Jill S. Schneiderman | Vassar College (original) (raw)

Anthropocene Studies by Jill S. Schneiderman

History of Science by Jill S. Schneiderman

As biotechnology and space exploration were to the twentieth century, geology was to the nineteen... more As biotechnology and space exploration were to the twentieth century, geology was to the nineteenth—a subject of enormous popular interest. During that time exciting new concepts emerged of inconceivably immense spans of time, of bizarre extinct creatures, of systematic ways of searching for rocks and minerals useful to a soon-to-come industrial age. Simultaneously, across Europe, its empires, and the Americas, ambitious topographic surveys were undertaken that ultimately provided a rigorous base for recording discoveries and observations throughout this century of discovery. The key to describing new concepts and grasping the formation and structure of the landscapes that fascinated geologists was mapping.

Journal of Geological Education, 1991

Environmental Justice by Jill S. Schneiderman

This online curricular resource enables students to identify the freshwater components of the hyd... more This online curricular resource enables students to identify the freshwater components of the hydrologic cycle and connect them to the basic need of all human beings for equal access to clean freshwater. This is accomplished by framing the water science within theories of environmental justice defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as "the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies."

Feminism and Science by Jill S. Schneiderman

Transformations, Mar 31, 1994

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Isabel Fothergill Smith (November 15, 1890-September 16, 1990), Professor Emcrita of Geology and ... more Isabel Fothergill Smith (November 15, 1890-September 16, 1990), Professor Emcrita of Geology and History of Science, Scripps College, Claremont California, began her career in geology and education with the tutelage and mentoring of Florence Bascom at Bryn Mawr College. After receiving her Ph.D. from that institution, Smith embarked upon her career in education as a geology professor at Smith College. In 1929, she became the first Dean at Scripps College, a newly founded women's college in southern California. After six years as Dean and a sabbatical studying history of science at Columbia and Harvard Universities, Smith returned to Scripps and taught history of science and geology there, as well as at Pomona College. She retired from teaching in 1954 and later wrote a biographical memoir of her mentor Florence Bascom.

Gender and Natural Resources by Jill S. Schneiderman

Natural Resources Forum, 2004

This article examines the history and character of the water supply in Trinidad and Tobago and th... more This article examines the history and character of the water supply in Trinidad and Tobago and the nature of problems associated with the procurement of water by Trinidadians. The article reports on case studies of two rural communities in which women have taken the lead to solve water problems. It reflects on the importance of small-scale, community-managed water systems for the possibility of achieving water democracy.

Critical Animal Studies by Jill S. Schneiderman

Geology by Jill S. Schneiderman

Chemical Geology, 2015

The influence of heavy-ion irradiation on the solubility of natural epidote-group minerals has be... more The influence of heavy-ion irradiation on the solubility of natural epidote-group minerals has been investigated. The epidote-group are calc-silicate minerals that, if soluble during terrestrial chemical weathering, are capable of consuming atmospheric CO 2 over geologic time. The experimental design was to calculate the α-particle dose for actinide-rich epidote-group grains from the deltas of rivers draining large watersheds. Large watersheds should yield a suite of epidote-group grains spanning the range of compositions and radiation damage commonly observed in nature. These grains would be resistant to dissolution during chemical weathering and survive into fluvial sediments. Therefore, the highest α-particle dose calculated for the suite of grains represents a minimum solubility threshold for the epidote-group minerals during chemical weathering. The α-particle dose is calculated from the 232 Th, 238 U, and 235 U content of a grain, and the grain's date. Actinide-rich epidote-group grains were isolated from Yangtze River and River Nile delta sediments, although only the grains from the Yangtze delta had 232 Th/ 208 Pb ratios sufficiently high to yield meaningful dates. A total of 28 Th-rich epidote-group grains were isolated from the Yangtze delta sediment, with 24 being classified as allanite and four being classified as REE-rich epidote. Isotopic ratio data were measured by laser ablation microprobe-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. Dates and REE patterns revealed at least 17 different sources of grains, with ThO 2 contents ranging from 0.057 to 4.37 wt. %, and dates ranging from 32 ± 2 to 3788 ± 263 Ma. The calculated maximum α-particle dose of the suite of Yangtze delta epidote-group mineral grains, and hence the minimum solubility threshold, is 7.1 × 10 15 α-decay mg −1 . Therefore, to predict the likelihood of an epidote-group mineral dissolving during chemical weathering at a specific study site the αparticle dose may be calculated from the date of the rock, even if estimated, and the radioactinide concentrations of the mineral. A calculated α-particle dose below~7.1 × 10 15 α-decay mg −1 likely reflects epidote-group mineral stability during chemical weathering. Calculation of the α-particle dose may be superior to microscopic identification of accessory (b 2% by volume) mineral dissolution during chemical weathering. This is because accessory minerals occur in relatively low abundances, may occur as relatively small grains, be highly soluble, and/or be heterogeneously distributed in the bedrock and regolith. Furthermore, the solubility of radioactively damaged accessory minerals cannot be readily predicted or quantified by geochemical thermodynamic and/or kinetic principles. The α-particle dose at the solubility threshold of~7.1 × 10 15 α-decay mg −1 value is approximately double that reported for zircon. Therefore, relative to zircon, epidote-group minerals can withstand more radiation prior to becoming soluble. This finding is surprising considering the chemical durability of zircon. This substantial variance in solubility threshold radiation doses between the two minerals cannot be explained by the bond strengths of non-tetrahedral cations and structural oxygen which are lower in allanite than zircon.

Journal of Geological Education, 1991

Transformations, Mar 31, 1994

Natural Resources Forum, 2004

Chemical Geology, 2015

Holocene, 2005

Six major pollen-spore assemblage zones can be identified showing alternate warm and cool climate... more Six major pollen-spore assemblage zones can be identified showing alternate warm and cool climate fluctuations on a millennial timescale. The early-Holocene optimum at c. 8000-7800 radiocarbon years BP, is marked by a large proportion of evergreen broad-leaf species in Zone I, suggesting the warmest/hottest climate setting of the Holocene. The mid-Holocene optimum ran from c. 7500 to 5000 BP (Zone III), during which many subtropical warm-and wet-tolerant species represented by Castanopsis and Cyclobalanopsis glauca occurred, indicating the megathermal trend. The temperature then declined upcore in Zone IV accompanied by a high proportion of Pinus and Cupressaceae. A cooling event occurred at c. 4200 BP, as evidenced by Fagus and Potamogeton in the upper section of Zone IV. Pollen assemblages in Zones V-VI indicate a generally cooler temperature in the late Holocene with a high proportion of Gramineae, indicative of rice cultivation. Onset of the mid-Holocene optimum was associated with sediment deposition of the Holocene delta construction. This promoted the migration of Neolithic settlements onto the delta plain from highlands west of the study area. The cooling event recognized at c. 4200-4000 BP may have triggered the cultural 'break up' caused by the climatic transition from early warm-humid to a later cool-wet setting, and lake expansion caused by heavy precipitation.

ABSTRACT A 20m long core drilled into the southern Yangtze delta plain reveals temporal variation... more ABSTRACT A 20m long core drilled into the southern Yangtze delta plain reveals temporal variations, and variations in the distribution of heavy minerals in late Quaternary stratigraphic horizons. The most abundant transparent heavy minerals observed in the core are amphibole, epidote, iron-titanium oxides, metamorphic minerals (garnet, sillimanite, kyanite, staurolite, chloritoid), pyroxene, zircon, tourmaline, rutile and apatite. Heavy minerals found in lower quantities are sphene, monazite, allanite and siderite. Also present in the heavy mineral separates are rock fragments, authigenic framboidal pyrite and pyritised foraminifera. Relative abundances of heavy minerals suggest one main source of sediment to the delta plain during the late Pleistocene to early Holocene and the addition of another source in the late Holocene.Proximal sources west of the southern Yangtze delta plain, including bedrock of the southern delta plain itself (Jurassic to Cretaceous igneous rocks, Precambrian medium-grade metamorphic rocks and Palaeozoic to Mesozoic carbonate sequences) and the western Mao-shan and Tian-mu-shan highlands (Palaeozoic to Mesozoic clastics and carbonate rocks), most likely were the source of late Pleistocene to early Holocene fluvial sediments. These sediments were carried eastward in river channels originating in the highlands. A complex of fluvial channels that migrated southward across the delta plain during the late Holocene added an additional source of sediment to the delta plain. They originated from western and northern distal source areas similar to those exposed in the modern Yangtze drainage basin.Evidence from heavy minerals supports previous studies of the core that document the tectonic and palaeoenvironmental history of the southern Yangtze delta plain. In particular, prior to 10,000 years B.P., the southern Yangtze delta plain supported the formation of an oxidising soil when sea level was low and heavy mineral influx came from proximal sources. During the period from 10,000 to 7000 years B.P., an open coastal setting characterised the southern delta plain region. Pyrite in heavy mineral separates, representing the period between 7000 and 4000 years B.P., supports evidence from other studies indicating that lagoons and freshwater marshes created reducing conditions during this time period. As sea level approached its present level 4000 years B.P., tectonically induced differential subsidence of the Yangtze delta plain progressed from north to south. Heavy mineral input to the delta plain reflects the resultant southward migration of the Yangtze river channel and deltaic depocentre to its present position.

SEPM Journal of Sedimentary Research, 1995

... Department of Geology and Geography ... b) solely volcanic, and (c) plutonic and volcanic roc... more ... Department of Geology and Geography ... b) solely volcanic, and (c) plutonic and volcanic rocks together that represent basement, rift, and ac-cretionary tectonic regimes, respectively ... REGIONALSETTING Samples were collected from sectors of the drainage basin of the River Nile ...

International Geology Review, 1996

... 3). Mid-Late Cretaceous exhuma tion is recorded by the Cucamonga and San Antonio granulites; ... more ... 3). Mid-Late Cretaceous exhuma tion is recorded by the Cucamonga and San Antonio granulites; adjacent continental-arc terranes in the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains show no evidence for significant exhumation at that time. ...

Pelitic schists and gneisses from the San Antonio terrane in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains co... more Pelitic schists and gneisses from the San Antonio terrane in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains consist of garnet, biotite, plagioclase, quartz, sillimanite, cordierite, hercynite [+-] alkali feldspar. Large garnet porphyroblasts contain quartz, plagioclase and sillimanite inclusions. Cordierite occurs as haloes around garnet porphyroblasts and as small subgrains always associated with hercynite and together replacing sillimanite blades. Hercynite additionally appears to have nucleated on the edges of sillimanite blades. Contrary to previous investigations, hercynite appears to be a late mineral phase. Reaction textures described above have been used to calculate a set of net-transfer reactions that can be used (1) to characterize all possible exchanges of matter between minerals in the system and (2) to construct a reaction space for the system. Fourteen thin sections with large garnet porphyroblasts and abundant biotite were used for microprobe analysis. Detailed probe analyses sho...

Ansrucr The Ascutney Mountain igneous complex in southeastern Vermont is a Cretaceous member of t... more Ansrucr The Ascutney Mountain igneous complex in southeastern Vermont is a Cretaceous member of the White Mountain plutonic-volcanic series. A subvolcanic complex, it consists ofthree stocks: gabbro-diorite, qvartz syenite, and granite. A syenite porphyry ring dike rims a portion of the complex and contains large xenoliths of a unique breccia. The gabbro-diorite consists of zoned plagioslass, augite, ferroan to magrresian horn-blende, phlogopite, orthoclase, and quartz. A variety of syenites occur and consist of perthite (+ atbite + orthoclase), ferro-edenite, annite, qtarrz, Fe-rich augite, and fayalite. The granite consists of microperthite, orthoclase, albite, phlogopite, and edenite. Magnet-ite, ilmenite, apatite, titanite, and zircon are common accessory minerals. The temperature of the syenite magma was 890-1000'C, and fo2rcnged from l0 '37 to l0 '2'e bars, as determined from the assemblage quarlz + magnetite + ilmenite * fayalite. Pressure is constrained to have been approximately 2 kbar. Biotite equilibria indicate thal frr6 of the syenite magma was 3300-4800 bars (an o : 1.8-2.8).

Geology, 1990

Metasedimentary rock fragments in a breccia at Ascutney Mountain, Vermont, have a complex metamor... more Metasedimentary rock fragments in a breccia at Ascutney Mountain, Vermont, have a complex metamorphic history that involved at least one and perhaps two episodes of Paleozoic regional metamorphism as well as Cretaceous contact metamorphism that resulted from the emplacement of Ascutney Mountain magmas into the Paleozoic country rock. Herein I derive a set of linearly independent net-transfer reactions that represent possible transfers of matter among the minerals in garnet-cordierite schist fragments, a major constituent of the breccia. I use net-transfer reactions to construct three reaction spaces. The reaction spaces define volumes within which an infinite number of reaction paths might have been followed by the schist fragments during metamorphism. I constrained the reaction path by using modal-abundance, textural, and chemical data from the schist fragments in the breccia. The example illustrates the elegant utility of reaction space: for any system, a volume may be defined within which metamorphic reactions occurred during the history of a rock. By examining the modal abundances, textures, and chemistry of the constituent minerals, one may discern and depict the history of complexly metamorphosed rocks.

In this paper we report comprehensive data on mineral assemblages and mineral chemistry for 34 or... more In this paper we report comprehensive data on mineral assemblages and mineral chemistry for 34 orthoamphibolite gneisses from Orijiirvi, Triiskbdle, and Perniii in southwestern Finland, classic areas first reported on by Eskola 75 years ago. In addition we present an analysis of phase relationships in these samples. Most of the protoliths for our samples are apparent altered mafic volcanics of Archean age. By far the most common assemblage is quartz + plagioclase * cordierite + anthophyllite + biotite + ilmenite, although we observed five samples containing coexisting anthophyllite and gedrite and several containing almandine-rich garnet. Temperatures estimated from garnet-biotite are 550-600 oC for the samples, and pressure estimated by other authors is about 3 kbar. The metamorphism of these rocks was therefore different from two other well-studied orthoam-phibolite localities: about 50 'C higher I and similar P to the Post Pond Volcanics of Vermont, and 50 "C lower Z and several kbar lower P than the Ammonoosuc Volcanics in southwestern New Hampshire. Analyses of coexisting cordierite and orthoamphiboles indicate that the same assemblage occurs for a wide range in composition of these minerals, particularly Mg/@g + Fe). Although we cannot rule out systematic variations in such variables as f, and pHrO, we believe that the assemblages are of high variance and therefore the mineral compositions are controlled by bulk composition. The few samples we found that had cummingtonite coexisting with cordierite and anthophyllite or gedrite provided clues to the behavior of this mineral. Cummingtonite and cordierite have reacted in several samples to form thin rims of gedrite in a texturally late, and probably prograde, reaction whose progress must be dependent upon pNaAlOr. An unusual texture found in several samples was the development of armored alumi-nous enclaves in which the highly aluminous minerals corundum, spinel, and hdgbomite (along with magnetite) are separated from host gedrite by a moat of cordierite. These evenly spaced enclaves may represent compositional heterogeneities inherited from the protolith, which have evolved texturally during metamorphism. What is particularly interesting about these enclaves is an abrupt compositional change in adjacent gedrite in which Al content rises dramatically at enclave margins, whereas Mg and Si contents drop concurrently. The compositional change reflects coupled lattice difftrsion of Mg and Si toward the enclave (to grow cordierite rims) and Al out of the enclave on a scale of up to 200 pm. Fe does not appear to have participated in this mass transfer.

The Journal of Geology, 1992

This is a book review that appeared in Science, November 2016, of Walter Alvarez' A Most Improbab... more This is a book review that appeared in Science, November 2016, of Walter Alvarez' A Most Improbably Journey

Journal of Geological Education, 1995

American Journal of Science, Jun 1, 1989

Journal of Geological Education, Mar 1, 1995

Journal of Sedimentary Research, 1995

Records of time and history scientific judgements and ethical considerations resources reconfigur... more Records of time and history scientific judgements and ethical considerations resources reconfigured local manipulations inventive solutions whole earth perturbations global perspectives.

Guidebook for field trips in southwestern New Hampshire, southeastern Vermont, and north-central ... more Guidebook for field trips in southwestern New Hampshire, southeastern Vermont, and north-central Massachusetts: New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference, 80th annual meeting, October 14, 15 and 16, 1988, Keene, New Hampshire: Trip B-

Critical Animal Geographies

The Earth Around Us, 2018

This module enables students to identify the freshwater components of the hydrologic cycle and co... more This module enables students to identify the freshwater components of the hydrologic cycle and connect them to the basic need of all human beings for equal access to clean freshwater.

Journal of Geoscience Education, 1997

Journal of Geoscience Education, 2001

Geographic Information System (GIS) software can be used to determine the spatial distribution of... more Geographic Information System (GIS) software can be used to determine the spatial distribution of environmental hazards. The ability to look at multiple layers of information on one map enables investigators to visually compare areas that contain high numbers of hazardous industries with variables such as socio-economic status and race. We used GIS in a classroom exercise to examine the distribution of toxic release sites in Queens, New York. Using 1990 U.S. Census tract data along with Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) sites registered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for Queens in 2000, we created a series of maps to examine the relationships between the locations of known toxic releases and demographic factors such as race, education, income levels, and linguistic isolation. By using readily available digital data like TRI sites and census tract data this classroom project shows students the utility of GIS for analysis of environmental hazards. Our in-class exercise revealed 1) distinct divides between neighborhoods by race; 2) an association between the locations of TRI sites and Asian and Hispanic linguistic isolation; 3) correspondence between the locations of TRI sites and limited level of education; and 4) overlap between the locations of TRI sites and neighborhoods of low income. Although not a definitive environmental risk study, these findings suggest that neighborhoods with limited resources to prevent the siting of undesirable technologies in their communities or to move out of harm's way may be disproportionately subjected to environmental risks. Exercises of this sort are easily carried out by students with access to GIS. Such studies demonstrate to students the societal importance of integrating natural and social sciences.

Science, 2016

A geologist revels in the unlikely reality of life on Earth

American Mineralogist, Feb 1, 1991

Earth Sciences History, 1992

Contemporary Buddhism, 2012

ABSTRACT Due to the extended time frame over which they occur, human-induced environmental change... more ABSTRACT Due to the extended time frame over which they occur, human-induced environmental changes are out of sync with human lives lived in an age characterized by nano-second attention spans. As a result, the violence exacted by such changes poses representational and motivational challenges to human abilities to address them. I tackle the question, as a scholar from outside the discipline of religious studies, how might Buddhist thought provide valuable tools for people interested in working progressively at the intersection of violence and human-induced environmental degradation? Like other non-specialist Westerners, I have cobbled together an eclectic Buddhist perspective. I aim to explore affinities between certain Buddhist themes and my own professional orientation and expertise in earth science. To that end, I describe concepts of time derived from geological science and Asian mythical traditions; probe ideas about violence in relation to global environmental degradation; and, consider implications of the Noble Eightfold Path, the way to deliverance from suffering taught by the Buddha, for adjusting systemically to environmental change over time. By expanding, scientifically and spiritually, what the present moment can be, an instant of infinite duration, I hope to connect my journey towards taking a long view of a moment with the long view of change that human beings require to awaken to violence that is at once potentially catastrophic and so slow, that it's difficult to discern and therefore counter.