During the last 2.4 million years, often referred to as the "Ice Age", climate has oscillated between extreme warm and cold conditions. In warm periods, alligators migrated as far north as the Ohio Valley, and during cold episodes, continent-sized ice sheets covered most of Europe and North America. What was responsible for the roller coaster climate of the Quaternary and latest Tertiary periods and how do we know about these dynamic conditions of the past?
Quaternary geology is the study of how rocks and sediments of the recent past formed and how we decipher this geologic history. An important aspect of the last 3 million years is the growth of glaciers and how their expansions and contractions are recorded by deposits on land and in the ocean, as well as in the thick piles of snow and ice that are still a part of modern ice caps. Some of the topics that will be discussed are the mechanics and mass balance of glaciers (glaciology), glacial geology (glacial deposits and landforms), techniques for dating Quaternary sediments and fossils, isostatic and sea level changes brought on by expanding and melting ice sheets, and other effects of climatic change in areas near and removed from glaciated regions.
The course will include field trips to Quaternary geological features in the Boston area, as well as excursions to the Connecticut River Valley in New Hampshire and Vermont and the western Mohawk River valley of central New York, where glacial and marine sediments from the last glaciation will be studied.
