Welcome to Jurassic Arc: Reconstructing the Ancient History of the Sierra Nevada
Location
Biology Building, Room 101
Start Date
2-11-2017 6:00 PM
End Date
2-11-2017 7:00 PM
Description
The Sierra Nevada are best known for breath-taking exposures of granitic rocks in places like Yosemite Valley, Kings Canyon, and the Tahoe Basin. The rocks at these locations are part of a massive granitic backbone that spans the the entire length of eastern California. These rock exposures offer us an interesting glimpse into how a period of intensive volcanic activity built this backbone during the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods (~180-80 million years ago). However, the earliest chapters in this story are very difficult to unravel because the processes that create these huge volumes of granite generally destroy the preexisting rocks. Fortunately, there are a few places where the preexisting rocks are preserved. The rarity of these exposures is significant, because the relationships they preserve provide our only basis for understanding the timing and mechanisms behind the earliest states in the geologic evolution of the Sierra Nevada. The Mt Tallac roof pendant is one of the largest and best exposed of these accumulations of preexisting rock. Over the past several years, undergraduate students working with Dr Burmeister and in collaboration with a network of researchers at other institutions have applied a variety of techniques, including geologic mapping, strain analysis, and paleomagnetic analysis to begin to resolve the details associated with what appears to be a surprisingly rapid series of developments in the early history of the central Sierra Nevada.
Welcome to Jurassic Arc: Reconstructing the Ancient History of the Sierra Nevada
Biology Building, Room 101
The Sierra Nevada are best known for breath-taking exposures of granitic rocks in places like Yosemite Valley, Kings Canyon, and the Tahoe Basin. The rocks at these locations are part of a massive granitic backbone that spans the the entire length of eastern California. These rock exposures offer us an interesting glimpse into how a period of intensive volcanic activity built this backbone during the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods (~180-80 million years ago). However, the earliest chapters in this story are very difficult to unravel because the processes that create these huge volumes of granite generally destroy the preexisting rocks. Fortunately, there are a few places where the preexisting rocks are preserved. The rarity of these exposures is significant, because the relationships they preserve provide our only basis for understanding the timing and mechanisms behind the earliest states in the geologic evolution of the Sierra Nevada. The Mt Tallac roof pendant is one of the largest and best exposed of these accumulations of preexisting rock. Over the past several years, undergraduate students working with Dr Burmeister and in collaboration with a network of researchers at other institutions have applied a variety of techniques, including geologic mapping, strain analysis, and paleomagnetic analysis to begin to resolve the details associated with what appears to be a surprisingly rapid series of developments in the early history of the central Sierra Nevada.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Burmeister is an Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental & Geological Sciences. He is a geologist that studies how the Earth’s crust deforms in convergent tectonic plate boundaries. He has active, undergraduate - based field research prog rams in western Ireland, the Sierra Nevada, upstate New York, and Japan. Originally from Sacramento, Kurt completed a BA in Biological Sciences and a MA in Vertebrate Paleontology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. Kurt completed his PhD in Structural Geology at the University of Illinois. Before coming to Pacific, he was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Southern California and an Assistant Professor at California State University, Bakersfield. Kurt is also the National Director of the USGS/NAGT Cooperative Field Training Program and the Co -Director of the Wasatch -Uinta Geological Field Camp Program.