Tree Talk | Arboreal Observers: Exploring New Hampshire’s Environmental History Through Trees with Simon Pendleton

As our planet continues to change rapidly around us it is becoming more important to understand modern environmental change in the context of past change. Their physiology, lifespan and sensitivity to environmental changes allow them to be exceptional recorders of past and present change. Tapping into these archives allows us a unique lens into past changes in climate, forest ecology, soil health, and anthropogenic impacts. Here in New Hampshire, we have just begun to scratch the surface of these archives and what they tell us about past environmental change and how it compares to ongoing shifts due to climate change and land use changes. We will discuss buried forests along New Hampshire's coast and their connection to glacial history to tree rings from the White Mountains recording everything from ecological change to wildfires. Come explore ways we can listen to our trees to deepen our understanding the world around us.

This lecture will be facilitated online and in-person. To receive a link to join online, please register via Microsoft Teams HERE.

Please be aware that upon registering, you will receive an email from USNH to confirm that registration was successful. 

Dr. Pendleton is an earth scientist who focuses on how cryosphere and landscape systems evolve together, and how climate can both force and be forced by these interactions in the past, present, and future. This includes paleoclimate and paleoenvironmental investigations from alpine glaciers to lakes to trees (and much more) using field, laboratory, and modeling techniques. Dr. Pendleton grew up in New Hampshire before completing a B.A. in Environmental Geology at Whitman College followed by a M.S. at the University at Buffalo reconstructing glacier histories and climate in the Brooks Range, Alaska. Simon did his Ph.D. at the University of Colorado Boulder reconstructing ice cap fluctuations on Baffin Island in Arctic Canada. At Plymouth State University Dr. Pendleton teaches a range of courses with a special interest in the interactions between humans, earth systems, and climate. Beyond academia, Simon enjoys hiking, biking, skiing, and any activity exploring the great outdoors.