EAS 3390 Younger Dryas Tree-Ring Field Research at Bell Creek in Upstate New York

Course description

Two-week field session to excavate logs that were buried in the Bell Creek Valley 10 to 13,000 years ago, and to collect and retrieve all possible information about wood deposition, site stratification, and any evidence of the paleoenvironment and paleoclimate during the Younger Dryas and into the Early Holocene, a period of extreme climate change. Excavation every weekday, no matter the weather, except for one day spent at a nearby lab facility for an intro to sample prep, species ID, and tree-ring analysis. Three informal lecture/discussions each week from participating and visiting scientists about their research interests and relationship to the site and its findings. Bell Creek is Southeast of Oswego and East of Fulton, NY, and there will be a field excursion on Sunday to the Chimney Bluffs State Park on Lake Ontario.

Prerequisites

Recommended prerequisite: introductory geology.

Previously offered classes