The transformation of snow to ice, the mass balance of glaciers, types of glaciers, and the processes that control glacier sliding, erosion, and deposition. Includes techniques commonly employed to date Quaternary deposits and an examination of the geologic record of the Ice Ages as recorded in glaciers, glacial deposits, and marine and lacustrine sediments of the Quaternary Period. Weekly labs document the record of the last glaciation as recorded in exposures in the southern Adirondacks, central Hudson Valley, and eastern Mohawk Valley. Offered alternate years. Topics include stress and strain, folding, faulting, cleavage formation, map interpretation, and the relationship between plate tectonic settings and crustal structure.
Course focuses on the structural evolution of eastern New York as seen in field projects.
Any geology course at the 20 level or permission of the instructor. The record of environmental change as recorded in lacustrine sediments and shorelines. Includes the record of pluvial lakes in the western U.S. and Africa, the record of proglacial lakes in North America, and proxy paleoenvironmental indicators preserved in lake sediments from North America, Europe, and the Southern Hemisphere. Offered alternate years. Sample preparation, theory, chemical analysis of geological materials, and computer modeling of the analyzed geochemical system using the acquired data.