Mobile Delta
Went to the Mobile Delta to sample baldcypress. Had to use the chainsaw on a few dead standing trees. This one began growing in the 1820s and died in the 1980s.
Author Archives: mtherrell
Paint Rock Forest
Recently visited the Paint Rock Forest Research Center and found it to be truly amazing. The variety of trees there is astounding, and the research being carried out on the forest is world class. I am looking forward to hopefully returning and doing some dendrochronology.
Hinds Road Outcrop
This cool sandstone glade area is home to a nice stand of Boynton’s Oak (Quercus boyntonii), which is an endemic (to Alabama) oak. Most of the Boynton’s oaks at the site are only about 4-5 feet tall at most and tree-ring dating indicates they are between 75-120 years old. https://www.auburn.edu/cosam/arboretum/apca/projects/boyntons_oak.htm
DRL in “Stones and Bones”
Work by the DRL was described in a recent issue of “Stones and Bones” the newsletter of the Alabama Archaeological Society. The article “A Living Witness to the Battle?” by Eric Frey- Park Ranger at Horseshoe Bend National Military Park describes tree-ring dating of and American beech (Fagus grandifolia) tree at the battlefield that predates
AAG New Orleans
My colleagues and I will be giving talks and hosting sessions on Paleofloods at next weeks AAG meeting. Come hear all about it! Past Perspectives on River Environments 1: Flood Reconstructions in Locations Outside the U.S. Napoleon B2, Sheraton 3rd Floor 08:00 am Past Perspectives on River Environments 2: Flood Reconstructions in the Mississippi River
Nature paper in UA news
A UA News feature covers our recent Nature paper on Mississippi River flooding “More than Climate, Engineering Worsening Flooding Along Mississippi” “TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Through discovering ancient floods along the Mississippi River, a group of scientists, including a University of Alabama professor, found human-led engineering, not climate, is the largest influence on worsening floods.”
Increasing community resilience in coastal watersheds of Alabama…
Super excited that US EPA will be funding our project on streamflow reconstruction in Alabama watersheds (Increasing community resilience in coastal watersheds of Alabama by risk assessment of past, present and future trends in hydrologic and hydroclimatic extremes). It is imperative that Alabama develop a comprehensive state water policy and understanding the long-term variability of
Cool Mississippi River flooding story
Interesting story in the Washington Post about infrastructure and flooding on the Mississippi River.
St Marks, FL
Saw a beautiful old Lighthouse in the Big Bend country of FL the other day. The St. Marks lighthouse is apparently the 2nd oldest in FL having been at this location since 1842.
Moss Rock Preserve
Took my physical geography class up to Moss Rock Preserve to check out the Fort Payne sandstone glades. There are some really nice old growth longleaf pine up there as well as very old looking virginia pines and some blackjack oak. There are some great waterfalls in the park as well.