KILLER LAKES OF CAMEROON, WEST AFRICA
Dr. Curt Stager
Paul Smith's College, Paul Smiths, NY
5:00 PM, 115 Olin Center
In 1986, a remote crater lake - Lake Nyos - in Cameroon exploded
and killed 1700 people. What caused the disaster, and could it happen
again, either in Cameroon or elsewhere? Curt Stager will discuss
his research on African lakes in general, and on killer lakes Nyos and
Monoun in particular. The Lake Nyos event is detailed in his 1987
(September) article in National Geographic.
BACTERIAL ECOLOGY: FROM OCEANIC DEPTHS TO BALLSTON LAKE
Dr. Peter Tobiessen
Union College, Schenectady NY
12:30 PM, 207 Bailey Hall
Unusual things happen at interfaces within aquatic systems. Dr.
Tobiessen will discuss the results from his recent work on Ballston Lake
which has focused on one of the most striking natural chemical boundary
layer in the region. His work has focused on the biologic communities
that live at the “chemocline” in the deep part of the Lake. This
microscopic world lives at the interface between oxygen poor, and iron
rich bottom water and the productive upper layer.
THE EVOLUTION AND SEDIMENTARY RECORD OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN, VERMONT
Dr. Patricia Manley
Middlebury College, Middlebury Vermont
5:00 PM, 115 Olin Center
During the “Battle of Valcour Island” on Lake Champlain on October
11, 1776, British and American forces fought for the strategic edge of
control of Lake Champlain. During a nighttime retreat, one of Benedict
Arnold’s gunboats sank. Some 220 years later, geologists Pat and
Tom Manley used side scan sonar on Middlebury College’s RV Baldwin to map
the lake bottom in a survey of artifacts. They imaged the sunken
gunboat in what could be “..the most significant maritime discovery in
American history in the last half century.” Dr. Manley will discuss
the finding of Benedict Arnold’s boat as well as the general evolution
of the lake basin.
RECORDS OF CLIMATIC CHANGE FROM LAKES IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN CULTURE
Dr. Jason Curtis
University of Florida, Gainsville Florida
5:00 PM, 115 Olin Center
The Mayan civilization flourished in central Mesoamerica from about 3000 years ago to a period of collapse between about 750 and 900 AD. Anthropologists have long sought an explanation for their demise and a number of hypotheses have been forwarded. In 1995 Jason Curtis and co-workers released showed how various attributes of sediments from a lake in Mexico indicated that the collapse of the Maya was probably due to severe changes in climate because the period between 800 and 1000 AD was the driest in this area in the last 10,000 years. Dr. Curtis will discuss how this discovery was made and the implications of human development in the Carribean.
PALEOCLIMATOLOGY OF THE TROPICAL ANDES: THE RECORD FROM LAKE TITICACA (PERU/BOLIVIA)
Dr. Geoffrey O. Seltzer
Syracuse University, Syracuse New York
5:00 PM, 115 Olin Center
Situated near the equator and at high elevations, Lake Titicaca
provides one of the best storehouses of terrestrial climate variability
during the latter part of the ice ages (i.e. 10,000 to 100,000 years).
Geophysical and sediment-core data indicate that lake levels varied as
much as ~200 m during this time. These lake level changes can be
related to variation in tropical climate and in particular the precipitation
minus evaporation balance of tropical South America. These observations
are crucial for establishing the natural variability of climate as a larger
scale framework for understanding modern global warming. Dr. Seltzer
will discuss his current research on Lake Titicaca including some of the
logistical hurdles that he confronts every time he tries to do field work.
MERCURY CYCLING IN LAKES
Dr. Elizabeth A. Henry
Exponent, Schenectady NY
5:00 PM, 115 Olin Center
Many states, including New York, have issued fishing advisories
for lakes based on high concentrations of mercury in fish. Mercury
in fish can cause neurological disorders and birth defects in humans that
consume fish. Most of the affected lakes (including some in the Adirondacks)
have no discrete source of mercury other than trace amounts in rainfall.
Recent advances in our understanding of mercury cycling highlight the susceptibility
of lakes to mercury contamination and the need to reduce mercury emissions
to the environment. Dr. Henry will provide a perspective that
will focus on lakes in New York.
SEDIMENT RECORD OF BALLSTON LAKE AS AN ARCHIVE OF WATER QUALITY
Paul T. GremillionFormed some 12,000 years ago, Ballston Lake occupies the former course of the Mohawk River. Since that time, the lake has quietly sat and recorded the events around it. This sensitive indicator of environmental change is just now being tapped for our better understanding of environmental change in this area. One unique attribute of the Lake is the fact that it is Meromictic, which means that the water in the deep southern end is and has been isolated from the upper waters. This important condition has resulted in a number of fascinating attributes, foremost among them is that the there is a nearly continuous record of climate change. Dr. Gremillion will outline the “Ballston Lake Initiative” and will review the major finding to date.
Union College, Schenectady New York
5:00 PM, 115 Olin Center
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Last Revised: 1 Feb. 2002