February 3, 2010

Speaker: Professor David Lumsden

Title: The Physics of Dirt

Abstract: How old is the sediment underlying Memphis and why do we care?  Memphis is built on the Chickasaw Bluffs, a portion of a vast pile of wind-deposited silt called loess.  Loess is a product of glaciation.  Details of its age provide insight into climate changes in the past 800,000 years.  We evaluated the potential of ESR analysis in providing adequate ages.