Surface Processes and Paleoclimate
Faculty and students are currently investigating a wide array of surface Earth processes, many of which play a direct role in monitoring Earth paleoclimate. Recent research projects include:
- sedimentary environment, diagenesis, and reservoir characteristics of the Ferron sandstone in east-central Utah;
- paleoclimate and paleoecology studies using paleosols and fossil tooth enamel as geochemical proxies;
- geomorphic evolution of fault scarps and their role in evaluating seismic hazards;
- borehole thermal gradients as long-term records of earth surface paleotemperatures and global warming;
- Antarctic drillholes as recorders of Tertiary paleoclimate change;
- sedimentary paleoenvironments of the Mesozoic in the Colorado Plateau area;
- dating of erosion surfaces with cosmogenic nuclides;
- regional paleohydrology and diagenesis of Jurassic sandstones, Arches-Canyonlands region.
Faculty: Bruhn, Cerling, Chan, Chapman, Jarrard, C. Johnson, Roth.
Prof. R. Jarrard taking a break from paleoclimate research in Antarctica.
Cover article of Geophysical Research Letters, by Research Assist. Prof. R. Harris and Prof. D. Chapman, on a global study of paleotemperatures based on borehole temperature measurements. |
