Earth Sciences

People

• Faculty & Staff
• Graduate Students

Faculty & Staff

Joe Licciardi
Associate Professor of Earth Sciences

Ph.D. Oregon State University, 2000
56 College Road/James Hall 316
University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH 03824
Phone: 603-862-3135
Email: joe.licciardi@unh.edu

Courses taught:

• Earth History (ESCI 402)
• Landscape Evolution (ESCI 561)
• Glacial Geology (ESCI 762/862)
• Paleoclimatology (ESCI 765/865)
• Volcanology (ESCI 766/866; with Dr. Julie Bryce)

My primary fields of study include glacial geology and geomorphology, paleoclimatology, and volcanology. Most of my work places a strong emphasis on geochronology and/or understanding mechanisms of climate change. Past and present research projects generally address problems by integrating field work, laboratory methods, and modeling exercises. The application of cosmogenic isotope surface exposure dating methods figures prominently in many of these projects. My main study sites are located in the western United States (particularly the greater Yellowstone and Grand Teton regions), Iceland, and the Peruvian Andes, but I have also worked on projects in Alaska, Hawai’i, and the Galápagos Islands. Timescales of interest generally fall within the Quaternary Period; I am especially interested in glacier fluctuations, climate variability, and volcanic activity during the late Pleistocene and Holocene.

Graduate Student Projects:

• Samantha N. Sinclair, in progress, Origin of De Geer moraines in the Seacoast of New Hampshire: M.S. thesis. (anticipated graduation Spring 2015)
• Elizabeth G. Huss, in progress, Quantifying glacier sensitivities to Holocene climate change in the southern Peruvian Andes: M.S. thesis. (anticipated graduation Spring 2014)
• Avriel D. Schweinsberg, in progress, Multiproxy records of Holocene climate and glacier variability from sediment cores in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of southern Peru: M.S. thesis. (anticipated graduation Fall 2013)
• James R. Gaynor, 2010, Stratigraphic constraints on the Last Glacial Maximum terminal position of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet in Lower Taylor Valley, Antarctica: M.S. directed research, 122 p.
• Jean R. Taggart, 2009, Developing a 'Little Ice Age' glacial chronology in the southern Peruvian Andes using lichenometry and cosmogenic 10Be surface exposure dating: M.S. thesis, 107 p.
• Krista L. Reichert, 2009, Amino acid paleothermometry in the Summer Lake basin, Oregon, using fossil ostracodes from the middle to late Pleistocene: M.S. thesis, 76 p.
• Michael W. Howley, 2008, A late glacial and Holocene chronology of the Castner Glacier, Delta River valley, Alaska: M.S. thesis, 78 p.
• Kerri C. Schorzman, 2007, Geochemical evolution of basaltic tuyas in Iceland during the last deglaciation: M.S. thesis, 85 p. (co-advised with Dr. Julie Bryce)
• Anna G. Krusic, 2006, Pleistocene glacial geology and climate in McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: M.S. thesis, 170 p. (co-advised with Dr. Mike Prentice)
• Catherine L. Denoncourt, 2006, Calibration of cosmogenic Cl-36 production rates from postglacial lava flows in Iceland: M.S. thesis, 60 p.

Publications

• Ullman, D.J., Carlson, A.E., Moore, A.K., LeGrande, A.N., Anslow, F.S., Caffee, M.W., Syverson, K.M., and Licciardi, J.M., in review, Southern Laurentide ice-sheet retreat synchronous with rising boreal summer insolation: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
• Ullman, D.J., LeGrande, A.N., Carlson, A.E., Anslow, F.S., and Licciardi, J.M., 2013, Assessing the impact of Laurentide Ice-Sheet topography on glacial climate: Climate of the Past Discussions, v. 9, p. 3239-3306.
• Pierce, K.L., Muhs, D.R., Fosberg, M.A., Mahan, S.A., Rosenbaum, J.G., Licciardi, J.M., and Pavich, M.J., 2011, A loess-paleosol record of climate and glacial history over the past two glacial-interglacial cycles (~150 ka), southern Jackson Hole, Wyoming: Quaternary Research, v. 76, p. 119-141.
• Reichert, K.L., Licciardi, J.M., and Kaufman, D.S., 2011, Amino acid racemization in lacustrine ostracodes, part II: Paleothermometry in Pleistocene sediments at Summer Lake, Oregon: Quaternary Geochronology, v. 6, p. 174-185.
• Young, N.E., Briner, J.P., Leonard, E.M., Licciardi, J.M., and Lee, K., 2011, Assessing climatic and nonclimatic forcing of Pinedale glaciation and deglaciation in the western United States: Geology, v. 39, p. 171-174.
• Goehring, B.M., Kurz, M.D., Balco, G., Schaefer, J.M., Licciardi, J.M., and Lifton, N.A., 2010, A reevaluation of in situ cosmogenic ³He production rates: Quaternary Geochronology, v. 5, p. 410-418.
• Carlson, A.E., Anslow, F.S., Obbink, E.A., LeGrande, A.N., Ullman, D.J., and Licciardi, J.M., 2009, Surface-melt driven Laurentide Ice Sheet retreat during the early Holocene: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 36, L24502, doi:10.1029/2009GL040948
• Licciardi, J.M., Schaefer, J.M., Taggart, J.R. and Lund, D.C., 2009, Holocene glacier fluctuations in the Peruvian Andes indicate northern climate linkages: Science, v. 325, p. 1677-1679. (see also Supporting Online Material)
• Krusic, A.G., Prentice, M.L., and Licciardi, J.M., 2009, Climatic implications of reconstructed early-mid Pliocene equilibrium-line altitudes in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: Annals of Glaciology, v. 50, p. 31-36.
• Carlson, A.E., LeGrande, A.N., Oppo, D.W., Came, R.E., Schmidt, G.A., Anslow, F.S., Licciardi, J.M., and Obbink, E.A., 2008, Rapid early Holocene deglaciation of the Laurentide ice sheet: Nature Geoscience, v. 1, p. 620-624. (see also News & Views by M. Siddall and M.R. Kaplan)
• Licciardi, J.M., and Pierce, K.L., 2008, Cosmogenic exposure age chronologies of Pinedale and Bull Lake glaciations in greater Yellowstone and the Teton Range, USA: Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 27, p. 814-831.
• Licciardi, J.M., Denoncourt, C.L., and Finkel, R.C., 2008, Cosmogenic ³⁶Cl production rates from Ca spallation in Iceland: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 267, p. 365-377.
• Licciardi, J.M., Kurz, M.D., and Curtice, J.M., 2007, Glacial and volcanic history of Icelandic table mountains from cosmogenic ³He exposure ages: Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 26, p. 1529-1546.
• Licciardi, J.M., Kurz, M.D., and Curtice, J.M., 2006, Cosmogenic ³He production rates from Holocene lava flows in Iceland: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 246, p. 251-264.
• Licciardi, J.M., Clark, P.U., Brook, E.J., Elmore, D., and Sharma, P., 2004, Variable responses of western U.S. glaciers during the last deglaciation: Geology, v. 32, p. 81-84.
• Pierce, K.L., Despain, D., Whitlock, C., Cannon, K.P., Meyer, G., Morgan, L., and Licciardi, J.M., 2003, Quaternary geology and ecology of the greater Yellowstone area, in Easterbrook, D.J., ed., Quaternary geology of the United States, INQUA 2003 Field Guide Volume, p. 313-344.
• Licciardi, J.M., Clark, P.U., Brook, E.J., Pierce, K.L., Kurz, M.D., Elmore, D., and Sharma, P., 2001, Cosmogenic ³He and ¹⁰Be chronologies of the late Pinedale northern Yellowstone ice cap, Montana, USA: Geology, v. 29, p. 1095-1098.
• Licciardi, J.M., 2001, Chronology of latest Pleistocene lake-level fluctuations in the pluvial Lake Chewaucan basin, Oregon, USA: Journal of Quaternary Science, v.16, p. 545-553.
• Clark, P.U., Marshall, S.J., Clarke, G.K.C., Hostetler, S.W., Licciardi, J.M., and Teller, J.T., 2001, Freshwater forcing of abrupt climate change during the last glaciation, Science, v. 293, p. 283-287.
• Licciardi, J.M., Teller, J.T., and Clark, P.U., 1999, Freshwater routing by the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last deglaciation, in Clark, P.U., Webb, R.S., and Keigwin, L.D., eds., Mechanisms of global climate change at millennial time scales, AGU Geophysical Monograph 112, p. 177-201.
• Licciardi, J.M., Kurz, M.D., Clark, P.U., and Brook, E.J., 1999, Calibration of cosmogenic ³He production rates from Holocene lava flows in Oregon, USA, and effects of the Earth’s magnetic field: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 172, p. 261-271.
• Licciardi, J.M., Clark, P.U., Jenson, J.W., and MacAyeal, D.R., 1998, Deglaciation of a soft-bedded Laurentide Ice Sheet: Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 17, p. 427-448.
• Clark, P.U., Licciardi, J.M., MacAyeal, D.R., and Jenson, J.W., 1997, Numerical reconstruction of a soft-bedded Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last glacial maximum: Reply: Geology, v. 25, p. 380-381.
• Clark, P.U., Licciardi, J.M., MacAyeal, D.R., and Jenson, J.W., 1996, Numerical reconstruction of a soft-bedded Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last glacial maximum: Geology, v. 24, p. 679-682.
• Clark, P.U., Alley, R.B., Keigwin, L.D., Licciardi, J.M., Johnsen, S.J., and Wang, H., 1996, Origin of the first global meltwater pulse following the last glacial maximum: Paleoceanography, v. 11, p. 563-577.

Recent Abstracts (UNH student authors in italics)

• Licciardi, J.M., Schaefer, J.M., Rodbell, D.T., Stansell, N.D., Schweinsberg, A.D., Finkel, R.C., and Zimmerman, S.R.H., 2013, Multiple glacial culminations from the Lateglacial to the late Holocene in central and southern Peru: AGU 2013 Fall Meeting abstract (accepted).
• Huss, E.G., Licciardi, J.M., and Anslow, F.S., 2013, Quantifying glacier sensitivities to Holocene climate change in the southern Peruvian Andes: AGU 2013 Fall Meeting abstract (accepted).
• Schweinsberg, A.D., Licciardi, J.M., Rodbell, D.T., and Stansell, N.D., 2013, Lake and bog sediment records of Holocene climate and glacier variability in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of southern Peru: AGU 2013 Fall Meeting abstract (accepted).
• Stansell, N.D., Rodbell, D.T., Licciardi, J.M., Abbott, M.B., Mark, B.G., Schweinsberg, A.D., 2013, Proglacial lake sediments, cosmogenic ages and stable isotopes reveal Holocene climate changes in the Peruvian Andes: AGU 2013 Fall Meeting abstract (accepted).
• Licciardi, J.M., Laabs, B.J.C., Pierce, K.L., Munroe, J.S., and Leonard, E.M., 2013, Review of the timing, extent, and climatic significance of western U.S. mountain glaciation during the penultimate (marine isotope stage 6) glacial maximum: GSA 2013 Annual Meeting abstract (accepted).
• Houts, A.N., Licciardi, J.M., Lapo, K.E., Kurz, M.D., and Curtice, J.M., 2013, Cosmogenic 3He surface exposure dating of SP cinder cone and lava flow in northern Arizona, USA: Results from the San Francisco volcanic field REU Program: GSA 2013 Annual Meeting abstract (accepted).
• Lapo, K.E., Licciardi, J.M., Houts, A.N., Kurz, M.D., and Curtice, J.M., 2013, Cosmogenic 3He surface exposure dating of Strawberry Crater in northern Arizona, USA: Results from the San Francisco volcanic field REU Program: GSA 2013 Annual Meeting abstract (accepted).
• Schweinsberg, A.D., Licciardi, J.M., Rodbell, D.T., and Stansell, N.D., 2013, Holocene climate and glacier variability recorded in lake and bog sediments from the southern Peruvian Andes: GSA Abstracts with Programs, v. 45, no. 1, p. 43.
• Madore, B.M., Licciardi, J.M., and Davis, J.M., 2013, Morphometric analysis of ribbed moraines revealed by LiDAR data in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire: GSA Abstracts with Programs, v. 45, no. 1, p. 100.
• Huss, E.G., Laabs, B.J.C., Leonard, E.M., Licciardi, J.M., Plummer, M.A., and Caffee, M.W., 2012, Pace of glacial retreat and limits on paleoclimate conditions for the Pine Creek Glacier, Montana, during the Pinedale Glaciation: abstract C53A-0823, AGU 2012 Fall Meeting abstract.
• Schweinsberg, A.D., Licciardi, J.M., Rodbell, D.T., Stansell, N.D., and Tapia, P.M., 2012, Multiproxy records of Holocene climate and glacier variability from sediment cores in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of southern Peru: abstract GC21D-0995, AGU 2012 Fall Meeting abstract.
• Licciardi, J.M., Schaefer, J.M., and Schweinsberg, A.D., 2012, Precise chronologies of Holocene glacial culminations in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of southern Peru: abstract GC21D-0993, AGU 2012 Fall Meeting.
• Pierce, K.L., Licciardi, J.M., and Good, J.M., 2012, Glaciation of the greater Yellowstone area: GSA Abstracts with Programs, v. 44, no. 7.
• Ullman, D.J., Carlson, A.E., LeGrande, A.N., Anslow, F.S., and Licciardi, J.M., 2011, Modeling the evolution of Laurentide Ice Sheet surface mass balance across the last deglaciation: abstract PP54A-07, AGU 2011 Fall Meeting.
• Ullman, D.J., Carlson, A.E., LeGrande, A.N., Anslow, F.S., Licciardi, J.M., and Caffee, M.W., 2010, Testing the mass balance of the Laurentide ice sheet during the last glacial maximum: abstract PP33B-1698, AGU 2010 Fall Meeting.
• Licciardi, J.M., Schaefer, J.M., Taggart, J.R., Lund, D.C., and Tapia, P.M., 2010, Ongoing investigation of the Holocene glacial history in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of southern Peru: GSA Abstracts with Programs, v. 42, no. 5, p. 228.
• Young, N.E., Briner, J.P., Leonard, E.M., Licciardi, J.M., and Lee, K., 2010, Assessing climatic and non-climatic forcing of Pinedale glaciation and deglaciation in the western US: GSA Abstracts with Programs, v. 42, no. 5, p. 363.
• Licciardi, J.M., Taggart, J.R., Schaefer, J.M., and Lund, D.C., 2009, Timing and paleoclimatic significance of Holocene glacier fluctuations in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of southern Peru: abstract, AGU 2009 Fall Meeting.
• LeGrande, A.N., Carlson, A.E., Ullman, D.J., Anslow, F.S., and Licciardi, J.M., 2009, Ice sheet health during deglaciation: Two end-member analysis using paired GCM and ice sheet model results: abstract, AGU 2009 Fall Meeting.
• Obbink, E.A., Carlson, A.E., Anslow, F.S., LeGrande, A.N., Licciardi, J.M., and Ullman, D.J., 2009, Energy moisture balance model simulations of Laurentide Ice Sheet mass balance responses to early Holocene enhanced boreal summer insolation: abstract, GSA Abstracts with Programs, v. 41, no. 4, p. 7.