Doug Clark is an Associate Professor of Geology at Western Washington University who has been teaching and conducting research at WWU for more than 20 years. His love of geology in general, and of mountain landscapes in particular, stem from spending much of his childhood hiking and backpacking with his geologist father in the Sierra Nevada. Following these early formative experiences, Doug received BS and MS degrees in Geology at Stanford University and a Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from University of Washington. He also worked as a professional geologist for several years with Earth Sciences Associates in the Bay Area between his advanced degrees.
Doug’s research interests span a broad range of Earth surface phenomena related to mountainous landscapes, including glaciation and climate change, landslides, and active tectonics. His research has taken him to mountain ranges in central Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and western North America, but he maintains a special interest on glacial problems in the Cascade Mountains and the Sierra Nevada. In addition to his passion for mountain research, Doug enjoys teaching a variety of classes at WWU, from Introductory Geology to senior and graduate-level classes in geologic mapping, glaciology, and image interpretation using lidar data. He is particularly passionate about helping students learn geology first-hand, in the field!
I retired from the U.S. Geological Survey in 2015 after a 40-year career, during which I was stationed in Denver, Colo., and at the Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Wash. I received my geology degrees at St. Lawrence University (B.S.) and at the University of Washington (M.S. and Ph.D.), where my research focused on understanding the Quaternary glacial history of the central Oregon Cascades. My initial projects at USGS were mapping the surficial geology of the eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho, and pursuing studies of Quaternary stratigraphy and faulting along the Wasatch Front in Utah. The latter resulted in a greatly revised history of the fluctuations of Lake Bonneville.
The 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens opened new opportunities to unravel the eruptive history of Cascade volcanoes and to evaluate potential hazards from future eruptions. I relocated to the Cascades Volcano Observatory and started work on the Oregon Cascade Range at the Three Sisters volcanic center, Newberry Volcano, and Mount Hood, all of which led to a better understanding of eruptive history and processes and volcano-hazard assessments, as well as to cooperation with land-management and emergency-management agencies in creating plans for responding to future volcanic unrest and eruptions in the areas.
Later in my career, I served as Scientist-in-Charge at Cascades Volcano Observatory for 6 years, during which I worked with an interagency group developing communication and response plans for Mount Rainier. Eruptions at several Alaska volcanoes, Mount St. Helens, Mount Pinatubo, and Montserrat provided valuable research opportunities to study volcanic processes in action, as well as the complexities arising from volcanic crises and the need to advise public officials and agencies responding to such crises.
I continue to work with USGS as a Geologist Emeritus engaged in completing maps and reports, chief among them is a detailed geological map of Mount Hood. I also volunteer as a Geologist with the Mount St. Helens Institute, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping people understand and protect the volcano.
William E. Scott
Geologist Emeritus
U.S. Geological Survey—Cascades Volcano Observatory
1300 SE Cardinal Court, Bldg 10
Vancouver, WA 98683
The Battle for the Abyss: Mining, conservation, and bioprospecting interests square off on the deep sea
The Lecture
Nearly 60% of the surface of our planet is covered by more than 2000 m of water. The deep seabed is the largest and least explored ecological region on Earth. With no light for photosynthesis, this cold high-pressure environment is a food desert, with most organisms feeding on organic debris that sinks from the surface ocean. Yet, there are an estimated 500,000 or more species in the deep sea, many of which occur nowhere else. The abyss has seen relatively little disturbance from human activities, but that situation is poised to change. Economic growth is driving increasing demand for base metals and rare-earth elements. Known mineral resources on land will soon be insufficient. Seabed mining is now technologically feasible and regulatory agencies such as the International Seabed Authority are currently finalizing regulations for mineral extraction. Environmental disturbance from seabed mining operations will be significant, with some mining operations at the scale of 10,000 square km or more. The presentation did shine some light on the current debate between deep-sea mining interests and the interests of biodiversity conservation and genetic resource biodiscovery. He also touched on some of the technologies that are being used for deep-sea exploration.
Manganese nodules, cobalt-rich manganese crusts, and polymetallic sulphides comprise the major mineral deposits that are currently being considered for mining. The romantic view of deep-sea mining that emerged in the mid-20th century must now contend with the realization that each of these deposits host unique faunal and microbial communities that would be severely impacted by mining operations. Together, we explored each of these environments and their inhabitants through imagery collected by research submersibles, and learn more about their biodiversity, their contribution to ocean ecosystem function, and their potential for biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications. He also introduced some of the players in this “battle for the abyss,” from regulatory agencies to mining companies, deep-sea biologists and Big Pharma.
About the Speaker
Ocean Networks Canada executive leadership team. Portraits of the 7 executive members and group shots.
Kim Juniper is Chief Scientist with Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), a University of Victoria-based organization that operates cabled ocean observatories in the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. He is also Professor in UVic’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences and Department of Biology, and holder of the British Columbia Leadership Chair in Ocean Ecosystems and Global Change. He has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications on the microbiology, biogeochemistry and ecology of deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and low oxygen and other marine habitats. He has contributed scientific leadership and advisory roles to many national and international initiatives including, most recently, the Canadian Healthy Oceans research network (CHONe), the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO), OceanObs’19 and OceanObs Next, the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES), and the European Marine water Column and Seafloor Observatory (EMSO-ERIC). He served as an occasional advisor to the International Seabed Authority during the development of regulations for the exploration and extraction of seabed mineral resources in areas beyond national jurisdictions. His current research is focusing on bio-prospecting methods for the assessment of the microbial genetic resources associated with seafloor massive sulphide deposits.
