Current Year Schedule
GSM seminars with slide show presentations are free and open to the public. They are presented by leading professionals in their fields and are aimed at learners from high school to adult. A question-and-answer session concludes each seminar. The labs, also free and open to the public, allow a hands-on learning experience and demonstrate the ideas and principles of geology and earth science. Live lectures and labs require no registration; just show up a few minutes early on the evening of the lecture.
Click on date of any seminar for attendance information and other details. For a printable version of our schedule of seminars and labs, click here.
Except as noted, in-person lectures during winter/spring 2026 are Mondays at 7:00 PM CT on the University of Minnesota campus, Keller Hall, Room 3-210. A lecture with (V) following its title is an online virtual lecture. For these, free registration is required by non-members; the instructions are supplied with the lecture description.
Our schedule is planned over 6 months in advance, so changes may occur. Always check this website shortly before each lecture for the latest seminar information.
Winter weather will come and snow might impact our lectures. The GSM will make any decision about cancelling or postponing a lecture due to inclement weather no later than 3:00 PM the day of the lecture. This information will be posted on the GSM home page (http://www.gsmn.org/). So check our home page shortly before each lecture in case there is a cancellation or a last-minute change. Also, we will e‐mail lecture postponement and cancellation information to our members.
Past seminars marked with * were recorded and the recording is available on the Geological Society of Minnesota YouTube channel. Subscribe to this channel for updates.
Seminar Details
Seminar Lab Date: February 2, 2026
Seminar Lab Subject: *The Role of Snowball Earth Events in Bedrock Weathering (V)
Seminar Lab Presenter: Mark Jirsa, M.Sc., Minnesota Geological Survey (retired)
Link to Presenter https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mark-Jirsa
Seminar Lab Location:
*** NOTE: THIS LECTURE HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FROM JAN 26 AND CHANGED FROM IN-PERSON TO ONLINE ***
Virtual lecture 7:00 PM CT.
Participation instructions have been e-mailed to GSM members. If you are not a member of GSM and wish to attend this free seminar online, register as follows by 8 AM CT Monday, Feb 2: Go to the Contact menu above and select “Ask GSM”. In the form that appears, enter your name and e-mail address. Enter “Feb 2 lecture” in the subject line. In the message body, please enter the city and state or country from which you will view the seminar. You will receive instructions by e-mail prior to the lecture. Check your spam folder if the instructions do not appear in your in-box at least one hour prior to the lecture.
Seminar Lab Detail:
Summary: The landscapes we enjoy today are the product of two opposing forces:
1. Continental plate collisions that raise land surfaces (to mountains in some cases)
2. Chemical weathering and erosion that removes literally miles of uplifted bedrock
Thus, we stand on bedrock outcrops that were once deeply buried, metamorphosed, deformed, weathered, and eroded.
Biography: I grew up in the “wilds” of northern Wisconsin: an area of lakes, rivers, and woods. This uniquely prepared me for a 45-year long career of geologic mapping, primarily of Precambrian bedrock in the wilds of Minnesota and parts of Canada. I attended Graduate School at UMD (1976-1979). In 1976 I worked with John Green mapping along Lake Superior shorelines and inland for the Coastal Zone Management Program to address impacts of shoreline erosion due to then rising water levels. Having fallen in love with the North Shore, I created a thesis using interflow sedimentary rocks to develop a tectonic model of western Lake Superior. After graduating UMD, I worked briefly for Exxon Minerals in NW Mn and Wisconsin. Thanks to G. B. Morey and Dave Southwick, I was hired by the Minnesota Geologic Survey in 1979. I authored or coauthored many of the bedrock geologic maps and publications produced by the MGS. I retired during covid in 2021. I continue to work with the Institute on Lake Superior Geology, and give lectures to small groups.