Jeffrey Scott Munroe
Associate Professor

Geology Department
Middlebury College
Middlebury, Vermont 05753
Phone: 802-443-3446   FAX: 802-443-2072
e-mail: jmunroe@middlebury.edu

Education

B.A. - Bowdoin College, 1994

M.S. - University of Wisconsin-Madison (Dept. of Geosciences), 1996

Ph.D. - University of Wisconsin-Madison (Dept. of Geosciences), 2001

Background

My research and teaching interests include glacial geomorphology, Quaternary geology, paleolimnology, and alpine environments. For my Masters thesis I studied a sequence of soils developed in glacial deposits on the north side of the Brooks Range in northern Alaska.  In 1996, I began studying the late Quaternary history of the northern Uinta Mountains in northeastern Utah.  This work included my Ph.D. dissertation as well as a number of separate projects supported by the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Forest Service that continue to this day.  My current research includes a project investigating glacial and pluvial records of the last glacial-interglacial transition in northern Nevada, and a project reconstructing Neoglacial activity of cirque glaciers in Glacier National Park, Montana.  I have been at Middlebury College since 2001.

Courses Taught

  • Arctic and Alpine Environments (incl. lab) (GEOL/GEOG 250)
  • Geomorphology (incl. lab) (GEOL/GEOG 251)
  • Quaternary Geology (incl. lab) (GEOL/GEOG 352)
  • Glacial Geology (inc. lab) (GEOL 333)
  • Environmental Geology (incl. lab) (GEOL 112)
  • Paleolimnology (GEOL 1033)
  • Geologic Evolution of the Hawaiian Islands (J-term, 2003)
  • Geology Senior Seminar (GEOL 400)
  • Senior Geology Research (GEOL 700)
  • 19th Century Exploration of the American West (FYSE 1070)
  • Mountains of the Northeast (FYSE 1306)

Research

·         Personal Research

·         Student Research

Recent Research Grants 

·         MRI-R2: Acquisition of an XRD, FTIR, and WDS for Integrated Mineralogical and Geochemical Studies at Middlebury College (with Pete Ryan and Pat Manley)

·         National Geographic Society: Developing a Chronology of Holocene Glacier Fluctuations in Glacier National Park, Montana, USA

·         NSF-P2C2: Climate and Chronology of the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition, North-Central Great Basin, U.S.A.

·         NSF-MRI: Acquisition of a Pycnometer, C:N Analyzer, and Freeze Dryer for use in Lake and Paleoclimate Studies at Middlebury College (with Pete Ryan and Pat Manley)

·         NSF-BCS SGER: Developing a chronology for Neoglaciation in Glacier National Park, Montana

·         American Philosophical Society: Developing a chronology for Neoglaciation in Glacier National Park, Montana

·         Ashley National Forest: Glacial mapping of the Uinta Mountains

·         Utah Geological Survey: Glacial mapping of the northern Uinta Mountains

·         NSF Geomorphology and Land-Use Dynamics: Workshop: UINTAS 2006-The Uinta Interdisciplinary Assessment Symposium

·         NSF Geology & Paleontology, Supplement to Collaborative/RUI: Late-Quaternary Glacial and Paleoclimate History of the Uinta Mountains, Northeastern Utah

·         Lintilhac Foundation: Investigating Soil Development in the Alpine Zones of the Green Mountains

·         NSF Earth Systems History: Collaborative: High-Resolution Records of Holocene Climate Change, Drought Variability, and Monsoon Behavior from the Uinta Mountains of Utah (with Katrina Moser, University of Western Ontario; David Porinchu, The Ohio State University; and Glen MacDonald, University of California, Los Angeles)

·         NSF Geology & Paleontology: Collaborative/RUI: Late-Quaternary Glacial and Paleoclimate History of the Uinta Mountains, Northeastern Utah (with David Mickelson and Brad Singer, University of Wisconsin-Madison)

·         Vermont EPSCoR: Acquisition of a Modern Thermogravimetric Analyzer for Use in Making Percent Loss-On-Ignition Measurements of Sediment Organic Content at Middlebury College

·         NSF International Program: Final research planning visit for collaborative study of the extent of Late Pleistocene glaciation on the Eastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

·         USGS EDMAP Program: Geologic mapping of the southern Lake Fork Mtn. quadrangle, Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah

Publications

  1. Munroe, J.S., and Laabs, B.J.C., 2013: Latest Pleistocene history of pluvial Lake Franklin, northeastern Nevada, USA. Geological Society of America Bulletin, 125: 322-342. PDF
  2. Munroe, J.S., Klem, C.M.*, and Bigl, M.F.*, 2013: A lacustrine sedimentary record of Holocene periglacial activity from the Uinta Mountains, Utah, U.S.A. Quaternary Research, 79: 101-109. PDF
  3. Laabs, B.J.C., Munroe, J.S., Best, L.C., and Caffee, M.W., 2013: Timing of the last glaciation and subsequent deglaciation in the Ruby Mountains, Great Basin, USA. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 361: 16-25. PDF
  4. Munroe, J.S., and Laabs, B.J.C., 2012: Temporal correspondence between pluvial lake highstands in the southwestern US and Heinrich Event 1.  Journal of Quaternary Science, 28: 49-58. PDF
  5. Munroe, J.S., Crocker, T.A., Giesche, A.M., Rahlson, L.E., Duran, L.T., Bigl, M.F., and Laabs, B.J.C., 2012: A lacustrine-based Neoglacial record for Glacier National Park, Montana, USA. Quaternary Science Reviews, 53: 39-54. PDF
  6. Munroe, J.S., 2012: Lacustrine records of post-glacial environmental change from the Nulhegan Basin, Vermont, USA. Journal of Quaternary Science, 27: 639-648. PDF
  7. Munroe, J.S., 2012: Physical, Chemical and Thermal Properties of Soils Across a Forest-Meadow Ecotone in the Uinta Mountains, Northeastern Utah, U.S.A. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 44: 95-106. PDF
  8. Laabs, B.J.C., Marchetti, D.W., Munroe, J.S., Refsnider, K.A., Gosse, J.C., Lips, E.W., Becker, R.A., Mickelson, D.M., and Singer, B.S., 2011: Chronology of latest Pleistocene mountain glaciation in the western Wasatch Mountains, Utah, U.S.A. Quaternary Research, 76: 272-284. PDF
  9. Carlson, B.Z.*, Munroe, J.S., and Hegman, B., 2011: Distribution of alpine tundra in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, USA. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 43(3): 331-342. PDF
  10. Munroe, J.S., and Laabs, B.J.C., 2011: New investigations of Pleistocene glacial and pluvial records in northeastern Nevada, in Lee, J., and Evans, J.P., eds., Geologic Field Trips to the Basin and Range, Rocky Mountains, Snake River Plan, and Terranes of the U.S. Cordillera: Geological Society of America Field Guide 21, p. 1-25. PDF
  11. Tingstad, A.H., Moser, K.A., MacDonald, G.M., and Munroe, J.S., 2011: A ~13,000-year paleolimnological record from the Uinta Mountains, Utah, inferred from diatoms and loss-on-ignition analysis. Quaternary International, 235: 48-56. PDF
  12. Corbett, L.B.*, and Munroe, J.S., 2010: Investigating the influence of hydrogeomorphic setting on the response of lake sedimentation to climatic changes in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA. Journal of Paleolimnology, 44(1): 311-325. PDF
  13. Munroe, J.S. and Laabs, B.J.C., 2009: Glacial Geologic Map of the Uinta Mountains Area, Utah and Wyoming. Utah Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Publication 09-4DM.
  14. Laabs, B.J.C., Refsnider, K.A., Munroe, J.S., Mickelson, D.M., Applegate, P.J., Singer, B.S., and Caffee, M.W., 2009: Latest Pleistocene glacial chronology of the Uinta Mountains: Support for Moisture-Driven Asynchrony of the Last Deglaciation. Quaternary Science Reviews, 28: 1171-1187. PDF
  15. Munroe, J.S., 2008: Alpine Soils on Mt. Mansfield, Vermont, USA: Pedology, History, and Intraregional Comparison. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 72(2): 524-533. PDF
  16. Munroe, J.S., Doolittle, J.A., Kanevskiy, M.Z., Hinkel, K.M., Jones, B.M., Shur, Y., Nelson, F.E., Kimble, J.M., 2007: Application of Ground-Penetrating Radar Imagery for Three-Dimensional Visualization of Near-Surface Structures in Ice-Rich Permafrost, Barrow, Alaska. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 18(4): 309-321. PDF
  17. Munroe, J.S., Ryan, P.C., Carlson, H.A.*, and Miller, E.K., 2007: Testing Latest Wisconsinan Ice Flow Directions in Vermont through Quantitative X-ray Diffraction Analysis of Soil Mineralogy. Northeastern Geology and Environmental Sciences, 29(4): 263-275. PDF
  18. Munroe, J.S., 2007: Properties of Alpine Soils Associated with Well-Developed Sorted Polygons in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, U.S.A. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 39(4): 578-591. PDF
  19. Munroe, J.S., 2007: Exploring Relationships Between Watershed Properties and Holocene Loss-On-Ignition Records in High-Elevation Lakes, Southern Uinta Mountains, Utah, U.S.A. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 39(4): 556-565. PDF
  20. Porinchu, D.F., Moser, K.M., and Munroe, J.S., 2007: Development of a Midge-Based Summer Surface Water Temperature Inference Model for the Great Basin of the Western United States. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 39(4): 566-567. PDF
  21. Laabs, B.J.C., Munroe, J.S., Rosenbaum, J.G., Refsnider, K.A., Mickelson, D.M., Singer, B.S., and Caffee, M.W., 2007: Chronology of the Last Glacial Maximum in the Upper Bear River Basin, Utah. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 39(4): 537-548. PDF
  22. Munroe, J.S., Laabs, B.J.C., Moser, K.A., and Gurrieri, J.T., 2007: UINTAS 2006: the Uinta Interdisciplinary Assessment Symposium, Snowbird, Utah, May 2006—Introduction. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 39(4): 517-520. PDF
  23. Wang, J., Zhou, S., Tang, S., Colgan, P.M., and Munroe, J.S., 2007: The Sequence of Quaternary Glaciations Around Tanggula Pass. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 29(1): 149-155 (in Chinese). PDF
  24. Munroe, J.S., 2007: In the Footsteps of Timothy O’Sullivan: Rephotographing the 1869 King Survey in the Headwaters of the Bear River, Uinta Mountains. Utah Historical Quarterly, 75: 238-257. PDF
  25. Roush, W.*, Munroe, J.S., and Fagre, D.B., 2007: Development of a Spatial Analysis Method Using Ground-Based Repeat Photography to Detect Changes in the Alpine Treeline Ecotone, Glacier National Park, Montana, U.S.A. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 39: 297-308. PDF
  26. Munroe, J.S., Farrugia, G.*, and Ryan, P.C., 2007: Parent Material and Chemical Weathering in Alpine Soils on Mt. Mansfield, Vermont, USA. Catena 70:39-48. PDF
  27. Munroe, J.S., Laabs, B.J.C., Shakun, J.D.*, Singer, B.S., Mickelson, D.M., Refsnider, K., and Caffee, M. 2006: Latest Pleistocene Advance of Alpine Glaciers in the Southwestern Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA: Evidence for the Influence of Local Moisture Sources. Geology 34: 841-844. PDF
  28. Colgan, P.M., Munroe, J.S., and Zhou, S., 2006: Cosmogenic Nuclide Evidence for the Limited Extent of Late Glacial Maximum Glaciers in the Tanggula Shan of the Central Tibetan Plateau. Quaternary Research, 65: 336-339. PDF
  29. Munroe, J.S., 2006: Investigating the Spatial Distribution of Summit Flats in the Uinta Mountains of Northeastern Utah, USA. Geomorphology, 75: 437-449. PDF
  30. Munroe, J.S., 2005: Glacial Geology of the Northern Uinta Mountains. in Dehler et al., eds., Uinta Mountain Geology: Salt Lake City, Utah, Utah Geological Association Publication 33. PDF
  31. Munroe, J.S., Laabs, B.J.C., Pederson, J.L., and Carson, E.C., 2005: From Cirques to Canyon Cutting: New Quaternary Research in the Uinta Mountains. in Pederson, J. L., and Dehler, C. M., eds., Interior Western United States: Geological Society of America Field Guide 6, p. 53-78. PDF
  32. Carson, E.C. and Munroe, J.S., 2005: Tree-ring Based Reconstruction of Streamflow for Ashley Creek, Northeastern Utah: Implications for Paleohydrology of the Southern Uinta Mountains. The Holocene, 14(4): 602-611. PDF
  33. Munroe, J.S., 2003: Estimates of Little Ice Age Climate Inferred Through Historical Rephotography, Northern Uinta Mountains, U.S.A. Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research, 35(4): 489-498. PDF
  34. Bockheim, J.G., O’Brien, J.D., Munroe, J.S., and Hinkel, K.M., 2003: Factors Affecting the Distribution of Populus balsamifera on the North Slope of Alaska, U.S.A. Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research, 35(3): 331-340. PDF
  35. Munroe, J.S., 2003: Holocene Timberline and Palaeoclimate of the Northern Uinta Mountains, Northeastern Utah, U.S.A. The Holocene, 13(2): 175-185. PDF
  36. Munroe, J.S. and Mickelson, D.M., 2002: Last Glacial Maximum Equilibrium-Line Altitudes and Paleoclimate, Northern Uinta Mountains, Northeastern Utah, U.S.A. Journal of Glaciology, 48(161): 257-266. PDF
  37. Munroe, J.S., 2002: Timing of Post-Glacial Cirque Reoccupation in the Northern Uinta Mountains, Northeastern Utah, U.S.A. Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research, 34(1): 38-48. PDF
  38. Munroe, J.S. and Bockheim, J.G., 2001:  Soil Development in Low-Arctic Tundra of the Northern Brooks Range, Alaska. Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research, 33(1): 78-87. PDF
  39. Bockheim, J.G., Munroe, J.S., Douglass, D.C., and Koerner, D., 2000: Soil Development along an Elevational Gradient in the Southeastern Uinta Mountains, Utah, USA. Catena, 39: 169-185. PDF

 

*Middlebury student-co-author

Link to c.v.

Last updated by J. Munroe 3/21/13