Research interests and motivation
My research interests are in fluvial and tectonic geomorphology, with a focus on mountainous environments. The world’s mountainous regions are home to 12% of the world’s population (FAO, 2002) and areas very near mountains are home to another 14%, all of which are regions prone to seismic, landslide, and flood hazards, soil loss, and a vulnerable water supply. Ultimately, an increased understanding of surface processes and the geologic record they leave can be used to better understand tectonic processes, mitigate hazards, and manage resources in geomorphically active and sensitive regions. My work aims to address such fundamental questions as: How does the shape of a stream’s longitudinal profile reflect the underlying bedrock’s past or present rate or pattern of tectonic activity? What effect might climate change have on erosion rates and processes? How do rivers avulse? Other research interests include fluvial and marine sedimentology, structural geology, and regional tectonics. My methods combine traditional field work (mapping and surveying) with state-of-the-art GIS analysis, numerical modeling, and laboratory techniques (e.g., low-temperature thermochronology) to understand surface and tectonic processes over a range of temporal and spatial scales.
Current and recent projects
Tectonic geomorphology of active metamorphic core complexes in eastern Papua New Guinea
Modeling and measuring the effect of lateral advection on topography
Trans-Himalayan Rivers and Himalayan tectonics
Landscape evolution of the Valley and Ridge province of central Pennsylvania
Capture of the upper Arkansas River basin, Colorado
Microclimate, colluvial valley development, and hillslope-stream coupling
Cause of uplift of the Transantarctic Mountains, Antarctica
Clinothem stratigraphy and development
Fluvial avulsions in New England