Earth Sciences

People

• Faculty & Staff
• Graduate Students

Faculty & Staff

Joseph M. Licciardi
Associate Professor of Earth Sciences

Ph.D. Oregon State University, 2000
e-mail address: joe.licciardi@unh.edu
603-862-3135

Primary Courses taught:

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

Graduate students:

• Kate Denoncourt (M.S.; 2006)
• Anna Krusic (M.S.; 2006; co-advised with Dr. Mike Prentice)
• Kerri Schorzman (M.S.; 2007; co-advised with Dr. Julie Bryce)
• Mike Howley (M.S.; 2008)
• Krista Reichert (M.S.; 2009)
• Jean Taggart (M.S.; 2009)
• Jamie Gaynor (M.S.; 2010)

My past and current research integrates field work, laboratory techniques, and modeling studies in order to resolve key issues in Quaternary geology, with a unifying theme of understanding mechanisms of climate change.

One ongoing research focus has been the development of alpine glacier and pluvial lake records of late Pleistocene climate variability across the western U.S. A centerpiece of this research, funded by the National Science Foundation, is a high-resolution ³He and ¹⁰Be chronology of glaciation in greater Yellowstone and the Teton Range. Another major research aim, also funded by the National Science Foundation, is to improve knowledge of deglacial and volcanic events in Iceland. Work in Iceland has focused on ³He dating of subglacially erupted tuyas, which indicate the ice surface elevation at the time of their eruption. An integral component of the western U.S. and Iceland projects is the calibration of cosmogenic ³He and ³⁶Cl production rates, which are critical to obtaining accurate exposure ages.

Newly developed research involves ¹⁰Be dating of early Holocene and ‘Little Ice Age’ glacier fluctuations in southern Peru, with results suggesting climate teleconnections between the tropics and the North Atlantic region. I have also recently worked with graduate students on investigating late-glacial moraines in the central Alaska Range, and developing a Pleistocene temperature history of a pluvial lake basin in eastern Oregon.

Another broad research interest concerns the role of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in the glacial-age climate system. Earlier research involved numerical reconstructions of ice sheet geometry and its sensitivity to subglacial sediment deformation. Subsequent work reconstructed changes in the routing and flux of North American freshwater runoff. More recently, the Laurentide reconstructions are being used as boundary conditions in work that examines the mechanisms and impacts of rapid ice sheet retreat during the early Holocene.

Publications

• 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

• 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.
  
• Licciardi, J.M., Schaefer, J.M., Lund, D.C., and Taggart, J.R., 2008, Precise surface exposure dating of early Holocene and Little Ice Age moraines in the Cordillera Vilcabamba of southern Peru: abstract, AGU 2008 Fall Meeting.
• Taggart, J.R., and Licciardi, J.M., 2008, Lichenometric dating of Little Ice Age moraines in the Cordillera Vilcabamba, southern Peruvian Andes: abstract, AGU 2008 Fall Meeting.
• Carlson, A.E., Obbink, E.A., LeGrande, A.N., Anslow, F.S., Licciardi, J.M., Oppo, D.W., Came, R.E., and Schmidt, G.A., 2008, Laurentide Ice Sheet retreat and meltwater discharge during the early Holocene: abstract, AGU 2008 Fall Meeting.
• Krusic, A.G., Licciardi, J.M., and Prentice, M.L., 2008, Modern and early-mid Pliocene ELAs in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: abstract, Workshop on Mass Balance Measurements and Modelling, 26-28 March 2008, Skeikampen, Norway.
• Howley, M.W., and Licciardi, J.M., 2008, A Neoglacial and Little Ice Age chronology from the Castner Glacier in the Central Alaska Range, Alaska: 38th Annual Arctic Workshop, 5-7 March 2008, Boulder, Colorado.
• Licciardi, J.M., Schaefer, J.M., and Lund, D.C., 2007, Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be dating of early and latest Holocene moraines on Nevado Salcantay in the southern Peruvian Andes: abstract, AGU 2007 Fall Meeting.
• Malik, M.A., Licciardi, J.M., Ward, L.G., and Mayer, L.A., 2007, Glacial features in the western Gulf of Maine inferred from high resolution bathymetric data: abstract, AGU 2007 Fall Meeting.
• Schorzman, K.C., Licciardi, J.M., and Bryce, J.G., 2007, Testing the links between deglaciation and magma evolution in Iceland using geochemical signatures from basaltic table mountains: 2nd Volcano-Ice Interaction on Earth and Mars Conference, 19-22 June 2007, Univ. British Columbia, Canada.
• Licciardi, J.M., Kurz, M.D., and Curtice, J.M., 2007, Insight on the timing of the last deglaciation in Iceland from surface exposure ages of subglacial and postglacial volcanic features: 37th Annual Arctic Workshop, 2-5 May 2007, Skaftafell, Iceland.
• Howley, M.W., and Licciardi, J.M., 2007, Laurentide Ice Sheet recession recorded in a late-Wisconsin proglacial lake in the Contoocook River basin, southern New Hampshire: GSA Abstracts with Programs, v. 39, no. 1, p. 55.
• Licciardi, J.M., Pierce, K.L., and Finkel, R.C., 2006, High-resolution chronologies of Yellowstone Ice Cap and Teton Range outlet glacier fluctuations during the late Pleistocene: INQUA workshop, Timing and Nature of Mountain Glaciation, from High Asia to the World, 13-22 September 2006, Xining, China.
• Licciardi, J.M., 2006, Review of the late Pleistocene and Holocene glacial history of Iceland: INQUA workshop, Timing and Nature of Mountain Glaciation, from High Asia to the World, 13-22 September 2006, Xining, China.
• Licciardi, J.M., Kurz, M.D., and Curtice, J.M., 2006, Cosmogenic 3He exposure ages of table mountains in Iceland as a tool for reconstructing ice surface profile changes through time: International Symposium on Earth and Planetary Ice-Volcano Interactions, International Glaciological Society, 19-23 June 2006, Reykjavík, Iceland.

Graduate Student Projects

• Gaynor, J.R., 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
• Taggart, J.R., 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.
• Reichert, K.L., 2009, Amino acid paleothermometry in the Summer Lake basin, Oregon, using fossil ostracodes from the middle to late Pleistocene: M.S. thesis, 76 p.
• Howley, M.W., 2008, A Late Glacial and Holocene Chronology of the Castner Glacier, Delta River Valley, Alaska: M.S. thesis., 78 p.
• Schorzman, K.C., 2007, Geochemical evolution of basaltic tuyas in Iceland during the last deglaciation: M.S. thesis, 85 p.
• Krusic, A.G., 2006, Pleistocene glacial geology and climate in McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica: M.S. thesis, 170 p.
• Denoncourt, C.L., 2006, Calibration of cosmogenic Cl-36 production rates from postglacial lava flows in Iceland: M.S. thesis, 60 p.