Jeffrey Scott Munroe
Assistant Professor

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

Glacier Number 1, Headwaters of the Urumqi River, Xinjiang China, July 2001

 

Education

B.A.- Bowdoin College, 1994

M.S. - University of Wisconsin-Madison (Dept. of Geology & Geophysics), 1996

Ph.D. - University of Wisconsin-Madison (Dept. of Geology & Geophysics), 2001

Background

My research and teaching interests involve glacial geomorphology, Quaternary geology and arctic 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.  Since 1996, I have also been actively 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. I also completed numerous geomorphic maps of the northern Uintas as part of the land-systems inventory for the Ashley and Wasatch-Cache National Forests. Prior to the start of my Ph.D. research I taught earth science courses during the 1996-97 academic year at Northland College in northern Wisconsin.

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)
  • Understanding Vermont Lakes: Winter Field Experience (J-term, 2002)
  • 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: First-Year Seminar 1070 (Fall, 2004)

Research

·        Personal Research

·        Student Research

Recent Research Grants 

  • 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., “Alpine Soils on Mt. Mansfield, Vermont, USA: Pedology, History, and Intraregional Comparison” in press at Soil Science Society of America Journal.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Munroe, J.S., 2007: In the 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.
  10. Roush, W.*, Munroe, J.S., and Fagre, D.B., 2007: Using Ground-Based Repeat Photography and Spatial Analysis Tools to Detect Changes in the Alpine Treeline Ecotone, Glacier National Park, Montana. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 39: 297-308.
  11. Munroe, J.S., Farrugia, G.*, and Ryan, Peter C., 2007: Parent material and chemical weathering in alpine soils on Mt. Mansfield, Vermont, USA. Catena 70:39-48.
  12. 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.
  13. 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.
  14. Munroe, J. S., 2006: Investigating the spatial distribution of summit flats in the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah, USA. Geomorphology, 75: 437-449.
  15. Munroe, J. S., Laabs, B. J. C., and Carson, E. C., 2006: “Quaternary landscape change and modern process in western North America. Geomorphology, 75: 281-282.
  16. 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.
  17. 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.
  18. 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.
  19. 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.
  20. 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.
  21. Munroe, J. S., 2003: Holocene timberline and palaeoclimate of the northern Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah, U.S.A. The Holocene, 13(2): 175-185.
  22. Munroe, J. S. and Mickelson, D. M., 2002: Reconstruction of latest Pleistocene alpine glacier equilibrium line altitudes and paleoclimate, northern Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah, U.S.A. Journal of Glaciology, 48(161): 257-266.
  23. 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.
  24. 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.
  25. 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.

 

*Student-co-author

Abstracts

·        2007 INQUA abstract “Investigating Post-Glacial Environmental Gradients with Lacustrine Sedimentary Records: An Example from the Uinta Mountains of Northeastern Utah, U.S.A.:

·        2007 NE-GSA abstract “Glacial geology of the Nulhegan Basin area, northeastern Vermont, USA”

·        2007 NE-GSA abstract “Post-glacial lake sediment records from northeastern Vermont, USA” co-authored with C. Rodgers*

·        2006 AGU abstract “New Cosmogenic Beryllium-10 Exposure-Age Limits on Terminal Moraines of the Last Glaciation in the Bear River Drainage, Uinta Mountains, Utah” co-authored with B. Laabs, J. Rosenbaum, and K. Refsnider

·        2006 AGU abstract “High Resolution Analysis of Sub-fossil Midges from the Great Basin, United States Provides Evidence of 20th Century Warming” co-authored with D. Porinchu, A. Potito, G. MacDonald, and K. Moser

·        2006 GSA abstract “Parent material and chemical weathering in alpine soils on Mt. Mansfield, Vermont, USA” co-authored with Gianina Farrugia* and Pete Ryan, Middlebury College

·        2006 GSA abstract “Vermont Terroir: Investigating the relationship between maple syrup chemistry and bedrock lithology” co-authored with Lee Corbett*, Middlebury College

·        2006 GSA abstract “Cosmogenic radionuclide 10Be exposure ages for two glacial advances in the  Boduizangbu and Palongzangbu river valleys, southeastern Tibetan Plateau” co-authored with Pat Colgan, Zhou Shangzhe, Xu Liu Bing, Danny Douglass, Kurt Refsnider, and Dave Mickelson

·        2006  AMQUA abstract “Lacustrine loss-on-ignition records from the southern Uinta Mountains”

·        2005 GSA abstract “Lacustrine loss-on-ignition records from the southern Uinta Mountains”

·        2005 GSA abstract “New evidence of synchroneity between deglaciation of the Uinta Mountains and the fall of Lake Bonneville” co-authored with Ben Laabs, Gustavus Adolphus College, Jeremy Shakun*, Middlebury College, and Marc Caffee, Purdue PRIMELab

·        2005 NE-GSA abstract “Investigating alpine pedogenesis on Mt. Mansfield, Vermont” co-authored with Gianina Farrugia*, Middlebury College

·        2004 GSA abstract “Evidence for multiple glaciations of the Tanggula Shan of the central Tibetan Plateau”

·        2003 GSA abstract “A lacustrine sedimentary record of the Holocene climatic optimum in the Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah”

·        2003 GSA abstract “Last Glacial Maximum equilibrium-line altitudes and paleoclimate, northeastern Utah” co-authored with Jeremy Shakun*, U. Massachusetts-Amherst

·        2003 GSA abstract “Cosmogenic-exposure age limits on the last glacial maximum in the south-central Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah” co-authored with Ben Laabs, U. Wisconsin-Madison

·        2003 INQUA abstract “Past and present glacier extent in the Tanggula Shan of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China” co-authored with Pat Colgan, Grand Valley State University, and Zhou Shangzhe, Guangzhou University

·        2002 GSA abstract “A 5000-year record of fire and sedimentary response for the Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah” co-authored with Jamie Laidlaw*, Middlebury College link to poster

·        2002 AMQUA abstract “Application of historical rephotography for quantifying post-Little Ice Age changes in timberline forests, northern Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah”

·        2001 GSA abstract “Reconstructed late Pleistocene glacier equilibrium line altitudes provide evidence for lake-effect snow from Lake Bonneville”

·        2001 GSA abstract “Dendrochronology-based reconstruction of stream for Ashley Creek and Whiterocks River, Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah” co-authored with Eric Carson, U. Wisconsin-Madison

·        2000 GSA abstract  "Post-Last Glacial Maximum history of the northern Uinta Mountains inferred from upper subalpine geomorphology, palynology and radiocarbon dating"

·        2000 GSA abstract "Climate required for Holocene glaciation in the Uinta Mountains, Utah" co-authored with Keith Brugger, U. Minnesota-Morris

·        2000 AMQUA abstract  "Sedimentology and paleoenvironments of Holocene valley fills from the upper Henrys Fork river basin, Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah"

·        2000 GSA Rocky Mountain abstract  "Radiocarbon dates provide constrains on the extent of Neoglaciation in the Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah"

·        1999 GSA abstract "Structural controls on dynamics of alpine glaciers of the northern Uinta Mountains during the Smiths Fork and Blacks Fork glaciations"

·        1998 GSA abstract "Physical and chemical evidence for eolian additions to subalpine soils in the eastern Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah"

·        1998 GSA North-Central abstract "Soils in the glaciated headwaters of South Fork Ashley Creek, Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah"

·        1998 GSA North-Central abstract "Anomalous Hummocky Lateral Moraines in the Eastern Uinta Mountains, Northeastern Utah: Evidence for Extensive Mass-Wasting-Derived Supraglacial Debris?"

* denotes student co-author

Reports to the US Forest Service

  • Surficial Geology of the Northern Uinta Mountains (6/21/01)
  • Glacial Geomorphology of the Northern Uinta Mountains (6/21/01)
  • Descriptions of the Glaciated Valleys of the Northern Uinta Mountains (6/21/01)
  • An Analysis of the Geologic and Hydrologic Factors Leading to the Dry Fork Slope Failure, May 18, 1997 (6/26/00)
  • Preliminary report of investigations of two sediment cores from Lily Lake (3/20/00)
  • Sedimentology and paleoenvironments of Holocene valley fills in the upper Henrys Fork drainage: a preliminary report of investigations (3/22/99)
  • Factors governing the origin and persistence of upper subalpine dry meadows in the Whiterocks Basin, Uinta Mountains, northeastern Utah: An outline of proposed investigations and preliminary report (11/18/98)

Link to c.v.

Last updated by J. Munroe 11/15/07