Geology Open Night

Open night lectures are usually on topics in the geosciences related to the current research of the faculty, staff and students at SUNY Stony Brook. These presentations are intended for:

• those interested in new developments in the sciences
• earth science high school students and teachers
• undergraduate and graduate students in geosciences
• professional geologists on Long Island

You may also be interested in Astronomy Open Night

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There will be Refreshments and Demonstrations after the Presentations.

Admission is Free!!

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Devastating Earthquakes of 1999

Prof. Teng-fong Wong

7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Friday February 25

 

At the end of the last millennium several devastating earthquakes occurred, killing tens of thousand people and resulting in damage in tens of billion dollars. Although the number of major earthquakes in the year 1999 is not unusually high, many of them struck in the vicinity of urban megacities, notably the magnitude 7.8 quake at Izmit, Turkey and the 7.6 quake at Chihchih, Taiwan. The Izmit and Chihchih earthquakes have significantly different styles of fault rupture, seismicity and recurrence. Field photos and seismological data will be presented to illustrate the tectonic framework and mechanical complexity associated with these two devastating earthquakes. Lessons learned from these events on earthquake hazard reduction and emergency response will also be discussed.

Links for more information about earthquakes

quake.wr.usgs.gov/study/turkey/index.html

www.deprem.gov.tr/

rccg03.usc.edu/RecentEQ/Turkey/Default.htm

caldera.wr.usgs.gov/

www.moeacgs.gov.tw/

rccg03.usc.edu/RecentEQ/Taiwan/LinksTW.htm

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The New Global Tectonics Using Space-based Technology

Prof. William Holt

 7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Friday March 24

Recent advances in satellite global positioning system (GPS) technology allow measurements of relative horizontal displacements on the surface of the earth at the accuracy level of 1 mm/yr. This has opened up new exciting areas of research in active tectonics within continental regions where deformation is taken up on many faults. Using GPS technology allows us to map strains on the surface of the earth and this has led to new improvements in seismic hazards analysis as well as new insights into mountain building processes and the evolution of the continents. I will present new exciting results in areas such as the western United States and the Himalayas and Tibet.

Links for more information

Images of active plate margins over the last 10 million years and into the next 10 million years

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Fossil Oysters and Sea Level change 
on the  
New Jersey Continental Shelf

Prof. Bret Bennington
Hofstra University

7:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Friday April 28

Seventy million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Era, sea level was much higher than it is today. What is now central New Jersey was sea floor beneath the Atlantic where shellfish nestled while fish, sharks and mosasaurs swam above. Today, the sediments deposited on the ancient sea floor are exposed along the eroding coastal plain, revealing strata and fossils that tell a story of continuous sea level rise and fall. Careful sampling and analysis of these sediments and fossils allows paleontologists to reconstruct the ancient environments developed on the sea floor and the animal communities that inhabited them. Sediments and fossils also provide clues to the magnitude of sea level change in the Cretaceous, suggesting that this exceptionally warm time in Earth's history may not have been completely ice-free, as previously believed.

Link for more information about the Late Cretaceous Era

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In-service credit available for teachers

• six Geology Open Nights
• eight Astronomy Open Nights
• three Long Island Geologists Dinners

We will offer up to 7.5 hours for each of the two Long Island Geologists field trips.