SWOCC Geology Series, May 17

Southwestern’s geology lecture series is pleased to welcome Dr. Josh Roering on Saturday, May 19, 2018 at 7:00 pm. Dr. Roering will present a lecture on “Lakes: How Geologic Accidents Help Us Decipher Past Earthquakes, Climate, and Landscapes in Cascadia”. Residents of the Pacific Northwest are no stranger to mountainous landscapes. We ski on them, hike on them, harvest trees on them, and drive over them to get to Portland or most out-of-state destinations. But, the powerful, steep rivers that emerge from our mountainous surroundings are sometimes subject by geologic forces that impede river flow, creating lakes. By geologic standards, these lakes are not permanent, but rather serve as ephemeral repositories formed by an array of geologic accidents. Fortunately for geoscientists, these mountain lakes preserve sediments and sometimes even create ghost forests that reveal the climate and earthquake history of our region.  Dr. Josh Roering, Professor of Earth Science at the University of Oregon, is a geomorphologist specializing in the evolution of landscapes. His research group has been studying the dynamic nature of Cascadia over human to million-year timescales using “old school” and new school technology. In this presentation, he will highlight recent discoveries that demonstrate how frequent and profound change defines landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. Join us in the lobby before and after Dr. Roering’s talk to discuss our south coast links to Cascadia with representatives from the Coquille Tribe and South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve starting at 6:30 pm. Geology Lecture Series talks are free and are held in the Hales Center for the Performing Arts on Southwestern’s Coos Campus, 1988 Newmark Ave., Coos Bay. For those not able to attend in person, all lectures are Livestreamed and archived, with access from the College’s website at https://livestream.com/SWOCC/geology2017-18. This will be the final talk in the series for this academic year.  Lecture series sponsors include DB Western, The Mill Casino, the Southwestern Foundation and the College. For additional information, please contact Ron Metzger at 541-888-7216.