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Pacific Region Colloquium

The Pacific Region Colloquium, founded in February 1996 as the Western Region Colloquium, was a monthly speaker series that spanned the spectrum of earth and environmental science. 

Background

The Pacific Region Colloquium, originally called the Western Region Colloquium, was founded in February 1996 as a monthly speaker series intended to bridge the gaps between the Water Mission Area's science disciplines. The colloquium featured speakers who presented information of broad interest spanning the spectrum of earth and environmental science.

The Pacific Region Colloquium is not currently hosting speakers.  Past presentations are listed below, although videos of these seminars are currently unavailable. While we are working to restore access to the video archive, we do not have an estimate for how long this will take.  

 

Past Colloquia

DateSpeakerAffiliationTitle
2018
8 JanuaryLauren Wye and Simon LeeSRI InternationalNext generation InSAR system for UAS or crewed deployments enables on-demand observations of transient surface deformation
2017
6 NovemberJonathan PayneStanfordThe Modern (6th) Mass Extinction: A Geological Perspective
2 OctoberIsabel MontanezUC DavisReconstructing CO2-Climate-Vegetation Feedbacks during Earth's Penultimate Icehouse
22 SeptemberVarious speakersUSGSAnnual Postdoctoral / New Researchers Colloquium
11 SeptemberAndrew FisherUC Santa CruzEnhancing Groundwater Recharge with Stormwater Mapping, Modeling, Measuring and Monetizing
10 JulyAndrew RitchieUSGS-Santa CruzMeasuring River Response to the World's Largest Dam Removal
5 JuneDavid MorrisonNASA-AmesDefending the Earth against Asteroids
8 MayRichard LeaseUSGS Alaska Science CenterPatterns, Pulses, and Periodicity of Mountain Building Processes in Alaska
3 AprilGrant HilderbrandUSGS Alaska Science CenterThe Bear Necessities: Brown Bears in Diverse and Changing Alaskan Ecosystems
6 MarchJeffrey MooreNASA AmesNew Horizons, NASA's Pluto-Kuiper Belt Mission
6 FebruaryKen NewmanFish and Wildlife ServiceState-Space Modeling Delta Smelt Population Dynamics
9 JanuaryTiziana VanorioStanfordFrom Reactive Fluids to High Strain in Hydrothermal-Volcanic Areas
2016
3 OctoberNicholas Swanson-HysellUC BerkeleyFailed Rifting and Fast Drifting: North America's Midcontinent Rift and its Record of Rapid Paleogeographic Change
23 SeptemberVarious speakersUSGSAnnual Postdoctoral / New Researchers Colloquium
8 AugustMichael MangaUC BerkeleyThe Fascinating and Complex Dynamics of Geyser Eruptions
11 JulyDawn SumnerUC DavisOxygen Oases in Lakes May Have Heralded the Great Oxidation Event
6 JuneLaurel LarsenUC BerkeleyTaking the Pulse of Earth's Surface Systems
2 MayDavid FreybergStanford UniversityDam Decisions: What We Know and What We Don't
4 AprilDouglas BarnumUSGSIs California's Salton Sea Dying?
7 MarchAlan JonesStanfordLighting Up the Lithosphere: Information on the Continental Upper Mantle
8 FebruaryLynn RothschildNASA AmesSynthetic Biology and NASA's Missions: Low-Footprint Monitoring and Exploration
11 JanuarySeth ShostakSETIWill We Find E.T. Before You Retire?
2015
25 SeptemberVarious speakersUSGSAnnual Postdoctoral / New Researchers Colloquium
Presentation
Panel
14 SeptemberMary PowerUC BerkeleyThe Thirsty Eel: Drought Impacts on Salmon and Cyanobacteria in River Food Webs
10 AugustAdrian BorsaScripps Institution of OceanographyWater, Drought, and Crustal Deformation in the Western USA
6 JulyJonathan PayneStanford UniversitySeafood through Time: Ecology, Body Size, and Energetics
8 JuneJennifer WilcoxStanford UniversityCarbon Capture and Storage and a Back-up Plan
4 MayTanja BosakMITMicrobial sediments as records of evolution of life on Earth
6 AprilClaudia FauntUSGS California Water Science CenterGroundwater in California's Central Valley
9 MarchJohn PiattUSGS Alaska Science CenterGlobal Warming and the "Glacier Murrelet", a Pleistocene Relict Seabird of Beringia
9 FebruaryKate MaherStanford UniversityHydrologic Regulation of the Geologic Carbon Cycle
5 JanuaryMichael CheadleUniversity of WyomingThe Life and Death of Oceanic Core Complexes and the Largest Normal Faults in the World
2014
8 DecemberMichael WehnerLawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and
University of California, Berkeley
Extreme Weather in a Changing Climate
26 SeptemberVarious speakersUSGSAnnual Postdoctoral / New Researchers Colloquium
Presentation
Panel
8 SeptemberChris FieldCarnegie Institution for Science, Stanford UniversityClimate Change 2014: The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report
11 AugustDavid LobellStanford UniversityMeeting the Climate Adaptation Challenge in Agriculture
14 JulyAmy Hodge
Julie Sweetkind-Singer
Stanford UniversitySalmon Data on the Hook: Preserving Scientific Data for the Future
9 JuneRoland BurgmannUC BerkeleyPeriodic Deformation and Seismicity: From Tides to Seasonal Water Loads
5 MayArunas KuciauskasNaval Research LaboratoryOverview of the Naval Research Laboratory Satellite Website, Along with Examples of Low Cloud and Fog Products
7 AprilSarah AndrewsAuthorA Grand Life: The Story Eddie McKee, Grand Canyon Chief Naturalist 1929-1940 and Legendary Geologist
10 FebruarySolomon M. HsiangUniversity of California, Berkeley
Goldman School of Public Policy
Quantifying the Influence of Climate on Human Conflict
2013
2 DecemberBill EllsworthUSGS, Menlo ParkInjection-Induced Earthquakes
4 NovemberBen SleeterUSGS, Menlo ParkProjecting Future Land Use: Applications for Natural Resource Assessment
12 SeptemberVarious speakersUSGS, Menlo ParkAnnual Postdoctoral/New Researcher Colloquium
Video of Part 1
Video of Part 2
8 JulyBill and Rosemary AlleyAuthors"Too Hot to Touch -- The Problem of High-Level Nuclear Waste"
10 JuneDavid ThauGoogleLarge-scale and Deep-time Geo Analysis with Google Earth Engine
13 MayGordon BrownStanford UniversityMineral-Aqueous Solution Interfacial Reactions and Their Impact on the Environment
8 AprilPaul HsiehUSGSThe Science Behind the Taming of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
11 MarchMark ZobackStanford UniversityFluid Injection and Induced Seismicity
25 FebrusryChad Frost and
Steve Hipskind
NASA AmesNASA Earth Systems Science and Technologies
2012
22 OctoberJim EstesUC Santa CruzApex predators and the tapestry of nature
18 SeptemberVarious SpeakersUSGSAnnual Postdoctoral/New Researcher Colloquium
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3
13 AugustChristopher WilmersUCSCLarge predators responses to human activity from grizzly bears in Alaska to mountain lions in the Bay Area
9 JulyRon OremlandUSGSArsenic and the meaning of life
14 MayGuido GrosseUniversity of Alaska FairbanksDeep soil organic carbon in pan-arctic permafrost regions and vulnerability to disturbance
9 AprilDiane McKnightUniversity of Colorado at BoulderClimate change and surface water quality: The challenges of too much summer
12 MarchDorothy Merritts and 
Robert Walter
Franklin and Marshall UniversityStream restoration in the Eastern USA: The legacy of water-powered mills
13 FebruarySteve BohlenLawrence Livermore National LaboratoryModeling the Anthropocene
2011
12 DecemberKurt CuffeyUC BerkeleyIce, sea level, and contemporary climate change
14 NovemberBill DietrichUC BerkeleyThe soil is not enough: The importance of runoff and rock moisture in near-surface weathered bedrock to vegetation communities, climate, and landscape evolution
Not available at the request of the speaker
3 OctoberElizabeth HadlyStanford UniversityMammalian response to climatic change
12 SeptemberAndy FisherUC Santa CruzMassive flows of fluid, heat, and solutes through most of the ocean crust
23 AugustVarious speakersUSGSAnnual Postdoctoral/New Researcher Colloquium
8 AugustRobert HazenCarnegie Institute of Washington and George Mason Univ.The co-evolution of the geo- and biosphere
11 JulyAnthony ColapreteNASAWater on the Moon: Recent discoveries
6 JuneSteve PerakisUSGSBiogeochemical cycles of Pacific Northwest forests
9 MayDennis BaldocchiUC BerkeleyMethane Emissions from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
4 AprilRipudaman MalhotraSRI InternationalA cubic mile of oil
7 MarchLorraine and Alan FlintUSGSA general model for estimating groundwater recharge and runoff potential
2010
8 NovemberJill BaronUSGS Fort Collins Science Center
Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory
Colorado State University
Interactions of climate change and atmospheric nitrogen deposition
13 OctoberPostdoctoral AssociatesUSGS Western RegionPostdoctoral Presentations
Video of Presentations
Panel Discussion
4 OctoberFrank ChapelleUSGS South Carolina Water Science CenterHealing springs, groundwater geochemistry, and the history of bottled water
9 AugustKen MillerRutgers100 million years of sea-level change: Should I sell my beach house?
12 JulyJean BahrUniversity of WisconsinGeoscientists in an emerging green economy
7 JuneMaggi KellyUniversity of California, BerkeleyModeling forest structure with LiDAR for fire management in the Sierras
10 MayChuck MeertensUNAVCOHydrological effects on GPS ground deformation observed in the EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory
12 AprilSusan PettyAltaRock EnergyCurrent status of enhanced geothermal system (EGS) technology development
8 MarchMichael MangaUC BerkeleyEarthquakes and water (and why the LUSI mud volcano eruption was not triggered by an earthquake)
8 FebruaryDavid SchimelNational Ecological Observatory Network (NEON)The design of NEON and the future of ecological forecasting
2009
7 DecemberSteve GorelickStanford UniversityOil panic and the global crisis: Predictions and myths
23 NovemberDavid RogersCollege of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales, AustraliaThe art-science of earthquakes
9 NovemberDavid MontgomeryUniversity of WashingtonDirt - The erosion of civilizations
21 SeptemberWestern Region post-docs and new researchersUSGSWestern Region Postdoctoral/New Researcher Colloquium
13 JulyJames WorkmanDamBroker, San Francisco, CAHeart of Dryness: How the last bushmen can help us endure the coming age of permanent drought
Video
Interview
15 JuneCarol KendallUSGS, Menlo Park, CADrive-by extinctions: The role of vehicle exhaust in urban runoff and ecosystem degradation
11 MayElisabeth HollandNational Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, COChanging climate, carbon and nitrogen cycles
13 AprilJohn SlackUSGSProbing the redox state of Proterozoic seawater: Geochemical, biological, and economic implications
Not available
9 MarchPhilip MoteWA State Climatologist, University of WashingtonClimate change: Past, present, and future in the next 50-100 years in the West
9 FebruaryMary Lou ZobackRMSRisk management: A perspective from the private sector
12 JanuaryRobert GlennonUniversity of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of LawUnquenchable: America's water crisis and what to do about it
2008
Dec 2 2008Margaret LeinenClimos, Chief ScientistMitigating climate change: Will direct removal of CO2 be necessary?
Sep 15 2008Western Region Post-docsUSGS, Western RegionAnnual Post-doc Colloquium
Aug 25 2008Dr. Paul Winchester, MDClinical Professor, Indiana Univ. School of Medicine and Director, Neonatal Intensive Care, St. Francis Hospital.Environmental Contaminants in our Drinking Water, Breast Milk and Our Babies: How Worried Should We Be?
Jan 14 2008Scott W. TinkerDirector, Bureau of Economic Geology, University of Texas, AustinGlobal Energy: Myths and Realities
2007
Dec 03 2007Lisa LucasUSGS, Menlo ParkThe Wiggles Matter: Significance of high-frequency processes to surface water quality
Nov 5 2007Bob SmithUniversity of UtahGeodynamics and seismic/geodetic imaging of the Yellowstone hotspot
Oct 15 2007Sally BensonStanford UniversityCarbon Dioxide Capture and Storage in Deep Geological Formations
Jul 9 2007Dr. Sankar ChatterjeePaul Whitfield Horn Professor of Geosciences, Texas Tech UniversityFeathered dinosaurs from the 'Cretaceous Pompeii' of China and the origin of avian flight
May 21 2007Brad ReedUSGS, FlagstaffNational Phenology Network
Apr 23 2007Dominique WeisUniv. of BCThe structure of mantle plumes -- insights from geochemical and isotopic studies in Hawaii
Mar 19 2007Barbara Sherwood-LollarUniv. of TorontoLife's Chemical Kitchen: Support of Deep Terrestrial Subsurface Life by Abiogenic Hydrogen and Hydrocarbons
Feb 15 2007Brooks HansenScience MagazineThe Future of Scientific Publications
2006
Nov 13 2006Diane BoyerUSGS, Tucson, AZIn Search of Dam Sites: The USGS Expedition of 1923 in the Grand Canyon
Oct 10 2006Jon Christensen & Richard WhiteStanford Univ.The Checkerspot Butterfly and Serpentine
Sep 11 2006Fran HostettlerUSGS Menlo Park, CATrains, Pains, and the Legal System: Forensic Geochemistry of Two Oil Spills Affected By Methanogenic Biodegradation
Aug 14 2006Margaret TornLawrence Berkeley National LabsClimate change feedbacks and the future role of soils
Jun 12 2006Rob DunbarStanford Univ.Tropical temperatures, global warming, and land use change: A view from the Coral Reef
May 19 2006John KelmelisSenior Counselor for Earth Science, USGS/US Dept. of StateEarth Science Findings with Foreign Policy Implications
Apr 10 2006Patty FryerUniv. of HawaiiSubduction, Seismicity, and Serpentinization: Capturing a Subduction Event
Mar 13 2006Nina G. JablonskiCA Academy of SciencesThe Evolution of Human Skin Color
Feb 13 2006Claire KremenUniv. of Berkeley ESPMManaging for Ecosystem Services: Wild Bees and Crop Pollination in Northern CA
2005
Dec 12 2005Dr. Katheryn MoranUniv. of Rhode IslandArctic Coring Expedition (ACEX): A North Pole Discovery
Nov 14 2005Prof. Pamela MatsonStanford Univ.Agricultural Intensification in the Yaqui Valley, Mexico: Will it "Save Land for Nature"?
Oct 03 2005Todd DawsonU.C. Berkeley, CARedwood forests, fog water subsides, and the land-sea interface
Sep 06 2005Jake LowensternUSGS, Menlo ParkIntrusion, Deformation and Gas Discharge at the Yellowstone Caldera
Aug 15 2005Joel E. CohenRockefeller Univ., & Columbia Univ.Human Population Trends, Human Carrying Capacity and Sustainability
Jul 11 2005Michael AlleyVirginia TechRethinking the Design of Presentation Slides
Jun 06 2005Adina PaytonStanford Univ.High Productivity During Cretaceous Ocean Anoxic Events
Apr 11 2005Jeremy JacksonScripps Institution of OceanographyBrave New Ocean
Mar 14 2005Elliot SclarColumbia UniversityYou Won't Always Get What You Pay For: The Economics of Privatization
Feb 14 2005Christina RaveloUC Santa CruzGlobal Warming: Lessons from the Pliocene Warm Period
Jan 10 2005Robert WebbUSGS, TucsonGrand Canyon Downcutting: Has it occurred in the Holocene?
2004
Nov 15 2004Dr. Jayne BelnapUSGS, UtahSoils, crusts, dusts and the role of microbiotic crusts in resource management and ecosystem recovery
Oct 18 2004Roland BurgmannUC Berkeley, CAI Feel the Earth Move Under My Feet: Crustal Deformation in the Bay Area
Sep 13 2004Andrei Sarna-WojcickiUSGS, Menlo Park, CATephrochronology: The Study of Ancient Volcanic Ash Layers, and their Use in Deciphering Geologic History
Jul 19 2004Dr. Jay LundUniv. of California, DavisLarge-scale optimization for California water supply, flood control, and conflict resolution among multiple uses
Jun 14 2004Dr. James DeaconUniversity of Nevada, Las VegasConnectivity in the Desert Aquatic Ecosystems: The Devil's Hole Story
May 10 2004Steven IngebritsenUSGS, NRP, Menlo Park, CACrustal Permeability As A Dynamic Parameter
Apr 12 2004Dr. Deborah KelleySchool of Oceanography, Univ. of WashingtonAtlantis Massif 30 N The Lost City Hydrothermal Field: A New Submarine Ecosystem
Mar 08 2004Prof. Marion DiamondUC BerkeleyBenefits of Enrichment at Any Age
Feb 23 2004Stephanie PrejeanUSGS, Anchorage, AKNew Insight into the Processes that Trigger Earthquakes in the Long Valley Caldera, California
Jan 12 2004David MorrisonNasa-AmesAsteroid and comet impacts on Earth - a hazard for the future?
2003
Nov 10 2003Jim EstesUSGS, Western Ecological Research Center, Santa Cruz Field StationThe recovery and subsequent collapse of kelp forest ecosystems in western Alaska
Aug 11 2003Charlie PaullMonterey Bay Aquarium Research InstituteNew Views on the Distribution and Geologic Controls of Chemosynthetic Biologic Communities
Jul 14 2003John BarronUSGS Volcano HazardsThe evolution of the climate of coastal Northern California during the past 15,000 years
Apr 14 2003Chris PotterNASAIntegrated Studies of Carbon, Nitrogen, and Surface Hydrologic Budgets for California
Mar 10 2003Tomas RoffeUSGS, Bozeman, MTCharismatic megafauna and nefarious microfauna of Yellowstone: the Brucellosis Controversy
2002
Nov 18 2002Timothy Rood, Calthorpe Assoc.; David Howell, USGS; Eric Yurkovich, USGS; Daniel Bosch, Robert Mondavi Family of Wines; Skip Pack, Dynamic Graphics; David Ramsey, USGS; Peter Dartnell, USGS; Joel Robinson, USGSGIS at the USGS and Beyond
Sep 09 2002John TakekawaUSGS/WERCForaging Ecology and Contaminant Risks of Diving Ducks in San Francisco Bay Estuary
Jul 08 2002Mark Marvin-DiPasqualeUSGS, Menlo ParkMercury contamination of ecosystems and the role of microbiology
Apr 22 2002Frank SullowayUC BerkeleyBirth Order Family Dynamics and Creative Lives: From Darwinian Evolution to World History
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