The Geology Department is most pleased to welcome Dr. David Chapman of the University of Utah as our 2010 Bernstein Geologist-in-Residence. Dr. Chapman will be here for the whole week, giving talks and participating in classes and other activities of the Geology Department.
Public lecture: Monday, May 17, 7:00 pm., Olin 149
Global Warming: The Science is Settled. What do we do now?
Dr. Chapman writes, “The instrumental record of air temperatures, sea level rise, borehole temperature profiles, and shrinking ice cover in the Northern Hemisphere all indicate that the globe is warming at a rate and extent that is beyond natural variation. The most likely culprit is the growth of greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. Considering the growth of human population, the clear relation between energy use and standard of living, and the fact that we produce about 80% of our energy by burning fossil fuels, we predict a much warmer planet in the future if the current trends are not reversed. There are promising choices for us, however, involving personal, community, national, and international actions. It is not too late.”
Geology department lecture: Wednesday, May 19, 3:30 p.m., Mudd 73
“Heat loss of the Earth”
The Earth is losing heat at the rate of 42 Terrawatts. Continental heat flow is well understood but comprises less than 30% of global heat loss. Oceanic heat flow is more complex. Extraordinary geothermal features on mid-ocean ridges (smokers) vent heat at the rate of ~100 Megawatts, but are infrequent in space. More pervasive low temperature hydrothermal circulation through the sea floor out to ages of 50 My, although harder to discern, is responsible for much more heat loss. Modern instrumentation, global positioning, and sophisticated modeling are all parts of the evolving story about how we estimate the heat loss for planet Earth.
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Dr. Chapman received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Physics from the University of British Columbia and then spent six years in Zambia, teaching at Canisius College under the auspices of CUSO (the Canadian Peace Corps) and at the fledgling University of Zambia. His interests then turned to geophysics which he pursued at the University of Michigan, earning his Ph.D. in 1976, after which he joined the faculty of the University of Utah.
Dr. Chapman is also Associate Vice President for Graduate studies and Dean of the Graduate School and Director of Thermal Geophysics Research Group. He leads an active research group studying thermal aspects of geological processes including: global heat flow; thermal state of the lithosphere; geothermal systems; thermal aspects of groundwater flow; thermal histories of sedimentary basins; heat flow and hydrothermal circulation in the sea floor; exhumation of mountain belts; and global warming.
He is author of more than 120 publications including two Scientific American articles, four papers in Nature and one in Science. He has commuted to work for the past 28 years on the same Peugeot 10 speed, enjoys vegetable gardening, and reserves part of each summer for long-distance walking with the recognition that “Britain, France, Italy, and even the High Uintas at 2 miles an hour are just about perfect.”