Derek Sjostrom

Assistant Professor of Geology
B.S. University of Washington
M.S. University of Montana
Ph.D. Dartmouth College
406.238.7387
Tyler Hall 212
derek.sjostrom@rocky.edu
Office Hours:  Tu 10:00-2:00; W-Th 11:00-Noon

Biography

I grew up in the Seattle area and spent many summer weekends camping and hiking in the Cascade and Olympic Mountains. I first took a geology course as a sophomore at the University of Washington and was fortunate to take the UW field course very early in my academic career. The study of the geology of southwestern Montana in the field and my outstanding instructors were an invaluable foundation for my geologic career.

For my Master’s thesis at the University of Montana, I studied the Mesozoic tectonics of central Asia as recorded in sedimentary deposits and spent two field seasons in remote parts of Mongolia. I shifted gears a bit in both location and research focus for my Ph. D at Dartmouth, where I studied the paleoclimate and tectonics of the Rockies using both stable isotope geochemistry and field-based geology.

After graduating from Dartmouth in 2002, I held teaching positions at the University of Montana-Missoula the University of Alaska Anchorage. I am very happy to be back at Rocky Mountain College, where I have been teaching since Fall of 2009. Some very positive changes have taken place in the six years since I first taught at RMC, both in the geology program and on campus in general. I currently live in Billings during the school year and Anchorage, Alaska during the summer months.

Current Research

Cenozoic tectonics of the Hangay Plateau in northern Mongolia (NSF-funded collaborative project with researchers from North Carolina State University and Stanford University). Also, Environmental chemistry of the Yellowstone River basin.

Courses Taught

I am currently teaching Paleoclimate and Global Change, Field Methods, and Physical Geology. I have previously taught Environmental Geology, Geotectonics, Mineralogy, Petrology, Environmental Geochemistry, Stable Isotope Geochemistry, Geologic Research Methods, Soil Science, Oil and Gas Geology, Field Geology, Structural Geology, and General Chemistry.

What is your favorite class to teach and why?

Physical Geology.  I enjoy teaching students about aspects of the Earth that they have wondered about.

What is on your iPod?

Everything from 1920s Blues to T-Pain

What are you currently reading?

The First World War by Hew Strachan

What do you do outside of class?

Keep my cars running (one has over 300,000 miles), hike, fish, mountain bike, photography

What is your favorite getaway location?

Homer, Alaska (in the summer) or any mountain range in Montana

What is your favorite thing about RMC?

Freedom to teach and research just about anything

Which campus organizations are you actively involved in?

Geology Club

What is your most memorable moment interacting with an RMC student?

It has happened several times, but when students switch to Geology as a major after taking Geology 101.

What makes RMC stand out from other schools?

The fact that RMC is small enough to allow for a lot of interaction between faculty and students.

Selected Publications and Abstracts

Sjostrom, D.J., The Nenana Ice Classic: an exercise in recent climate fluctuation and predictive modeling, to be submitted to the Journal of Geoscience Education, Spring 2010.

Sjostrom, D.J., Nitrogen isotope ratio of nitrate in streams in urban Anchorage, Alaska: Indicator of anthropogenic or natural nitrate inputs?  To be submitted to Geofluids, Spring 2010.

Sjostrom, D. J., Isotopic lapse rate and catchment scale isotopic variation in the precipitation of the Anchorage area, southcentral Alaska., to be submitted to the Journal of the Total Environment, Spring 2010.

Munk, L.A., Hagedorn, B., and Sjostrom, D.J., Seasonal Fluctuations and Mobility of Arsenic in Groundwater Resources, Anchorage, Alaska, (accepted, under final review, Journal of Environment, Society and Health).

Munk, L.A., Burich, B.E., Cohen, J.F., and Sjostrom, D.,.  Environmental Geochemistry and Diel Cycling of Trace Metals in a Sub-Arctic Watershed, Anchorage, Alaska.

Sjostrom, Derek J., and Welker, Jeffrey, 2009, The influence of air mass source on the seasonal isotopic composition of precipitation, eastern USA, Journal of Geochemical Exploration, doi:10.1016/j.gexplo.2009.03.001

Peters S.C., Blum J.D., Karagas M., Chamberlain C.P., and Sjostrom D.J., 2006, Sources and Exposure of the New Hampshire Population to Arsenic in Public and Private Drinking Water Supplies:  Chemical Geology, 228, p. 72-84.

Sjostrom, Derek J., Hren, Michael T., Horton, Travis W., Waldbauer, Jacob R., and Chamberlain, C. Page, 2006, Stable isotopic evidence for an Early Tertiary elevation gradient in the Great Plains - Rocky Mountain region: in Willett, S., Hovius, N., Fisher, D., and Brandon, M., eds. Tectonics, Climate, and Landscape Evolution, Geological Society of America Special Paper 398, p. 309-319.

Horton, Travis W., Sjostrom, Derek J., Abruzzese, Poage, Michael A., Waldbauer, Jacob R. Hren, Michael, Wooden, Joseph, and Chamberlain, C. Page, 2005, Spatial and temporal variation of Cenozoic surface elevation in the Great Basin and Sierra Nevada:  American Journal of Science, v. 304, p. 862-888.

Sjostrom, Derek J., Hren, Michael T., and Chamberlain, C. P., 2004, Oxygen isotope records of goethite from ferricrete deposits indicate regionally varying Holocene climate change in the Rocky Mountain region, U.S.A: Quaternary Research, v. 61, n. 1, p. 64-71.

Sjostrom, Derek J., Hendrix, Marc S., Graham, Steve A., Badamgarav, D., and Nelson, Bruce K., 2001, Sedimentology, provenance, and tectonic setting of Mesozoic non-marine strata in western Mongolia: implications for intracontinental deformation, in  Paleozoic and Mesozoic tectonic evolution of central Asia- -from continental assembly to intracontinental deformation, Hendrix, M.S. and Davis, G.A. eds., GSA Memoir 194, p. 361-388.

 Poage, Michael A., Sjostrom, Derek J., Goldberg, Judd, Chamberlain, C. P., and Furniss, George, 2000, Holocene climate change preserved in ferricrete chronosequence from northeastern Yellowstone region, Montana: Chemical Geology, v. 166, p. 327-340.

Graham, S. A., Hendrix, M. S., Barsbold, R., Badamgarav, D., Sjostrom, D. J., Kirschner, W., and McIntosh, J. S., 1997, Discovery and occurrence of the oldest known dinosaurs (Late Jurassic) in Mongolia, Palios, v. 12, n. 3, p. 292-297.

Conference Presentations

Sjostrom, Derek J., Munk LeeAnn, 2007, d¹⁵N and d¹⁸O of nitrate and the influence of anthropogenic inputs on the surface water nitrate budget in Anchorage, Alaska, USA, The Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 39, n.6.

Sjostrom, Derek J., Munk LeeAnn, Cohen, Julia, and Welker, Jeff, 2006, Stable Isotope Hydrology of the Anchorage, Alaska Area: Precipitation, Streamwater, and Groundwater Connections: The American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.

Sjostrom, Derek J., Munk, LeeAnn, and Welker, Jeff M., 2006, dD and d¹⁸O composition of summer precipitation and stream water, Hatcher’s Pass area, southcentral Alaska:  implications for paleoclimate reconstruction in glaciated regions:  Geological Society of America Cordilleran Section Meeting.

Sjostrom, Derek J. and Welker, Jeffery M., 2005, Hydrogen and oxygen isotope data from the AIRMoN sampling network, central and eastern USA, suggest a high degree of short-term isotopic variability in precipitation:  The American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting.

Sjostrom, Derek J. Hren, Michael T., Horton, Travis W., and Chamberlain, C. Page, 2003, Oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios of Cenozoic smectite suggest long-standing similar-to-modern atmospheric circulation patterns in western North America: The Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 35, n.6.

Sjostrom, Derek J. and Chamberlain, C. P., 2002, Oxygen Isotope Composition of Smectites from West-Central North America Suggest High Elevations in the Early and Middle Tertiary Rocky Mountain Region: The Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 34, n.6.

Sjostrom, Derek J., Douglas, Thomas A., Horton, Travis W., Hren, Michael T., Keller, Kate A., and Chamberlain, C. Page, 2000, The Distribution of Arsenic in the Bedrock of New Hampshire:  Implications for Arsenic Contamination of Domestic Water Wells:  The Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 32, n.7, p. A-291.

Sjostrom, Derek J., Catapano, Kathleen, Poage, Michael A., Feng, Xiahong, Chamberlain, C. Page, and Furniss, George, 2000, Holocene climate change in the Montana Rocky Mountains recorded by stable isotope composition of ferricretes and ancient trees: The Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 32, n. 5, p. A-38.

Sjostrom, Derek J., Poage, M. A., Chamberlain, C. P., and Furniss, G., 1999, Regional Rocky Mountain climate change recorded by oxygen isotopes of Holocene ferricretes, LPI Contribution No. 971- Abstracts of the Ninth Annual Goldschmidt Conference, p. 279-280.

Sjostrom, Derek J., Hendrix, Marc S., and Nelson, Bruce K., 1996, The relationship of Jurassic nonmarine sediments to Archean-Paleozoic basement rocks in western Mongolia:  Results of petrographic and Sm/Nd isotopic provenance analysis, The Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, v. 28, n. 7, p. 68.

Sjostrom, Derek J., 1996, Mesozoic sedimentology, stratigraphy, and provenance of western Mongolia as a record of the tectonic amalgamation of central Asia, American Association of Petroleum Geologists Official Program, 1996 Annual Meeting, p. A131.