Seminar Series: What Iron Grains Tell Us About Arctic Climate Change

Event Date: March 21, 2018

Date: Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Time: 12:00 p.m.

Location: Hampton University, 123 Phenix Hall

Please join the Hampton University Atmospheric and Planetary Science Seminar Series in welcoming:

Speaker: Dennis Darby of Old Dominion University

Title: What Iron Grains Tell Us About Arctic Climate Change

About the Speaker:

Dennis Darby is Professor of Geological Oceanography in the Department of Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at Old Dominion University, where he has been since 1977. He earned a B.S. in 1966 and an M.S. in 1968, both in Geology, from the University of Pittsburgh and a Ph.D. in Geology and Oceanography in 1971 from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. His research deals with the paleoclimatology and paleoceanography of the Arctic Ocean as determined by fingerprinting iron oxide sand grains using their chemical composition measured by electron microprobe and matching these grains to similar grain types in potential source areas around the Arctic Ocean. Knowing the precise source of each grain provides a detailed picture of the mix of sources for each layer in deep-sea sediment cores and this helps to elucidate the past circulation patterns of drifting ice that transported these grains. It also indicates where glacial ice existed and when this ice calved into the Arctic. The same technique is used to study modern ice floes and the export of this ice through Fram Strait into the Greenland Sea where it can melt and affect climate. Darby recently lead two successful coring expeditions to the central Arctic as part of the Healy-Oden Trans-Arctic Expedition (HOTRAX).

FOR Remote Audience

Thanks to a partnership with the National Institute of Aerospace, the Atmospheric and Planetary Science Seminar will also be available live online at: https://livestream.com/viewnow/HU-CARE

Thank you to our sponsor, STC, Inc. for their support.