Earthquakes, Mega Droughts, and Climate Change, Oh My!
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Document Type
Presentation
Start Date
8-9-2020 4:00 PM
End Date
8-9-2020 5:00 PM
Description
Today Kyrgyzstan is a country and landscape dominated by mountains. Those mountains shape the modern environments and people's interactions with landscape, both historically on the Silk Road and today, but also the geologic hazards and an ongoing response to climate change. The changing environment of the mountains today is mirrored in our geologic past. By studying the rocks and fossils of ancient Kyrgyzstan, we can begin to understand how and when ecosystems change and provide context for today's geologic hazards like earthquakes as well as how our modern environments may change in the face of climate change. The building of the Tien Shan mountains occurred along still-active fault lines, radically altering topography and climate. This shifted Kyrgyzstan from a Mediterranean-like climate, with ancient rhinos, giraffes, hyenas, and horses roaming the plains, the high alpine environments of today.
Speaker Bio
Win McLaughlin, originally from WA state completed a Bachelors of Science in Environmental Science at University of the Pacific in 2010. From there she found her way to a Masters program at University of Oregon, and after yet another shift in study, a PhD also at University of Oregon completed in 2018. Win's PhD research revolved around understanding the timing of environmental and landscape change in Kyrgyzstan, a project and place she'll continue to work in for the rest of her career. Including a 2015 Fulbright Student Researcher fellowship to Kyrgyzstan, Win has made a total of four trips to Kyrgyzstan and spent 14 months living there (and now is always desperate to go back). Post PhD, Win has taught at several liberal arts colleges, most recently starting at Pomona College in Claremont CA.
Earthquakes, Mega Droughts, and Climate Change, Oh My!
Today Kyrgyzstan is a country and landscape dominated by mountains. Those mountains shape the modern environments and people's interactions with landscape, both historically on the Silk Road and today, but also the geologic hazards and an ongoing response to climate change. The changing environment of the mountains today is mirrored in our geologic past. By studying the rocks and fossils of ancient Kyrgyzstan, we can begin to understand how and when ecosystems change and provide context for today's geologic hazards like earthquakes as well as how our modern environments may change in the face of climate change. The building of the Tien Shan mountains occurred along still-active fault lines, radically altering topography and climate. This shifted Kyrgyzstan from a Mediterranean-like climate, with ancient rhinos, giraffes, hyenas, and horses roaming the plains, the high alpine environments of today.
https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/research-tuesdays/fall-2020/events/3
