course description

This course will be a field-, lab-, and literature-based investigation of the methods available to reconstruct past climates in the southwestern United States, the paleoclimate records in that region, and the impact of past climate changes on societies in the Southwest. The course will be strongly interdisciplinary, drawing on information and methods from climatology, geology, ecology, archaeology, and anthropology among other disciplines. We certainly do not expect students to be experts in all of these fields (we certainly are not) or even to have a basic familiarity with each. We do, however, expect them to be open to learning about them all.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS: Week 1 will be on campus, with morning sessions and several afternoon sessions. Week 2 will be at the Baca campus and will include 1-2 nights of camping near a field site near Capulin, Colorado, in the San Luis Valley. The days will be long and field work will require hiking. Week 3 will be on campus with morning and afternoon session in our labs.  Week 4 will be on campus, preparing the final reports and completing projects. For more details, see the daily schedule (link above). 

Textbooks and Readings

Fundamental of Tree Ring Research
By: James H. Speer

Paperback
ISBN-13:  978-0816526857

You will need a notebook to record your field notes during our research.  Any type of notebook will work other than a very small one (e.g., fits in a back pants pocket). You will write your notes and make sketches with a pencil.  You will also need an eraser.  At the end of the block you will scan and submit your field notes from our field work.  

Additional readings will be posted on Canvas. See course schedule. ​