Geology of Iceland 2016: columnar jointing at Reynisfjara black sand beach.
COURSES I TEACH AT UNION:
Environmental Geology (GEO 112) – Spring, Fall
COURSES I HAVE TAUGHT ELSEWHERE:
Introduction to Environmental Geology
Introductory Geology
Aqueous Systems
Structural Geology and Tectonics
Glaciers and Climate Change
Fundamentals of Science II
Geology of Grand Canyon and Death Valley
Geology of Southern California – Joshua Tree and San Andreas Fault
Fire and Ice: Geology of Iceland
COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
Albany Pine Bush Preserve field trip, Fall 2014.
Environmental Geology
In Environmental Geology, we explore the interaction of humans and the Earth. We study natural hazards resulting from plate tectonic activity, including earthquakes and volcanoes, and we discuss water resources, floods, climate change, and the origin and erosion of landscapes. We become familiar with rocks and minerals both in lab and on field trips, and we visit sand dunes at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, the meandering Alplaus Kill stream, dramatic slope failure in Plotterkill Preserve, and a mile-long cave, Howe Caverns.
Indian Ladder Trail, Thacher Park field trip, Fall 2012
Introductory Geology
In Introductory Geology, we explore the exciting effects of plate tectonic activity, including earthquakes, volcanoes, folds, faults, and mountains, and we learn about surface processes that affect our everyday lives, such as the movement of water and the erosion of landscapes. We become familiar with rocks and minerals both in lab and on field trips, and we visit sand dunes at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, wooded streams at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, limestone cliffs laden with fossils at Thacher Park, and a mile-long cave, Howe Caverns. We talk about environmental issues and climate change, and we take a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Albany Landfill.
Aqueous Systems
Aqueous Systems combines half a semester of oceanography and half a semester of hydrogeology. We begin by learning about ocean basins, seawater, waves, tides, tsunamis, marine sediments, coastlines, sea level, and the future of oceans in a changing climate. We then learn about groundwater, wells, groundwater contamination, watersheds, rivers, and floods. We take field trips to measure changing water levels in the tidal Hudson River, to investigate water levels in monitoring wells in the Pine Bush Preserve and on the Saint Rose campus, and to gage the Vloman Kill at Five Rivers Environmental Education Center.
Stream gaging, Vloman Kill, Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, Spring 2012
Structural Geology and Tectonics
In Structural Geology and Tectonics we study deformation of the Earth’s lithosphere in the context of plate tectonics and learn how to analyze the evidence left behind when tectonic forces result in deformation of rocks. We examine faults and folds on field trips, analyze our findings using the tools of structural geology, and learn how to write geologic reports.
Plunging anticline, Schenectady Formation, Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, Fall 2009
Glaciers and Climate Change
In Glaciers and Climate Change, we learn about the formation and behavior of glaciers and ice sheets, the erosional and depositional legacy they leave on landscapes, and the history of glacial advances and retreats through time. Our region was covered by glacial ice ~20,000 years ago, so there are abundant field trip sites to visit. We go as far afield as the Catskills, the Schoharie Valley, Ballston Lake, and Round Lake, and as close to home as till deposits in Guilderland.
Measuring clast orientations in the Willow Moraine, Eastern Catskill Mountains, Fall 2010
Fundamentals of Science II
I co-taught (with a biologist) the second semester of the year-long Fundamentals of Science course that is required for Childhood Education and Special Education majors who are not science concentrators. The course is taught from a problem-based learning perspective, so we emphasize ways in which content can be applied in real-world problem-solving situations. We take field trips to the Pine Bush Preserve, Albany Landfill, Five Rivers Environmental Education Center, and Thacher State Park.
Sieving sand from the dunes in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, Spring 2012
Geology of Death Valley and Grand Canyon – Spring 2014
I taught a field course on the geology of Death Valley and the Grand Canyon that included a nine-day Spring Break field trip to Death Valley National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, and Valley of Fire State Park (Nevada). Our itinerary included hiking the Bright Angel Trail and camping at the South Rim in the Grand Canyon and exploring Badwater Basin and Ubehebe Crater in Death Valley.
Plateau Point, Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon National Park, March 2014
Geology of Southern California – Joshua Tree and San Andreas Fault – Spring 2015
I taught a field course on the geology of Joshua Tree National Park and the San Andreas Fault that included a nine-day Spring Break field trip to southern California. Our itinerary included hiking and camping amid the granite outcrops of Joshua Tree NP and walking across the San Andreas Fault in Coachella Valley.
Joshua Tree National Park is home to a variety of interesting granite landforms.
Fire and Ice: Geology of Iceland – May 2016
I co-taught a field course on the geology of Iceland that included a ten-day field trip in May. We drove the Ring Road counter-clockwise around Iceland, stopping to walk on Svínafellsjökull glacier, visit the black sand beach and columnar-jointed basalt of Reynisfjara, admire countless waterfalls, wind our way through the East Fjords, soak in hot springs, and visit Geysir and the Bridge Between the Continents.
On Svínafellsjökull, a tongue of ice flowing from the Vatnajökull Ice Cap.
