Registration for the AIPG MN Section's February 6th, 2024, technical talk is now open online!

The cost is $10 for non-members and $5 for members. Students may attend free of charge. 

As always, non-members and non-geologists are welcome to attend!   

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Paleohydroclimate

Presented by Kevin Theissen, Ph.D, University of St. Thomas

Presentation Overview

The Great Basin of the southwestern U.S. is distinctive for its basin and range geology, arid climate, and desert ecology. The climate of the Great Basin, home to Las Vegas and other fast- growing metropolitan areas, has been dominated by drought in recent decades. This has spurred research to better understand longer-term climate trends and cycles in this region. In this presentation, Kevin will use his work in a spring-fed shallow lake in the Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge, along with the work of others, to discuss the ways that lakes, wetlands, and springs are used as natural archives of past hydroclimate. Importantly, these archives show evidence of multiple episodes of century- to millennial-scale drought, thought to be drier than today. He will discuss evidence of two notable extended periods of drought (so-called megadrought) that apparently impacted much of the region during the last ~3000 years: the relatively well-known Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA; ~1000 – 700 y.b.p) and the lesser-known Late Holocene Dry Period (LHDP; ~3100 – 1800 y.b.p). Kevin will also discuss ideas about the broader climate system forcings from the Pacific Ocean that are thought to drive these hydroclimate events in the Great Basin.   

Biography

Kevin Theissen, Ph.D, has been a professor of geology and environmental science in the Department of Earth, Environment & Society at the University of St. Thomas since 2003. He is interested in past climate and environmental change, including the recent impacts of humans. Kevin teaches a variety of courses on these topics and currently is collaborating with other scientists and St. Thomas students on research projects and monitoring partnerships in the Twin Cities metro area, southern Nevada, and Croatia. Sediment cores collected from lakes and the ocean are fantastic archives of climate and environmental change, and he and student researchers are using cores in their projects.

Kevin is drawn to the outdoors and he loves field research and teaching in the field! His work has taken him to far-flung places including Antarctica, Patagonia, the southwestern U.S., and Iceland.

He grew up and lives in Minneapolis and enjoys spending time with his family, distance running, and many outdoor activities.