of the Dinosaurs at the Cretaceous-Tertiary Boundary, 65 Ma, by Dr. David Fastovsky, University of Rhode Island. Location: SCC Lair Student Auditorium, Building 6, Spokane Community College
• January 31, 2007, 7 p.m., Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer Study by Guy Gregory, Washington Department of Ecology. Location: SCC Lair Student Auditorium, Building 6, Spokane Community College
• February 28, 2007, 7 p.m., Volcanoes of the East African Rift: New Oceans Above and Ancient Oceans Below by Dr. Tanya Furman, Penn State University. Location: SCC Lair Student Auditorium, Building 6, Spokane Community College
• May 15, 2007, 7 p.m., Landing and Roving on Mars: Climate Change from Wet to Dry (Including Pathfinder's Visit to the Channeled Scabland on Mars) by Dr. Matt Golombek, Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA. Location: SCC Lair Student Auditorium, Building 6, Spokane Community College

2005-2006 Schedule

• Dr. Willie Scott, United States Geological Survey, Cascade Volcano Observatory, presents The Ongoing Eruption at Mount St. Helens: Precursors, Processes, Hazard Concerns, and Outcomes - Wednesday, November 9, 2005 at 7 p.m. in SCC's Lair Auditorium.
• Special Presentation: Kevin Jones , Spokane mountaineer, presents "Climbing into the Death Zone: Summiting a Himalayan Peak" - Friday, January 20, 2006 at 7 p.m. in SCC's Lair Auditorium.
       »view more information
• Dr. Katrin Iken, Assistant Professor of Marine Biology at the Institute of Marine Science, University of Alaska, presents Arctic Ocean Exploration in Light of a Changing Environment - Wednesday, February 8, 2006 at 7 p.m. in SCC's Lair Auditorium.
• Dr. David Hodell, Professor of Geologic Sciences, University of Florida, presents Climate and Cultural History of the Maya Lowlands: Were They Related? - Wednesday, April 26, 2006, at 7 p.m. in SCC's Lair Auditorium.

2004-2005 Schedule

• Dr. Robert Kaufmann, Boston University, will present Oil and the American Way of Life: Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Thursday, October 28, 2004 at 7 p.m. in SCC's Lair Auditorium.
• Special presentation: Dr. Bruce Margon, Space Telescope Science Institute, will present Glimpsing the Edge of the Universe: Recent Results from Hubble Space Telescope - Thursday, January 13, 2005 at 7 p.m. in SCC's Lair Auditorium.
• Dr. Charlie Rubin, Central Washington University, will present The 2002 Denali Fault Earthquake; Uplift and Origin of the Alaska Range - Tuesday, February 8, 2005 at 7 p.m. in SCC's Lair Auditorium.
• Dr. Tanya Atwater, University of California, Santa Barbara, will present An Animated Story of Western U.S. Landscapes and Plate Tectonics - Tuesday, May 10, 2005 at 7 p.m. in SCC's Lair Auditorium.

2003-2004 Schedule

• Dr. Mott Greene, Professor of Science History at the University of Puget Sound, will present Where Did the Idea of Continental Drift REALLY Come From? Wednesday, October 8, 2003 at 7 p.m. in SCC's Lair Auditorium.
• Terry Maley, Geologist for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, will present The Role of Geology in Settlement of the American West - Thursday, February 26, 2004 at 7 p.m. in SCC's Lair Auditorium.
• Generations on Everest - Tuesday, March 9, 2004 at 7 p.m. in SCC's Lair Auditorium - Join us when mountain climbers John and Jess Roskelley share experiences from their recent climb of the world's tallest mountain, Everest. The Roskelleys are the first father and son team to summit Everest from the Tibetan side of the Himalayas. In this special presentation, enjoy spectacular footage from the 2003 Everest climb along with experiences of hardship and success of climbing above 26,000 feet. Come experience Everest close up and personal!
  Note: This presentation is also sponsored by the SCC Student Activities Council and SANE (the SCC Student Association for Nature and the Environment).
• Dr. Christopher Brochu, Professor of Paleontology at the University of Iowa, will present The Science of Sue Wednesday, April 14, 2004 at 7 p.m. in SCC's Lair Auditorium.
• Dr. Gene Humphreys, Professor of Geology at the University of Oregon, will present How Yellowstone made the Pacific Northwest and changed our thoughts about the Earth Tuesday, May 18, 2004 at 7 p.m. in SCC's Lair Auditorium. For most people, Yellowstone National Park represents spectacular natural beauty and boundless wildlife. To geologists, Yellowstone is one of the most unique places on Earth, formed by incredible volcanic events of massive size and extent. Geologists now believe that the volcanism at Yellowstone is the result of a hot spot beneath the North American continent. This hotspot has made much of the Pacific Northwest, first when it was offshore making the seamounts that would become our Coast Ranges, and later when it erupted the Columbia River and Steens Mountain flood basalts, and then propagated away. In this lecture, learn about the inner workings below Yellowstone and the geologic history of our region based on studies of Earth’s mantle and plate tectonic interactions.

2002-2003 Schedule

• Kevin Krajick , prizewinning journalist and author of the book Barren Lands will give a free slideshow/talk, The Hunt for North American Diamonds , December 3, 2002, 7 p.m., SCC Lair Auditorium.
• David Seidel, Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Volcanoes across the Solar System: Comparative Planetology of Earth, Venus, Mars and Jupiter's Moon Io , February 6, 2003, 7 p.m., SCC Lair Auditorium.
• Dr. Philip Gingerich, University of Michigan, Museum of Paleontology: The Origin and Early Evolution of Whales, March 5, 2003, 7 p.m., SCC Lair Auditorium.
• Dr. Martin Miller , University of Oregon: Vignettes of geologic time as seen through the lens of a camera , April 29, 2003, 7 p.m., SCC Lair Auditorium.

2001-2002 Schedule

• Dr. Tom Gehrels, Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona: The Beauty and Danger of Comets and Asteroids, October 10, 2001, 7 p.m., SCC Lair Auditorium.
• Pat Pringle, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geology: Buried Trees of Western Washington; A Record of the Geology and Environment of the Pacific Northwest , January 29, 2002, 7 p.m., SCC Lair Auditorium.
• James Chatters: Kennewick Man and His North American Ancestors , February 12, 2002, 7 p.m., SCC Lair Auditorium. This will be a special evening with the scientist that helped bring Kennewick Man to life!
• Dr. John Garver, Department of Geology, Union College: The Rigors of Doing Science in Kamchatka, Russian Far East , Thursday, May 16, 2002, 7 p.m., SCC Lair Auditorium.

2000-2001 Schedule

• Dr. Paul Hoffman, Department of Earth and Planetary Research, Harvard University: Snowball Earth and Early Animal Evolution, October 24, 2000, 7 p.m., SCC Lair Auditorium.
• John Ewert, United States Geological Survey, Cascade Volcano Observatory: The 1991 Eruption of Mount Pinatubo, February 7, 2001, 7 p.m., SCC Lair Auditorium.
• Tom Holzer, United States Geological Survey , Menlo Park: What Has Been Learned From The Disastrous 1999 Turkey Earthquakes?, Thursday, March 8, 2001, 7 p.m., SCC Lair Auditorium.
• Dr. Scott Burns, Portland State University: Landslides of the Pacific Northwest. May 1, 2001, 7 p.m., SCC Lair Auditorium.

Please note: You'll need the free Adobe Reader to view the event fliers on the Web. (Select a presentation title above to view the flier for that presentation.)