Courses
| Below are descriptions
of the courses taught by LTRR faculty and courses related to dendrochronology.
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UA
Course Schedule
UA
Catalog 2006-07
(see Catalog's course descriptions)
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Summary of Courses Offered:
- GEOS/ANTH/WSM 464/564 Introduction to Dendrochronology
(every fall)
- GEOS/ANTH/WSM 497C/597C Dendrochronology Workshop
(every spring)
- GEOS 585A Applied Time Series Analysis (every other spring)
- GEOS/WSM 595E Topics in Dendrochronology, Dendrochronology
Colloquium (multiple courses offered every semester)
- GEOS/ANTH/WS 497I/597I Practical Dendroclimatology
(pre-summer)
- GEOS/ANTH/WS 497J/597J Dendroarchaeology (pre-summer)
- BIOC 595F/597C The Biology of Tree Rings (for High
School Science Teachers)
- NATS 101 The Earth and Its Environments -- Introduction to
Global Change
- UNVR 195A Freshman Colloquium: Why the Past Matters
- GEOS 220 Environmental History of the Southwest
- GEOG 431/531 Global and Regional Climatology
- ANTH 447/547 Anasazi Archaeology
- GEOS/ECOL/RNR/GEOG/HWR 478/578 Global Change
- GC/GEOS/HWR 572 Global Biogeochemical Cycles
- ANTH 636 Foundations of Archaeological Interpretation
- ANTH 637 Archaeological Methodology
- ANTH 696A Dating in Archaeology
- RAM/GEOS 696B Use of Stable Isotopes in Ecological Research
- GEOS 597e Spatiotemporal Data Analysis Workshop
- (your dept.) Independent Study With LTRR Faculty
Course Descriptions:
Core Courses
- GEOS/ANTH/WSM
464/564: Introduction to Dendrochronology
4 units; fall; Hughes
- Survey of dendrochronological theory and methods. Applications to
archaeological, geological, and biological dating problems and paleoenvironmental
reconstruction. Emphasis on dating methods, developing tree-ring chronologies,
and evaluating tree-ring dates from various contexts. (Lecture and lab.
Field trips.) Graduate-level requirements include a research paper reviewing
critically some aspect of dendrochronology.
- GEOS/ANTH/WSM
497c/597c: Dendrochronology Workshop
2 units; spring; Sheppard
- The practical application of theoretical learning within a group setting
and involving an exchange of ideas and practical methods, skills, and
principles.
- This course is taught in a workshop environment to give students experience
in the use of the computer and the basic software necessary to convert
tree-ring samples into usable chronologies. The class will be assigned
samples from a tree-ring site that has been crossdated. The class will
measure and then process the ring-width series into a stationary, mean
value function, usable to interpret past environmental variation. The
final chronology will be submitted to the ITRDB in the names of the
students in the class.
- GEOS 585A: Applied Time Series Analysis
3 units; every other spring; Meko
- Analysis tools in the time and frequency domains are introduced in the context of sample
data sets drawn from hydrology, climatology, and paleoclimatology. Students optionally
use their own data sets in series of assignments. This is an introductory course, with
emphasis on practical rather than theoretical aspects of time series analysis. Methods
are hierarchically introduced -- starting with terminology and exploratory graphics,
progressing to descriptive statistics, and ending with basic modeling procedures. Topics
include detrending, filtering, autoregressive modeling, spectral analysis and regression.
- GEOS/WSM
595E Topics in Dendrochronology, Dendrochronology Colloquium
1+ units; fall/spring; multiple instructors
- View
descriptions of the fall 2007 modules). Multiple courses offered,
topics vary by semester according to student interest. Past
classes inlcude:
- Journal Club
- Dynamics of Tree-Ring Formation
- Synoptic Sense-Wise Use of the NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis
- Synoptic Dendroclimatology
- Topics, Tools & Techniques in Paleoclimate Research
- Dendroentomology
- ENSO: Past, Present and Future
- Fire and Climate
- Archaeological Dendrochronology
- Cell-Size and Microdensitometric Analyses
- Dendroenvironmental Analysis of Inorganic Elements
- Isotope Dendroecology
- GEOS/ANTH/WS 497I/597I Practical Dendroclimatology
3 units; 3 week summer pre-session; Hughes and Touchan
- View Summer School page for more information.
Intensive lab course. Learn fundamentals of dendrochronology, sample
preparation, crossdating and chronology construction. Develop and test
climatic reconstructions from tree ring data through practical exercises.
Understand tree rings as natural archives within the context of interannual
to millennial fluctuations in climate.
- GEOS/ANTH/WS 497J/597J Dendroarchaeology
3 units; 3 week summer pre-session; Towner
- View Summer School page for more information.
Intensive lab course. Learn fundamentals of dendrochronology, sample
preparation, crossdating and chronology construction. Learn the chronological,
behavioral and environmental interpretation of archaeological tree-ring
samples. Participate in a field trip to famous southwestern archaeological
areas (e.g., Chaco Canyon and the Navajo Pueblitos)
- BIOC 595F/597C The Biology of Tree Rings
irregular scheduling; for High School Science Teachers; Hughes and Adams
- Distinct annual growth layers (tree rings) are formed in the wood
of many tree species in the temperate and cooler parts of the world.
The scientific use of these layers (dendrochronology) was pioneered
at The University of Arizona in the early 1900s and has now extended
into many scientific fields, including ecology and tree physiology as
well as climatology, hydrology, archeology and geophysics. Explore the
biological bases of tree-ring formation, and discuss applications of
dendrochronology to such topical issues as disturbance ecology (e.g.
the role of fire and insect outbreaks in forests), landscape ecology
(if the climate changes, how do forests respond?) and global ecology
(exploring imbalances in the global carbon cycle using carbon isotopes
in tree rings). Informal lectures and discussions combined with laboratory
sessions introduce the basic concepts of dendrochronology. The use of
a small kit of class materials will also be discussed during the laboratory
sessions.
Other Courses Taught by LTRR Faculty
- NATS 101 The Earth and Its Environments -- Introduction to
Global Change
3 units; fall/spring; Hirschboeck webpage,
Leavitt webpage,
Evans webpage
- An Overview of the key concepts in physical and chemical processes,
including Newton's laws governing force and motion, the laws of thermodynamics
governing energy and entropy, the role of electromagnetism in nature,
and the atomic structure of matter. The course will explore these concepts
in an inter-disciplinary context, drawing from areas such as environmental
sciences, atmospheric sciences, engineering/technological sciences,
and others.
- UNVR 195A Freshman Colloquium: Why the Past Matters
1 unit; fall/spring
- First-Year Colloquium courses are designed to give students insight
into the concepts and practices which typify different academic disciplines.
First-year colloquia introduce students to the methods and standards
of the discipline for discovering new knowledge, the values which characterize
the field of study, advances in the field, impact on society, and career
opportunities.
- LTRR description: It is no accident that insurance
companies use past records when figuring out how much to charge for
insuring a particular risk, as do civil engineers when deciding how
secure a house site is from flood or landslide. What has happened can
happen. We will take several journeys into the past that will teach
important practical lessons about our natural environment, and how people
interact with it. In some cases we will meet the scientists or other
scholars doing this work and have the opportunity to talk with them
about the social usefulness of their work, as well as their other reasons
for doing it.
- GEOS 220 Environmental History of the Southwest
3+ units; fall; Sheppard
- Environmental and cultural history of the Southwest emphasizing discovery
of the past using historical science techniques of tree-ring and packrat
midden analyses and repeat photography.
- GEOG
431/531 Global and Regional Climatology
3 units; spring; Hirschboeck
- Description and analysis of the atmospheric circulation process that
produces differences in climates throughout the world. Emphasis on the
earth's problem climates and climatically sensitive zones most susceptible
to floods, droughts, and other environmental stresses due to global
change. See the course web page for more details.
- ANTH 447/547 Anasazi Archaeology
3 units; spring
- Detailed review of the archaeology of the Colorado Plateau emphasizing
its agriculturally based occupants, the Anasazi, and their descendants,
the Pueblo Indians. Graduate-level requirements include a longer term
paper.
- GEOS/ECOL/RNR/GEOG/HWR
478/578 Global Change
3 units; fall; Cole (GEOS)
- Analysis of the entire Earth system through an examination of how
its component parts and their interactions have changed in the past
and may be expected to change in the future.
- GC/GEOS/HWR
572 Global Biogeochemical Cycles
3 units; fall; Leavitt (LTRR) and Brooks (HWR)
- Study of processes affecting global chemical fluxes. Particular attention
to current global concerns, i.e., ozone hole, carbon cycle, climate
warming, atmospheric oxidation, hydrologic cycle.
- GEOS
595E Topics, Tools and Techniques in Paleoclimatic Research
3 units; spring; Evans
- Study of processes affecting global chemical fluxes. Particular attention
to current global concerns, i.e., ozone hole, carbon cycle, climate
warming, atmospheric oxidation, hydrologic cycle.
- ANTH 636 Foundations of Archaeological Interpretation
3 units; fall
- Survey of the history of archaeological interpretation. Central concepts
in archaeological method and theory are presented.
- ANTH 637 Archaeological Methodology
3 units; spring
- Survey of the fundamental principles, methods, and techniques of archaeological
analysis and inference from a multidisciplinary perspective.
- ANTH 696A Dating in Archaeology
1-3 units; fall/spring
- Presents the problems and procedures in the archaeological application
of techniques for dating prehistoric events. Independent and intrinsic
techniques are defined. Independent techniques include dendrochronology,
radiocarbon, archaeomagnetism, hydration, and stratification. Intrinsic
techniques include ceramic crossdating, architectural stratification,
abandonment measures, and seriation methods. The analytical implications
of varying degrees of temporal resolution are discussed using actual
cases.
- RAM/GEOS 696B Use of Stable Isotopes in Ecological Research
1 unit
- A growing number of ecologists are relying on the use of stable isotopes
to investigate complex processes that transcend spatial and temporal
scales. Graduate students enrolling in this course will hear first-hand
from a number of U of A and visiting researchers how this technology
is being applied to questions in paleo, terrestrial, marine, and global
change ecology. Foster interdisciplinary collaborations among researchers
and students confronted with similar technological and conceptual problems.
- GEOS
597e: Spatiotemporal Data Analysis Workshop
Proposed Course for fall, 2004
fall; Evans
- Students will learn to analyze and interpret principal features resolvable
in historical climate data sets using two commonly-applied empirical
techniques. In parallel we will critically assess similar analyses published
in the climate dynamics literature.
- (Your Department) Independent Study With LTRR Faculty
(arranged by student and faculty)
- As with other departments, LTRR faculty serve as advisors on independent
study projects for either undergraduate or graduate students. Check
with particular faculty to register and to arrange a suitable project.
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