Lithosphere
The department has strengths in a wide range of lithospheric processes from magmatism and tectonics to surface processes and hydrology. Several faculty (Best, Parker, Garcia, Rhoads) focus on the fluid dynamics of sedimentary transport and deposition. Bruce Fouke works on coral-reef and hot-spring environments. Sue Keiffer focuses on events where the fluid dynamics requires the incorporation of strongly nonlinear effects that occur in some “extreme” events: such as meteorite impacts, geyser and volcanic eruptions, and major river floods. Steve Marshak and Wang PingChen probe continental tectonics while Craig Lundstrom studies convergent margin magmatism and pluton formation.
Sedimentary Systems, Earth Surface Processes,
Geological Fluid Dynamics, Geochemistry, Tectonics & Structural Geology,
- Prof. Bruce Fouke Terrestrial microbiology, coral reef studies, environmental microbiology
- Prof. Jim Best Process sedimentology and the fluid dynamics of clastic sedimentary systems
- Prof. Sue Kieffer Dynamics of volcanic eruptions and of meteorite impacts
- Prof. Gary Parker Evolution of landscapes and seascapes in response to erosion and deposition
- Prof. Marcelo Garcia River Mechanics & Sediment Transpo
- Prof. Bruce Rhoads Fluvial Dynamics, Geomorphology
- Prof. Steve Marshak, tectonics
- Prof. Craig Lundstrom, petrology
- Prof. WP Chen, geophysics, tectonics
