[Aqualist] A masterclass in "Approaches to charcoal analysis for palaeoecological research", at Dept. Archaeology and Natural History (Coombs Bld.), The Australian National University, 11th May 2012

[Simon Haberle]

Dear all,

On the 11th May Dr Phil Higuera, University of Idaho, will be conducting 
a masterclass in "Approaches to charcoal analysis for palaeoecological 
research", at ANH (Coombs Bld.), The Australian National University . He 
will present the background to understanding charcoal dispersal and data 
handling in palaeoecology and introduce his CharAnalysis program. There 
will be discussion on the potential for its application in Australia and 
the region. Some key references can be found on his website below. He 
recommends in particular Higuera et al. 2010 (IJWF) and Higuera et al. 
2007 for the most in depth background, or Higuera et al. 2011 (Holocene) 
for an example of application.

Please let me know if you are interested in attending. Also please pass 
this onto any students or colleagues who might be interested in 
attending. The masterclass is free, though you will need to be self 
funded if coming from interstate. Location: Department of Archaeology 
and Natural History, Coombs Bld., Fellows Road, The Australian National 
University. 9am-3pm, Friday 11th May 2012. Dr Higuera  will also be 
available in the afternoon for individual discussion after this masterclass.

Cheers, Simon

BIO:
Philip Higuera is an Assistant Professor in the University of Idaho's 
Department of Forest Ecology and Biogeosciences. His research focuses on 
understanding how and why fire regimes respond to climate and vegetation 
change over a range of time scales, using lake-sediment, tree-ring, and 
observational records.

weblinks:
https://www.uidaho.edu/cnr/frfs/philiphiguera 
<http://tlu.toru.ee/?LangID=1&page=detail&type=Studia%20Generalia&album=Shinya%20Sugita&id=25b2221aa0ce>


*Outline of the Masterclass at ANU in "Approaches to Charcoal Analysis 
for Palaeoecological Research"
9am-3pm, Friday 11th May, 2012.* (Seminar room location to be given 
closer to the date)

This one-day course will summarize the recent developments on the theory 
of charcoal analysis and
model-based reconstruction of fire regimes using fossil charcoal data. 
Dr Higuera will provide
computer programs and examples during the course so that participants 
will be able to have
hands-on experience and learn how the programs work, what the necessary 
input data are and how to
interpret results. Although a one-day course is too short to cover all 
the details of the topics, this
course tries to explain concepts and mechanisms critical for 
quantitative fire event reconstruction.

It would be useful if participants bring their own laptops with them to 
use the computer
programs. For your information I attach below a list of selected papers 
relevant for the topics
covered in the course. In particular the papers with **in the list would 
be useful and informative for
a better understanding of the materials that will be discussed in the 
lectures.

Schedule
09:00--09:45 Basics of the theory of charcoal analysis: why models are 
useful
10:00-10:45 Quantatative reconstruction of fire events using fossil 
charcoal data -- CharAnalysis
11:00-12:00 Application of CharAnalysis in the Australian context: 
examples presented by Simon Haberle
13:30-15:00 Implications and application: handling and interpreting the 
data