Research

On New Zealand's Alpine Fault we characterize uplift patterns, earthquake deformation, and fault anatomy from outcrops and geomorphology. We work with paleoseismologists and computational geophysicists to understand the range of earthquake behaviors we can expect in the future. The Alpine Fault has a 75% probability of a significant surface-rupturing earthquake in the next 50 years.

Recent efforts to date and map bedrock landslide deposits in southern California have shown that they are younger and more abundant than previously thought. We are building an inventory of bedrock landslides in the San Gabriel Mountains to better understand their occurrence and landscape effects.

How do active faults regain their surface expression following burial by a bedrock landslide? Interactions can lead to a variety of surface rupture complexities that can require reinterpretation of fault activity, fault position at depth, surface rupture hazard widths, and expected earthquake rupture lengths. 

It has recently been demonstrated that when earthquakes rupture fault planes at the surface they often record curved scratches (slickenlines) indicating that the motion has changed during the earthquake and that the sense of slickenline curvature indicates what direction the earthquake came from. We are developing techniques to document these delicate features as next generation paleoseismic data. 

In the middle of eastern California's dramatic Owens Valley lie some odd hills composed of granites and metamorphics. Our work adds to the interpretation of the Poverty Hills as a >10 km² megaslide deposit by providing new geologic mapping and age constraints. Our interpretations help resolve some longstanding enigmas regarding the age of the Owens Valley, regional paleoclimatology, and fault kinematics.

The cycle of summer wildfires decimating vegetation followed by winter storms transporting loose materials and generating debris flows is a costly and hazardous landscape process in southern California and elsewhere. We actively monitor some of these fire-scarred environments to improve hazard predictions.

VFTs are no substitute for the best in-field experiences but can be effective tools that curate the best views, remove travel and weather, and generally improve accessibility. I experimented with several VFT formats during the COVID pandemic.

I am investigating why 6 of the 10 longest sea caves in the world occur on a one-mile length of coast in New Zealand. The constraints require surprisingly high erosion rates and uplift rates.

Working with Maya archaeologists I use lidar data to understand the unique geomorphology of the Yucatan,  develop visualization methods to improve detection of archaeological features, and spatially analyze ancient land use and resource management.