Earth & Space Sciences
Teaching Science for Seniors
I have taught the following courses for seniors (and communities) at Shoreline Community College's Summer College, Edmonds Community College's Creative Retirement Institute, and Okanagan College's (BC) Continuing Education Program, from 2006 to present. Originally designed for 6-8 hours of PowerPoint and map/chart presentations, they can easily be adapted to a 1-2 hour format. Other options in the earth and space sciences abound, including (but not limited to) Pacific North West geology, the Ice Age, Plate Tectonics, History of Geology, etc.
Contact me at lkhandro@gmail.com for further information about these courses.
The World Beneath Us; A Deep Dive Into Soil, Its Science and Its Life
Let’s read this 2 ways: the world beneath our attention (who cares?) and the world beneath our feet (why we must care!). Soil science is an entire discipline in itself, based on components of time, geology, climate, water resources and the biosphere, to name just a few. In this course we will examine the formation, compositions and structures of soils in general, then explore soils specific to various global climates. With as much detail as possible, we’ll burrow beneath the surface to see just what it is that makes soil ‘alive’. Finally, we must address the damage that humanity has done and continues to do to various soils, over the past 10,000 years, and discuss what we can do to address that practice and reverse it.
Islands of Fire and Ice: Iceland, Hawai’i, New Zealand
Partners in defining Earth’s plate tectonic and allied climate systems
Islands are fascinating fragments of oceanic and sometimes continental crust formed (and still forming) as a result of Earth’s mantle convection system and the resulting motions of the lithospheric (crustal) plates at its surface.
With 3 very different plate motions, and equally different climates, 1000’s of km apart, these three islands tell unique stories of plate interactions and the climate systems that result. Our course will first describe the basic system of plate tectonics, with details and evidence created since the break-up of the most recent super-continent, Pangaea. Then we will look into the detailed tectonic and climate regimes of each of these islands and how exemplify the scale and scope of global tectonics.
Shorelines of the World
A study of coastlines, beaches, and sands
Coastlines or shorelines bound all our land masses; or do they bind the oceans? This session will start with a tour of some coasts around the world: Ireland, New Zealand, Mexico’s Baja and Yucatan Peninsulas, Cape Cod, and the coast of BC and the Pacific North West. Then we will see how the processes and energy at the coastal boundaries shape their nature: crustal motions, changing sea level, waves, beach deposits all shape and reshape our coastlines.
Astrobiology
Life in the Universe?
Of all the worlds that surround the Sun, as far as we know only Earth has evolved life. But new discoveries about other worlds in our solar system, and other solar systems beyond ours, are challenging science and society to look further and deeper for possible life elsewhere. In addition, we now know that life on Earth can exist in environments of extreme (to us!) heat, cold, acid, and salt, thus in the search for understanding "life in the Universe", the new field of Astrobiology integrates most of the earth and space sciences in unprecedented fashion. Join the discussion about the possibility of life on the planet Mars, the moons Europa, and Titan, and possibly beyond.
Building a Super-Continent (Pangaea)
Opening an Ocean Basin in the Atlantic
This is the story of the North Atlantic region from about 600 million years ago (Ma) to present, as Pangaea assembled from 3 proto-continents (Laurentia, Baltica, Gondwana) then separated into 3 new continents (North America, Eurasia, Africa) with the opening of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Squashed between the proto-continents, old seafloor and volcanic rock were folded into mountains (Taconic and Acadian/Caledonian orogenies) and the Avalon micro-continent was sutured into place, followed by the continents. With the oceanic opening (about 200 Ma) both Caledonian and Avalon belts were bisected, and are now found on either side of the ocean basin! Our ‘virtual’ field trip starts in NW Norway, crosses the UK, and ends in SE Newfoundland, Canada, where 565 million year old fossils now reside, having originated on the Moroccan coast!
Burgess Shale Fossils
A 500+ million year old saga of seafloor ecology, and a 2009 Centennial of Discovery
High in the Canadian Rocky Mountains is a fossil find of epic proportions, The Burgess Shale - "the world’s most significant fossil discovery"! Discovered in 1909 in Yoho National Park, the Burgess Shale provides a glimpse of what life was like on Earth - 505 million years ago! The Burgess Shale fossils, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, are special because of their great age and their exquisite preservation. Come travel back in time to Earth’s early ocean life.
Our Climate Crisis
What it is (real) and what it isn’t (a hoax)
So you'd like to understand this "Climate Crisis" Business? We see extreme weather elsewhere and think, "not here"; we see colder temperatures and think, "Global warming? Nah."; we see data and graphs of climate models and think, "That's JUST a model." This set of images, videos, graphs (yes, we need a few) and best of all, the good work from around the world and in our own area may just change your mind because five things are true -- and the fifth is the good news that will help our climates, our ecosystems, our health, and our economies.
Global warming (confusingly called "climate change" -- we'll sort that out) is real. Human industry and agriculture are the cause. Experts agree, and the first science predictions were made nearly 200 years ago. It's bad. We cannot pretend otherwise. There is hope; and we have to work at it!
Simplicity & Symmetry in Mineral Crystals
Crystals of the minerals that make up the rocks of the Earth take their forms not from a random collection of atoms, but from a limited number of very specific atomic relationships. The fascinating thing about crystal forms in minerals is that there are so few possible atomic symmetries and shapes, and yet about 3800 minerals have been identified on planet Earth to date!
In this course we will discuss the main rock-forming minerals, the crystal forms that these minerals exhibit, and finally the atomic limitations from which the forms derive. As we do, we will use our birthstones as guides to some of these forms. Simple paper cut-out-and-glue models of our birthstone crystals will be available for you to 'make your own' birthstone!
Equinoxes and Solstices
How we view the earth in space
Earth and sky are inextricably linked in our imaginations, our histories, and our sciences. In this session you will see how the seasons, with emphasis on equinoxes (March and September) and solstices (June and December), provide us with fascinating but realistic views of our place on our planet and our planet’s place in our solar system.
Geology of Canada (eh?)
Among our world’s continents and countries, Canada has many 'top of the chart' geographical features: 2nd largest land area, longest coastline, largest fresh water lakes, nearly ½ the size of North America, and an abundance of natural resources from forests and fisheries, to minerals and ice age-derived tundra and prairies. But to the inquiring mind, the most interesting feature of Canada’s multivariate features is its geology; in particular, it hosts some of the planet’s oldest rocks (over 4 billion years old). From that humble origin, it expanded in all directions, finally becoming the familiar shape and form of North America in its entirety. Yes, the US, Mexico and Central American countries are but the southernmost “provinces” of Canada (of course we jest – a little!), and it has been party to building and tearing apart of continental masses across the oceans: the eastern margin lost chunks of land that became parts of western Europe; and its western margin was rifted off Siberia before it accumulated the micro-continents that gave us the complex mosaic of Alaska, BC and Washington (we melt the political boundaries here). The northern Canadian Shield hosts some of the planet’s largest meteorite craters, and the central plain is contiguous with that of the US in age and formation.
You are Here!
At home in the Milky Way Galaxy
"You are here!" This is the phrase often found on T-shirts with an arrow pointing to an indiscriminate star among billions of stars in a giant spiral galaxy. But it’s true. We ARE here, orbiting a mid-size, middle-aged star in this galaxy that we quaintly call the Milky Way. And the fact that we cannot, ever, see the actual Milky Way from space has not deterred our study of our one (and only) galactic home. The term "Milky Way" is a translation of the Latin via lactea, because of the galaxy’s appearance from earth as a band of 'spilled milk' across the sky; individual stars cannot be resolved by the naked eye. And it appears like a band because its disk-shaped structure is being viewed from inside (can you see your own forehead?) The stars were first seen by Galileo and his telescope in the 1600’s, and in the 1920s, deeper observations showed that the Milky Way is just one of many galaxies. In this course we will start with a taste of the history of our discoveries of our home galaxy. We will then travel through the galaxy’s structure to marvel at the central bulge and its lurking massive black hole, the star-forming spiral arms of the disk with their nebulae and open clusters, and finally the outer halo of globular clusters. Finally we will see our Milky Way galaxy as one of a small handful of galaxies all bound in a complex gravitational dance.
Our Moon
Our closest companion in the grand celestial dance!
"La Luna" is our nearest celestial neighbor, the source of Earth’s tides and the eclipses, and the constantly changing illuminator of the night skies. It was formed by a giant asteroid impact in the early eons of the solar system and is said to be geologically "dead", but it may be a source of outer-space resources, and may be the first human outpost in space. Come take a close look at our closest companion in the grand celestial dance.
Stellar Evolution and Life
Stars are the source of life, and each star has its own "lifespan". In this presentation we will see how stars are "born", how and why they change as they age, and ultimately how they "die".
In the process we will see how all life is itself, a product of stars and their evolution. What do we mean when we say "we are stardust" (with thanks to Carl Sagan and Joni Mitchell)? Join us to find out!
“Water Water Everywhere,” on this “Pale Blue Dot”
With thanks to Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Carl Sagan, this course on water will take us on a deep dive into one of the most unique (and utterly essential) substances on earth. We will study the probable origins of water on earth and its occurrence in the solar system; water's unusual chemistry and the hydrologic cycle; the function and relation oceanic bodies have had and now have to land bodies and climates; the tight coupling between oceanic and atmospheric currents; and the critical problems we already see and that are likely to worsen due to human activities, such as water scarcity, pollution, and historical or political jurisdictions.
Weather and Climate
A Puget Sound perspective
Here in the Puget Sound region, perched as we are on the western edge of a continent with a massive ocean to our west and 2 significant mountain ranges nearby, we have many unique weather and climate features, beginning with the interactions of solar energy with water and with land, and the variability in these interactions that are created by the seasons. In this class we will explore weather and climate by starting with the global picture, then we will focus on some of the most important details of our local picture.