Heather Almquist
University of Montana
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Featured researches published by Heather Almquist.
The Holocene | 2001
Heather Almquist; Ann C. Dieffenbacher-Krall; Riley Flanagan-Brown; David Sanger
A palaeohydrological study of Mansell Pond, a small (4 ha), closed-basin lake in central Maine, revealed distinct changes in lake levels throughout the Holocene. We examined the texture, organic content and macrofossils of eight cores and obtained 29 radiocarbon dates on transitions between sedimentary units. The water level fell between about 8000 14 C yr BP and 6000 14 C yr BP, and remained low until after 5000 14 C yr BP. The water level may have begun rising as early as 4750 14 C yr BP, with the most rapid increase occurring from 3225 14 C yr BP to 2780 14 C yr BP. This interpretation varies at some points from an earlier assessment of Mansell Ponds Holocene lake levels that was based on pollen and charcoal evidence from a single core. Records of Holocene lake levels from eastern Canada, the Lake Ontario region and southern New England are inconsistent with each other, suggesting that the influence of dominant air masses has been highly localized in this region
Climate Change and Cultural Dynamics#R##N#A Global Perspective on Mid-Holocene Transitions | 2007
David Sanger; Heather Almquist; Ann C. Dieffenbacher-Krall
Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the cultural adaptations as a result of climatic changes in the state of Maine in the New England region (United States), focusing on the central Maine region. The study assesses the potential impacts of climatic and environment changes on humans, which can be seen as vegetation and climatic changes, wetland evolution, and changes in water levels. It explores the reason for stating that a climatic perturbation or environmental change impacted hunters and gatherers living in an ecosystem with considerable biological diversity, especially if, as suspected, cultural coping devices had evolved to buffer negative aspects of environmental variability. Central Maine experienced a lengthy warm and dry mid-Holocene period. A decade-long effort has produced a Holocene record of cultural events, vegetation, wetland evolution, lake levels, and moisture balance at comparable temporal and spatial scales. Following deglaciation, wetlands of various types dominated central Maine. As far as cultural changes are concerned, this chapter states that Maine’s aboriginal populations practiced hunting, fishing, and gathering in mid-Holocene times. Finally, it indicates that though changes did occur, aboriginal people could mitigate, or at least minimize, the impacts of environmental perturbations, through prey switching and moving people from affected areas.
Gsa Today | 2008
George D. Stanley; Heather Almquist
INTRODUCTION Understanding science and technology is key to our next generation’s success. Conveying the excitement of science and effectively melding it with technology in both field and classroom settings can be a challenge for many K–12 educators. Middle school is a critical juncture in a child’s educational experience, when interest in science and technology is budding. If this interest is captured, it can lead to a lifetime of learning and, for some, a rewarding profession. At the University of Montana, the Paleo Exploration Project (PEP) was developed to meet these challenges. Now entering its second year, the PEP program aims to motivate school children in the STEM areas (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). It focuses on both middle school teachers and students in rural parts of Montana and utilizes geospatial technology and paleontology to achieve these goals. Funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the PEP project is a professional development program for math, science, and technology teachers. The primary goal of the program is to enable middle school teachers to effectively integrate geospatial technologies into the classroom and to create inquiry-based science experiences for students using fossils from key sites in Montana. The PEP project serves teachers and middle school students selected from a large area of eastern Montana, including three Indian reservations. Schools in this region tend to be small (fewer than 50 students) and isolated, with only 49 middle schools in a 50,000 mi2 area. Most educators in the PEP teach diverse subjects and are over 50 years old. In general, they begin the PEP with little experience in technology and science. Geographic information system (GIS) technology is valuable for developing practical technology skills. Dinosaurs and diverse terrestrial, fresh water, and marine fossils are natural drawing cards for the program, eliciting both excitement and curiosity. Cretaceous fossils also include turtles, ammonites, and marine reptiles. Layer-cake stratigraphy and the colorful landscapes in northeastern Montana combine to create a naturally attractive backdrop for the project. Several Upper Cretaceous units, such as the Hell Creek Formation and the Bear Paw Shale, contain the richest, most diverse fossil assemblages on the continent and perhaps in the world.
Archive | 2014
Heather Almquist; Lisa M. Blank; Jeffrey W. Crews; George D. Stanley; Marc S. Hendrix
The Paleo Exploration Project (PEP) was a University of Montana (UM) professional development program serving K-12 teachers from eastern Montana. Two cohorts of 25 teachers each completed the program. Each cohort was engaged in the training for 12–18 months. The program began with several 2-day teachers’ weekend workshops during the spring semester. The following summer, teachers attended a weeklong summer research institute with middle-school-aged students. Over the next academic year, teachers took part in a final weekend workshop and developed, and in most cases implemented, their own learning activities with their students. Using a design experiment framework, we learned that teachers needed (1) additional hands-on practice with the technologies, (2) a curriculum component that was targeted more directly on scientific inquiry, and (3) more practice with project design.
Quaternary Science Reviews | 2006
Eric C. Grimm; William A Watts; George L. Jacobson; Barbara C. Hansen; Heather Almquist; Ann C. Dieffenbacher-Krall
Journal of geoscience education | 2011
Heather Almquist; George D. Stanley; Lisa M. Blank; Marc S. Hendrix; Megan Rosenblatt; Seymour Hanfling; Jeffrey W. Crews
Geological Society of America Special Papers | 2012
Heather Almquist; Lisa M. Blank; Jennifer Estrada
Science Scope | 2012
Lisa M. Blank; Mike Plautz; Heather Almquist; Jeff Crews; Jen Estrada
Journal of Science Education and Technology | 2016
Lisa M. Blank; Heather Almquist; Jen Estrada; Jeff Crews
Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education International Conference | 2009
Heather Almquist; Lisa M. Blank; Jeffrey W. Crews; Edith Gummer; Seymour Hanfling; Pamela Yeagley