Philip van Beynen, Ph.D.
Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of South Florida, 4202 East Fowler Ave, NES 107, Tampa, Florida 33620-5200.
Email: vanbeyne@cas.usf.edu
Phone and Fax: 813-974-3026, 813-974-2184
Research Interests:
Karst Environments Paleoclimatology Human Impact
Education
Post Doctoral Fellow 1998-2000 McMaster University.
Ph.D., Geography 1994-1998 McMaster University,
M.A., Geography 1992-1993 Auckland University,
Courses
The classes I teach at USF are listed below. Click on the course to get a class syllabus.
EVR2002 001 Introduction to Environmental Science for Non-Majors
EVR4930 002 Climate Change
EVR6922 901 ESP Capstone Seminar
EVR6934 001 Paleoclimatology
Research
My research interests are in the field of paleoclimatology
with a specialization in speleothems. Speleothems are calcitic cave deposits
(stalactites, stalagmites and flowstone) which can be used to provide us with
information about past temperature, precipitation and vegetation. This can be
achieved through stable isotope and fluorescence measurements taken from
stalagmites and flowstones which may have “grown” thousands of years ago. I also have a secondary interest in soil
organic substances such as humic and fulvic acids.
They are the main contributors of fluorescence in cave deposits and their
variable concentration in speleothems can produce annual layering in the
calcite. The isotopic composition of these substances can also be studied with
the aim to understand how vegetation may have changed above the soil over the
last few thousand years or so. For more information on these topics, feel free
to look up any of my publications. A new
area for me is the creation of a karst disturbance index that measures human
impact and stewardship of karst terrain. The index is presently being tested in
Publications
Polk, J.S., van
Beynen, P.E. and Reeder, P. (submitted) Late Holocene environmental reconstruction using
cave sediments from
van Beynen, P.E., Feliciano, N., North, L. and Townsend, K. (submitted). Testing of a Karst Disturbance Index in Hillsborough County, Florida. Environmental Management. 2005.
van Beynen, P.E. and Febberollio, P.J. (in press) Stable isotope record of precipitation and cave water for Indian Oven Cave, NY. Hydrological Processes.
van Beynen, P.E. and Townsend, K.M. 2005. A Disturbance Index for Karst Environments. Environmental Management 36 (1) 101-116.
Reeder, P., van
Beynen, P., Polk, J., Wofel, U., Colas, P., Blackwelder, P. 2005. Annual Report on Multidisciplinary
Research Activities on the Vaca Plateau for 2005. University of South Florida.
van
Beynen, P.E., Schwarcz, H.P. and Ford, D.C. 2004. Holocene climatic variability
recorded in a speleothem from McFail’s Cave, New
York. The Journal of Cave and Karst Studies, 66 (1), 20-27.
Reeder, P., van Beynen, P., Polk, J., Florea, L., and Yuelling, A. 2004. A report on multidisciplinary research conducted on the Northern Vaca Plateau, Belize in 2004. Technical Report submitted to the Government of Belize.
van
Beynen, P.E., Ford, D.C., Schwarcz, H.P., and Timmins,
G.T. 2002. Annual laminae in speleothems: their
production and significance. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 39, 279-284.
van
Beynen, P.E., Bourbonniere, R.A, Ford, D.C., and
Schwarcz, H.P. 2001. Causes of colour and
fluorescence in speleothems. Chemical Geology 175, 319-341.
van
Beynen, P.E., Ford, D.C., and Schwarcz, H.P. 2000. Seasonal Variability in
Organic Substances in Surface and Cave Waters. Hydrological Processes 14,
1177-1197.
van Beynen, P.E.
1996. Chemical differences between high fluorescent and low fluorescent
speleothems. In Climate Change: The Karst Record. Lauritzen, S-E. (Ed) Karst
Waters Institute Special Publication 2. Bergen.
Presentations
Soto. L., van Beynen, P.E., Polk., J., Polyak, V. and Asmerom, Y. 2005. South Eastern USA Millenial Precipitation Reconstruction from a Floridian Speleothem. Geological Society of America, Annual meeting, Utah 2005
Polk, J.S., van Beynen, P.E. and Reeder, P. 2005. Paleoclimate Inferences in Belize: δ13C Variations in Cave Sediments. Geological Society of America, Annual meeting, Utah 2005
Hollander, D., Soto, L. Polk, J. and van Beynen, P.E. 2005. Intercomparison of speleothem and lake geochemical proxy records for interpreting paleohydrologic conditions on sub-tropical North America during the late Holocene. American Geophysical Union, San Francisco Annual Meeting 2005.
van Beynen, P.E., Soto, L., Cross,
E., van Vleet, T., Hollander, D., Asmerom, Y., and Polyak, V. 2004. Comparison of Paleohydrologic Records for
the Gulf of Mexico. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Denver.
van Beynen, P.E. 2003. Stable isotope record of precipitation and cave water for Indian Oven Cave, NY. Association of American Geographers, New Orleans.
van Beynen, P.E., Ford, D.C., and Schwarcz, H.P. 2001. From the Sangamon to the Holocene: A comparison of five speleothem isotopic records. New York. Association of American Geographers, New York City.
van
Beynen, P.E., Morrison, J., Ford, D.C., and Schwarcz, H.P. 2000. Holocene
climatic variability measured by speleothems in McFail’s
Cave, New York. Association
of American Geographers, Pittsburgh.
van Beynen, P.E., Morrison, J., Ford, D.C., and Schwarcz, H.P. 1999. Holocene and Late Quaternary high resolution climate records from four North American speleothems
Geological Society of America, Denver.
van Beynen, P.E., Ford, D.C., and Schwarcz, H.P. 1999. A high resolution climate record of the last interglacial from a West Virginian Speleothem, Canadian Geophysical Union, May, in Banff.
van Beynen, P.E., Ford, D.C., and Schwarcz, H.P. 1999. Studies of fluorescence in annual growth layers in modern calcitic speleothems, Canadian Geophysical Union, May, in Banff.
Invited
Presentations
University of Florida Department of Geology Graduate Seminar Series
Reconstruction of
late Holocene precipitation for Florida: A speleothem record
Philip van Beynen,
Limaris Soto, Jason Polk, Yemane Asmerom and Victor Polyak
St John’s River Water Management District
This talk, although similar to one above, is different in that new data and interpretations were included. The talk was part of a 4 part symposium series organized by the water district which brought in experts on climate’s influence on water resources.
Reconstruction of
late Holocene precipitation for Florida: A speleothem record
Philip van Beynen,
Limaris Soto, Jason Polk, Yemane Asmerom and Victor Polyak