Achievements

Mark Hemphill-Haley

Geology

Mark Hemphill-Haley is co-author on a recent publication in the Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America entitled "Onshore to Offshore Ground‐Surface and Seabed Rupture of the Jordan–Kekerengu–Needles Fault Network during the 2016 Mw7.8 Kaikoura Earthquake, New Zealand" It provides detailed observations of one of the most complex earthquake surface ruptures in history.

https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/ssa/bssa/article/530021/onshore-to-off…

Mark Hemphill-Haley

Geology

Mark Hemphill-Haley (Geology) returned from two-week investigation of the 2016 M 7.8 Kaikoura earthquake, South Island, New Zealand. He joined HSU alumni Russ Van Dissen ('83) and Jessica Vermeer ('13 BS, '16 MS) and NZ researchers to investigate the deformation associated with more than 9 m (27 ft) of offset during the earthquake. The investigation involved trenching across the fault to assess fault structure and timing of previous earthquakes.

Jasper Oshun, Margaret Lang

Geology

Geoscientists Without Borders funded a two year $100k project to complete a sustainable water project in the highlands of Perú. Jasper Oshun and Margaret Lang will lead a small group of students to Perú next summer to map the geology, explore surface runoff patterns and learn novel shallow geophysical techniques to determine the extent of the aquifer. These data will be used to design a water reservoir and agricultural canal system. They will return in the summer of 2019 to support the community in the construction phase. The canal will allow for year round agriculture, directly benefitting over 120 families.

Melanie Michalak

Geology

Melanie Michalak was awarded a American Chemical Society- Petroleum Research Fund grant toward her proposed research, "Reconstructing Neogene Paleogeography and Forearc Basin Evolution of Southern Cascadia using Detrital Mineral Geochronology." The grant of $55,000 is awarded over a two year period and will support original research by PI Michalak, a MSc student and a team of undergraduates. Their work in the coastal deposits along the north coast seeks to characterize paleogeography and forearc development over the past several million years using quantitative dating techniques.

Brandon Browne, Raul Becerra

Geology

Dr. Brandon Browne, Associate Professor of Geology, and four undergraduate thesis students, including Raul Becerra ('16), recently published their study titled "Quaternary basaltic volcanism in the Golden Trout Volcanic Field, southern Sierra Nevada, California" in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. The study uses results from geologic mapping and geochemical analyses of rocks and minerals to interpret the eruption styles and geologic evolution of the volcanic field - the only one of its age in the High Sierra.

Mindi Curran, Tim Bailey

Geology

MSc (Environmental Systems-Geology) students Mindi Curran and Tim Bailey presented their work at the annual Salmonid Restoration Federation Conference in Davis, CA on March 30-April 2. This year's theme was "Restoring Watersheds and Rebuilding Salmon Runs." Both Curran and Bailey were invited to give oral presentations in the "Using Photogrammetric and Aerial Vehicle Technology to Support Salmonid Restoration Planning and Engineering" topical session, which was aimed to teach specific tools to researchers using high resolution imagery to quantify aspects of stream habitat.

Mark Szymanski

Geology

Mark Szymanski (MS Student, Geology) received a $1,000 research grant from the Northern California Geological Society. Mark will these funds to measure oxygen isotope ratios of olivine crystals in lavas erupted over the last 750,000 years in the Sierra Nevada. Results from Mark's thesis will advance our understanding the controls of where mafic volcanoes form and how they evolve.

Dr. Jason R. Patton

Geology

Dr. Jason R. Patton was invited to and participated in the research cruise CASEIS16. The goals of this cruise were to characterize the tectonics of the convergent subduction zone plate boundary along the Lesser Antilles in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean. Dr. Patton provided essential advice to the chief scientist Dr. Nathalie Feuillet for cruise planning by helping Dr. Feuillet locate core sites; locate seismic profile locations; describe, sample, and archive sediment cores; and conduct preliminary stratigraphic analyses. Dr. Patton provided expert advice on the methodology of turbidite paleoseismology.

Here is Dr. Patton’s research cruise blog http://humboldt-jay.blogspot.com/

Dr. Jason R. Patton

Geology

Dr. Jason R. Patton is a recipient of the Geological Society of America's (GSA) Kirk Bryan Award, granted by the Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology Division. This is one of the most prestigious awards granted to geologists that study the Quaternary (from 2.56 million years ago to present). http://www.geosociety.org/awards/divisions.htm#kirkBryan

Dr. Patton was a coauthor to the Goldfinger et al., USGS Publication, "Turbidite Event History—Methods and Implications for Holocene Paleoseismicity of the Cascadia Subduction Zone." The award is presented to all coauthors. http://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/pp1661f/

The award will be presented at the September 2016 GSA national meeting in Denver, CO.

Brandon Browne, Raul Becerra

Geology

Brandon Browne and Raul Becerra ('16) presented research at the Geological Society of America Cordilleran Section meeting in Ontario, California April 5-7. Their research project focused on understanding the origin and eruption of volcanoes on the Kern Plateau in the southern Sierra Nevada.