01-10-2015 Ray Pestrong: Earth Art
About the Talk Earth as Art In his 2012 book, “The Sciences and the Arts,” Chemist Harold Cassidy draws parallels between the way artists and scientists view their worlds. He states that “there is no subject that is unfit for the probing insight of the artist, nor is there anything unsuitable for the scientist to examine.” The premise of Dr. Pestrong’s presentation is that Art is central to the Earth, both figuratively and literally. If you cover the first and last letters of the word “Earth”, there is “art”. This is a symbolic indication of how integral Art is to… Read more01-10-2015 Ray Pestrong: Earth Art
02-28-2015 Wendy Gerstel: Bluff retreat
About the Talk Bluff Retreat—What to do about the “Law of Averages” Options for addressing coastal erosion and landslide hazards vary as much as do the combinations of bluff composition and the coastal processes acting on them. For this reason, owners, both private and public, of bluffs along Puget Sound need to consider site conditions and their geologic and geographic setting when deciding how or whether to take action to counter slope retreat. On Saturday, February 28th, Wendy Gerstel will offer insights into what must be considered for long-term adaptation to natural geologic processes and will provide a few site-specific… Read more02-28-2015 Wendy Gerstel: Bluff retreat
05-02-2015 Scott Burns: Geology of Washington Wines
About the Talk Terroir II—The Geology of Washington Wines On Saturday, May 2, 2015, Geology professor emeritus and oenophile Dr. Scott Burns of Portland State University will give an illustrated lecture on the influence of geology on grapes, how they grow, and the effect on wines. This topic—commonly known as terroir—will focus on the Columbia River Basin and its geologic history. The talk will feature two local wineries that get their grapes from that region. About the Speaker Dr. Burns has taught geology for nearly 35 years with a specialization in soils, geomorphology, and regional geology. Terroir is one of… Read more05-02-2015 Scott Burns: Geology of Washington Wines
06-26-2015 Hank Schasse: Geology of Port Townsend
GEOLOGY OF PORT TOWNSEND Lecture: Friday, June 26 @ 3:30 pm Field Trip: Saturday, June 27 @ 9 am About the Talk Hank Schasse of Olympia, WA, will discuss the geology of the Port Townsend region. The one-hour lecture will be at the Jefferson County Public Library in Port Hadlock starting at 3:30 pm on Friday, June 26th. Seating is limited to about 80 persons. There is no cost for the lecture, but a $5 donation would be appreciated to offset costs associated with travel and other support for the speaker and event. Port Townsend sits at the northern end of the… Read more06-26-2015 Hank Schasse: Geology of Port Townsend
10-03-2015 Paul Loubere: Rising Sea-Level
About the Talk Paul Loubere will present a lecture titled Rising Sea-Level: Causes, Predictions, and Coastal Impact. This topic should be of great interest to those that live at or near sea level. The basic message is that “Sea-level is rising and will continue to do so well into the future as global warming proceeds, which leads to a series of basic science questions: What exactly defines sea-level? It turns out that sea-level isn’t very level, why not? How has sea-level varied in the past, and why? What mechanisms control sea-level, and on what scales and time-spans? What are predictions for… Read more10-03-2015 Paul Loubere: Rising Sea-Level
11-04-2015 JLTGG: The Big One (EQ) Workshop
About the Workshop Surviving the Really Big One – A JLT Earthquake and Tsunami Preparedness Workshop The Jefferson Land Trust Geology Group presents a special workshop on “Surviving the Really Big One” on November 14, 2015. This earthquake and tsunami workshop was created in response to the July 20th article in the New Yorker Magazine, which has received lots of attention both locally and throughout the Pacific Northwest. However, those with a background in geology may have felt that many of the claims in this article were exaggerated or not well founded. Michael Machette, the organizer of this event, said… Read more11-04-2015 JLTGG: The Big One (EQ) Workshop
11-07-2015 David Williams: Seattle’s topography
About the Talk Too High and Too Steep—Reshaping Seattle’s Topography Today’s Seattle looks very different from the landscape that its founding settlers first encountered. As the city grew, its leaders and inhabitants dramatically altered its topography to accommodate their changing visions. In Too Steep and Too High, writer and geologist David Williams illuminates the physical challenges and sometimes startling hubris of these large-scale transformations, helping us find visible traces of the city’s former landscape and understand how Seattle has been radically reshaped. David B. Williams is a freelance writer in Seattle. Originally raised in Seattle, he went to college in Colorado where he initially… Read more11-07-2015 David Williams: Seattle’s topography
12-05-2015 Bill Baccus: Olympic Glaciers
About the Talk Glaciers of the Olympic National Park—Past, Present, and Future? Bill Baccus will present an overview of the Glaciers of the Olympic National Park, where he has worked for 30 years. As you may know, the winter of 2014-15 was one of extremely low snowfall in the Park, which has a direct impact on the glaciers. Is this a harbinger of the future? Bill will introduce the glacial resources at Olympic National Park and discuss the methods used to inventory the park’s glaciers. These include the use of high-resolution aerial photography to delineate glacier perimeters and determine surface… Read more12-05-2015 Bill Baccus: Olympic Glaciers
2015-07-18 Michael Machette: Nodule Point field trip
About the Field Trip FIELD TRIP TO NODULE POINT, MARROWSTONE ISLAND The Jefferson Land Trust’s Geology Group will lead a walking tour of Nodule Point, which is on the southeastern coast of Marrowstone Island. The trip will be based on a field guide that Dave Tucker of Western Washington University has on his NW Geology Field Trip blog. Please download and read this guide before joining the trip (see registration info to left). FIELD TRIP: The field trip will be both lay and technically oriented, so although a basic knowledge of geology would help, we’ll have geologists along to explain the… Read more2015-07-18 Michael Machette: Nodule Point field trip
2015-09-19 Liz Schermer: San Juan Islands
About the Field Trip GEOLOGY OF THE FIDALGO, LOPEZ, AND THE SAN JUAN ISLANDS TRIP OVERVIEW Day 1. Lopez Island: Ferry from Anacortes to Lopez Island. Three stops to see rocks and structures of the Lopez Structural Complex –a major fault zone of the San Juan thrust system. Ferry to San Juan Island in the afternoon. Day 2. San Juan Island: Stops at Lime Kiln Point to see rocks transported thousands of miles from the tropics, Cattle Point to see deformed sandstones and siltstones of the Lopez Structural Complex grooved by glaciation, and American Camp to see a major thrust… Read more2015-09-19 Liz Schermer: San Juan Islands