This 1 credit seminar is an opportunity to read and evaluate literature pertinent to your studies and interests and to study subjects you wouldn't otherwise have read. It is also a chance to learn more from the literature through discussion and exchange with others in an informal, supportive environment. We will discuss sets of journal articles of your selection. This semester, students have chosen to read and discuss within the general theme of dendroclimatology -- the study of past climates using measurements made on trees -- with particular emphasis on classic and current papers on drought reconstruction, stable isotopic and chemical measurements, and "deep time" paleoclimatology. 

Goals 

By the conclusion of the semester, students should have developed their own opinions on the following topics:

1. What are the primary results, strengths and weaknesses of classic and current research efforts within the identified themes in dendroclimatology?
2. Are there any recurring items of discussion that describe or link the full set of readings under discussion?
   

1. Explication of multidisciplinary data development and analysis efforts representing important advances in the subject we have studied. 
2. Summation and defense of a logical scientific argument; identification of controversial issues (which may be ripe avenues for future research).
3. Formulation and communication of one's own opinion on new and controversial ideas.

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Logistics

Instructor: Michael Evans , Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, 214 W. Stadium.  ph 626-2897;  email: mevans@ltrr.arizona.edu.  Office hours: Friday, 3-5pm, W. Stadium 214, or by appointment.  Please email with questions or for more information.  I will try to answer emails within 24 hours.

Location and Time:
Introductory meeting: Wednesday, January 17th, 2007, Tree-Ring Lab Conference Room, 3pm.  
Regular meeting time: Wednesdays, 3:00-5pm, on specific days during the semester (see syllabus below).

Registration info  

There may be multiple "modules" of GEOS 595E taught each semester; you may register for 1 unit which comprises the module described here, and/or for other modules.  This is section 7.  See the 2007 Dendrochronology Colloquium Overview webpage for this semester's offerings, and more details.

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Prerequisite:  None.  A commitment to thoroughly reading assigned papers will be essential to an informed discussion and lively debate of issues.  Please ask if you want to read further  background on a given subject.

Additional reading and course materials: Per copyright fair use guidelines, I will  provide them electronically as password protected PDF files, served from this webpage.  Please email the instructor for the userid and password for access.

Assignments  

• A commitment to closely reading the assigned literature and active participation in discussions is absolutely essential.  Class sessions will vary in style with leader, but in general, expect to have some introductory presentation of the primary argument made in the paper, with the bulk of the session devoted to discussion of reading focus questions, controversial points, answering questions raised during your reading, and summation by the leader or by participants.  To extract the maximum from the papers we'll read and from the discussion time we have, be prepared and bring questions.

• Skim the reading for organization and the 'big picture'.
• What is the main point or argument of the paper?
  
• Read closely a second time for the following questions:
• What is the strategy by which the argument for the main point is made?  What are its major strengths and weaknesses?
• What results most strongly support the conclusions?
• What, if any, are flaws in the argument? 
  
• What questions do I have on the strategy, results, and conclusions (which I can't answer via further research, reading, textbooks)?
• How does the work fit into our prior discussions, if applicable, and your research or pre-existing view of the subject matter?
  

• Students will take turns leading discussion on relevant papers from the peer-reviewed literature.  This will involve presenting the authors' major arguments and conclusions, answering questions and defending the work, pointing out particular strengths and weaknesses of the work and leading discussion on controversial points. 

• For a grade of "A", students will demonstrate that they
  
• have read carefully and mastered the assigned literature
• have developed responses to the questions raised under Assignments (above)
• are able to address questions raised by other students and the instructor
• participate actively in sessions led by other students
  

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Syllabus (subject to revision)
 

When	Topic	Discussion Leader	Reading Assignment
January 17th	Introduction; Logistics	Mike Evans
January 24th	Streamflow reconstruction: Classic to current methods and results	Erika W.	Schulman (1945) [7Mb pdf] Stockton and Jacoby (1976) [12Mb pdf] Woodhouse et al. (2006) [2Mb pdf] Reading focus questions are here.
February 2nd (Friday) IGERT seminar, Anthropology 216, 3-5:30pm	Tracking ENSO with tropical trees: Chronology, calibration, and case studies	Mike Evans	McCarroll and Loader (2004) [1.2Mb pdf] Evans and Schrag (2004) [422Kb pdf] Reading focus questions are here.
March 7th	Deep time dendrochronology: Warm climates and climate variations within the Eocene and Pliocene epochs	Adam C.	Jahren and Sternberg (2003) [282Kb pdf] Ballantyne et al. (2006) [655Kb pdf] Reading focus questions are here.
March 28th	Drought reconstruction: gridded field estimation techniques and results for the several centuries	Troy K.	Meko et al. (1993) [1.2Mb pdf] Cook et al. (1999) [475Kb pdf] Cook et al. (2004) [844Kb pdf] Reading focus questions are here.
April 11th	Tropical dendrochronology: classical, chemical  and isotopic methods	Genaro G.	Stahle (1999) [67Kb pdf] Worbes (2002) [248Kb pdf] Poussart et al. (2006) [809Kb pdf] Evans (2007) [363Kb  pdf] Reading focus questions are here.
Last session (TBA)	Wrap up	Class

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