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PALEOECOLOGY 442 - Syllabus

	Curt Stager Curriculum Vitae FS 206 ext. 6342 stagerj@paulsmiths.edu
		Lecture Outline
		Exam Schedule
		Tentative Lab Outline
		Text and Course Resources
		Attendance Policy
		Grading System

	PALEOECOLOGY 442 Lecture Outline * indicates exam will be held during the next class period
Date	Subject
1/15	The Paleo Perspective: what it can offer; examples (1-7)
1/17	Climate dynamics: insolation, cycles, wind belts, etc.
1/19	Climate/ocean dynamics: winds, continental drift, currents; intro to THC, ENSO, NAO, etc.
1/22	More ENSO, THC details
1/24	Depositional environments = paleo archives; statistics, sampling effects, sites (28-29; 51-54)
1/26	Dating methods; CALIB,137Cs, 210Pb, 14C, matching layers/rings; (8-28, 236-7)
1/29	"Deep Paleo," origins, geologic time scale
1/31	Overview of the Pleistocene: glacials and stadials (56-57)
2/2	Overview of the Holocene: Medieval Warm Period, Little Ice Age, etc. (88-94, 112-126; 212-216) *
2/7	Siliceous microfossils: diatoms, chrysophytes, amoebae, sponge spicules; basic limnology (49, 230-231)
2/9	Start Black Pond case study; top-down vs. bottom-up food chain effects
2/12	Reclamation, stocking; studies elsewhere; groups interpret Black Pond core data and present/discuss
2/14	Student Presentation: (Rodbell: Paleo view of ENSO); (44-48)
2/16	Student Presentation: (Laird, Fritz: History of Midwest Droughts); transfer functions
2/19	Student Presentation: (Cumming, Smol: Adirondack acid rain); paleo view of acid rain, air pollution (234-242)
2/21	Student Presentation: (Stager et al: Upper Saranac eutrophication) trophic cascades (94-99, 227-234)
2/23	Limnology review: eutrophication, redox, stratification, etc. *
2/28	Lake Victoria case study; cool/dry vs. warm/wet tropics, when the lake dried out, cichlid fish evolution, etc.
3/2	Student Presentation: (Lake Naivasha); related Victoria issues
	SPRING BREAK
3/12	Pollen and plant macrofossils (29-40, 145)
3/14	Long coring methods; Adirondack history via bogs, lakes, etc. (99-109, 162-166)
3/16	Dendrochronology
3/19	Student Presentation: ("Native" impacts on landscapes); (123-6, 142-7, 150-8, 171-186)
3/21	Forest history, bogs, etc. in the Catskills (Doc Kudish presentation)
3/23	Ice cores (64-65) *
3/28	3/28.Student Presentation: ( Accuracy of ice core records)
3/30	Marine geochem, Heinrich events, fossils, corals, alkenones
4/2	Student Presentation: (Ozone depletion issues); ozone depletion
4/4	Global warming
4/6	Student Presentation: (Douglas, Smol: Arctic warming?); global warming
4/9	Global warming
4/11	The Sun as a variable star
4/13	Student Presentation: Global vs. solar warming? *
4/18	Evolutionary and historical origins of various aspects of today's world
4/20	Mass extinctions (78-86)
4/23	Student Presentation: (What killed the giant mammals?) Mass extinctions
4/25	Student Presentation: (Dating The Shroud) Creationism issues
4/27	No lecture (to make up for all day field trip)
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	PALEOECOLOGY 442 Exam Schedule
Date	Topics
2/5	Exam 1
2/26	Exam 2
3/26	Exam 3
4/16	Exam 4
TBA	Final Exam - semi-cumulative
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	PALEOECOLOGY 442 Lab Outline
Date	Topics
1/18	GRAVITY CORING ON LOWER ST. REGIS: extrude, start H20 and LOI (SOME TIME IN NEXT 2 WEEKS: In pairs, collect your own core and store it in lab)
1/25	Diatom ID; H20 and LOI; computer lab: intro to Quattro Pro and Sigma Plot
2/1	Diatom analyses; computer lab: more SigmaPlot
2/8	Analyze own cores
2/15	Analyze own cores
2/22	Analyze own cores
3/1	Analyze own cores
	SPRING BREAK
3/15	Evening Seminar on African Paleoecology
3/22	Lake study presentations, rough drafts of writeups due
3/29	ALL DAY TRIP to paleo lab in Kingston, Ontario
4/5	ADK vs. global weather records; more SigmaPlot graphics
4/12	Lab day free; peer review of lake core reports
4/19	AFTERNOON FIELD TRIP: glacial geology, Paleozoic fossils, Champlain Sea fossils
4/26	PEAT CORING
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	PALEOECOLOGY 442 Resources
Resource	Title
TEXT	Neil Roberts, 1998. The Holocene. Blackwell Publishers, Malden, MA.
Computer Programs	Quattro Pro, Sigma Plot
Web	Topic Summary
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	PALEOECOLOGY 442 Course Policy
Policy
Attendance	More than 3 unexcused absences from lectures or labs will result in grade reductions, at the discretion of the instructor.
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	PALEOECOLOGY 442 Grading System
Percentage of Total Grade
40%	Hour exams
10%	Final exam
5%	Class discussions
10%	Paper presentations
10%	Lab participation
5%	Weather writeup
15%	Paleo study writeup
5%	Paleo study peer review
	About Course | Lectures | Exams | Labs | Resources | Policies | Grading System