Geological Society of America Meeting to be Held at UNH– March 12 - 14
Faculty Emeritus Dr. Larry Dingman to be honored at Symposium
Durham, NH - The Northeastern Section Meeting of the Geological Society of America is being held for the first time at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH from Sunday, March 11 to Wednesday, March 14, 2007. Fifteen current and two past UNH Earth Science and five Civil Engineering faculty, 12 students and over 30 UNH alumni will be presenting current research, hosting field trips, and chairing topical sessions. Professors Wallace Bothner, Jo Laird, Joe Licciardi and Peter Thompson at UNH and Tim Allen, Keene State College, are coordinating the meeting.
"We are pleased that there is such a broad range of regional topics and issues being presented at the conference. UNH will also be very well represented,” says Matthew Davis, Chair of the Earth Sciences Department. An estimated 750 earth scientists will participate in three symposia, forty-five oral and poster sessions, and four field trips. Topics include bedrock and surficial geology as they record past earth history from mountain building to glaciation, past and more recent records of geologic and climatic change, ground and surface water contamination problems, issues of health and geology and the role of state and federal geology agencies in science and public policy. In addition to using Google Earth and a review of other innovative teaching methods in earth sciences, K12 teachers may participate in a special workshop and field trip to help them in their own classrooms.
Emeritus Professor S. Lawrence Dingman will be honored in a symposium entitled “New England Hydrology-A Tribute to S. Lawrence Dingman,” organized by UNH Alumna and University of Massachusetts-Boston Professor Ellen Douglas and Professor Matt Davis, Chair of the UNH Earth Sciences Department. Professor Dingman taught water resources and hydrology at UNH from 1975 to 2005. Though retired he is still active in hydrology and is living on Cape Cod. His specialty is stream and river flow dynamics and modeling with specific attention to water resource management. In 2004, Professor Dingman published a widely used text “Physical Hydrology” in 1994 with a second edition published in 2002.
Field trips offered on Sunday March 11 include a hike along the Suncook River to view the new channel (or avulsion) cut during the May floods of 2006, a trip to the coastline of New Hampshire to view past glacial geologic and coastal processes, and a reviews of igneous and metamorphic rocks of coastal New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts (sorry, already full, but a field guidebook may be available after the meeting)
Earth Sciences at UNH has been part of the curriculum since 1927 – preparing scientists, professionals and other interested university students. Based in James Hall, the Department includes specializations in hydrology, oceanography, atmosphere and climate, and geology. Undergraduate and graduate students are active participants in current research ranging from studying glaciers and volcanoes on Iceland and Guatemala (volcanoes only), ocean mapping throughout the Gulf of Maine and at mid-ocean ridges, hydrologic research on the Lamprey River Watershed and global hydrologic issues, and on rock formation and geologic features in locations throughout the world. More information on faculty, students and research is found at http://www.unh.edu/esci/index.html.
The Department's mission and activities contribute directly to the University's Land Grant, Sea Grant, and Space Grant charters through teaching, research, and service by encompassing land and fresh-water resources and environments, marine resources and environments, and the use of space-based observation platforms to gather information on local, regional, national, and global resources and environments.
The meeting will take place at the UNH Holloway Commons and adjacent Memorial Union and Huddleston Hall in downtown Durham. Hosts for the meeting are geoscientists from the University of New Hampshire, Keene State College, Plymouth State University, Dartmouth College, the Geological Society of New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Geological Survey, and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Journalists are invited to attend sessions of interest, interview scientists, and visit the exhibit area. Information on complimentary media registration and procedures for arranging onsite and telephone interviews during the meeting are provided below.
MEETING HIGHLIGHTS
* Climate issues figure prominently in a session titled "Atmospheric-Earth Surface Interactions: Solid, Liquid, and Gas." Topics include winter climate trends in the northeastern United States and effects of winter/spring transition on exchange of CO2 at Sallie's Fen, an NSF Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology site located in Barrington, NH. Posters will be presented Monday morning, 12 March, at 8:15 a.m. in the Holloway Commons Rotunda. Oral presentations take place Tuesday afternoon, 1:00-2:45 p.m., Holloway Commons Piscataqua Room.
View abstracts from this session: http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007NE/finalprogram/session_19402.htm
http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007NE/finalprogram/session_18459.htm
* "Health and Geology in the Northeast" explores subjects ranging from integration of earth science and epidemiology to sugar maple decline disease. A forensic geology "who done it" focuses on polonium 210, the rare radioactive element found in the recent murder investigation of a Russian spy. The session takes place Monday, 12 March, 1:00-4:45 p.m., Huddleston Hall Banquet Room.
View abstracts from this session:
http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007NE/finalprogram/session_18470.htm
* An Archaeological Geology session on Tuesday, 13 March, includes the search for submerged archaeological sites in Maine's Damariscotta River and use of ground penetrating radar in locating the 18th century site of Commodore Walker's occupation of Alston Point, New Brunswick. Talks take place 10:15 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Holloway Commons Piscataqua Room.
View abstracts from this session:
http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007NE/finalprogram/session_19395.htm
* An all-day session on "Contaminants in Groundwater-Surface Water Systems: Sources, Pathways, and Toxicities" addresses many facets of arsenic, MTBE, uranium, and radon in the northeastern U.S. Talks take place Tuesday, 13 March, Memorial Union Building, Theater II, 8:15 a.m.-12:00 p.m. and 1:00-4:45 p.m. Posters are presented Wednesday, 14 March, 8:15 a.n.-12:00 p.m., Holloway Commons Rotunda.
View abstracts from this session:
http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007NE/finalprogram/session_18461.htm
http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007NE/finalprogram/session_19265.htm
http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007NE/finalprogram/session_19266.htm
* "New Insights in Atlantic Continental Margin Processes" includes recent assessment of slope stability and potential for Atlantic coast tsunamis related to active faulting near the Cape Fear slide headwall. Oral presentations take place Tuesday, 13 March, 3:00-4:45 p.m., Holloway Commons, Squamscott Room. Posters will be presented Wednesday, 14 March, 8:15 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Holloway Commons Rotunda.
View abstracts from this session:
http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007NE/finalprogram/session_18456.htm
http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007NE/finalprogram/session_19457.htm
* To view the complete technical program visit http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2007NE/finalprogram/
MEDIA REGISTRATION AND PROCEDURES
Eligibility for media registration is as follows:
* Working press representing bona fide, recognized news media with a press card, letter, or business card from the publication.
* Freelance science writers, presenting a current membership card from NASW, ISWA, regional affiliates of NASW, ISWA, CSWA, ACS, ABSW, EUSJA, or evidence of work pertaining to science published in 2006 or 2007.
* PIOs of scientific societies, educational institutions, and government agencies.
Journalists and PIOs must pay for any short courses or field trips in which they wish to participate.
Representatives of the business side of news media, publishing houses, and for-profit corporations must register at the main registration desk and pay the appropriate fees.
Complimentary meeting registration covers attendance at all technical sessions and access to the exhibit hall. Media must pay regular fees for paid luncheons, field trips, etc.
Media representatives may register onsite in the Holloway Commons lobby. Registration will be open Sunday, 11 March, 4:00-8:00 p.m., Monday and Tuesday, 12-13 March, 7:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m., and Wednesday, 14 March, 7:30 -11:00 a.m. All media registrants will receive a name badge and the program/abstract book upon arrival. Journalists who wish to pre-register may contact Ann Cairns, GSA Director of Communications, at 303-357-1056 or acairns@geosociety.org for assistance.
Media registrants may arrange on-site interviews after attending the session in which the talk is given or by leaving a note at the GSA Registration Desk requesting an interview before or after the talk. Interested media unable to attend may telephone the GSA Registration Desk at +1-603-862-3574 and leave a message requesting a callback from the speaker.
For additional information before 12 March, contact Ann Cairns. During the meeting, 12-14 March, contact the GSA Registration Desk at +1-603-862-3574.
Geological Society of America
3300 Penrose Place – Box 9140
Boulder, CO 80301-9140, USA
For more information on registration and topics at the Northeastern Section meeting visit the Geological Society of America website at http://www.geosociety.org/sectdiv/northe/07nemtgTP.htm.