Earth Sciences
By virtue of our outstanding location in the scenic and rugged mountains of southwest Montana, Earth Science students have many opportunities to participate in field trips that will facilitate the study of earth processes, earth resources, earth history, and environments that people have modified. These field trips are an integral part of many courses, as well as extracurricular activities sponsored by the department. Fieldwork is a very important component of our instructional programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.Because of the research conducted by faculty in the department, an undergraduate student may have the opportunity to work on active research projects. In particular, we offer the opportunity to do a "Senior Thesis" to our top students in each senior class. The senior thesis enables a student to work on an actual research project under the supervision of a faculty member, write a research report (a mini-thesis), and present the results at a professional conference. This is excellent preparation for graduate school and/or the workplace. Our Master's theses frequently involve field-testing of state-of-the-art hypotheses proposed elsewhere, as well as formulation of the next generation of hypotheses, which will shape our disciplines in the decades to come. Most Master's thesis work in the Department is published in the peer-reviewed professional literature after presentation at regional or national professional meetings.
Collections in this community
Recent Submissions
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A Holocene history of monkey puzzle tree (pehuén) in northernmost Patagonia
(Wiley, 2020-12)Aim Although it is established that climate and fire have greatly influenced the long-term ecosystem dynamics of Patagonia south of 40°S, the environmental history from northernmost Patagonia (37–40°S), where endemic and ... -
Provenance analysis of Cretaceous peripheral foreland basin in central Tibet: Implications to precise timing on the initial Lhasa-Qiangtang collision
(Elsevier BV, 2020-01)Mesozoic strata along northern margin of the Lhasa terrane near Dingqing, Tibet provide a semi-continuous record of the Bangong-Nujiang Ocean closure and the subsequent Lhasa-Qiangtang collision. In this study, we present ... -
The easternmost occurrence of Mammut pacificus (Proboscidea: Mammutidae), based on a partial skull from eastern Montana, USA
(PeerJ, 2020-11)Mammut pacificus is a recently described species of mastodon from the Pleistocene of California and Idaho. We report the easternmost occurrence of this taxon based upon the palate with right and left M3 of an adult male ... -
Après Nous, le Déluge: A Human‐Triggered Jökulhlaup From a Subglacial Lake
(American Geophysical Union, 2020-11)Glacial floods (jökulhlaups) are a phenomenon of some temperate ice masses; they are a significant natural hazard, but their complex hydrology is incompletely understood.We document a jökulhlaup from a subglacial lake in ... -
SnowCloudMetrics: Snow Information for Everyone
(2020-10)Snow is a critical component of the climate system, provides fresh water for millions of people globally, and affects forest and wildlife ecology. Snowy regions are typically data sparse, especially in mountain environments. ... -
Climate drivers of large magnitude snow avalanche years in the U.S. northern Rocky Mountains
(Springer Science and Business Media LLC, 2021-05)Large magnitude snow avalanches pose a hazard to humans and infrastructure worldwide. Analyzing the spatiotemporal behavior of avalanches and the contributory climate factors is important for understanding historical ... -
Synoptic control on snow avalanche activity in central Spitsbergen
(Copernicus GmbH, 2021-08)Atmospheric circulation exerts an important control on a region's snow avalanche activity by broadly determining the mountain weather patterns that influence snowpack development and avalanche release. In central Spitsbergen, ... -
Powder Fever and Its Impact on Decision-Making in Avalanche Terrain
(MDPI AG, 2021-09)We examined the effect of emotions, associated with “powder fever”, on decision-making in avalanche terrain. Background: Skiing in avalanche terrain is a voluntary activity that exposes the participant to potentially fatal ... -
Risky positioning – social aspirations and risk-taking behaviour in avalanche terrain
(Informa UK Limited, 2020-10)We test if positionality, i.e., the desire to gain social status, is associated with an increased willingness to take risk among backcountry riders. If positional preferences drive risk-taking behaviour in avalanche terrain, ... -
Synoptic atmospheric circulation patterns associated with deep persistent slab avalanches in the western United States
(Copernicus GmbH, 2021-02)Deep persistent slab avalanches are capable of destroying infrastructure and are usually unsurvivable for those who are caught. Formation of a snowpack conducive to deep persistent slab avalanches is typically driven by ... -
Using Citizen Science to Document Terrain Use and Decision-Making of Backcountry Users
(Ubiquity Press, Ltd., 2021-03)Avalanches represent the primary risk of death to backcountry skiers and snowmobilers in North American and European alpine countries. The best strategy for evading dangerous snowpack conditions that may result in an ... -
A regional spatiotemporal analysis of large magnitude snow avalanches using tree rings
(Copernicus GmbH, 2021-02)Snow avalanches affect transportation corridors and settlements worldwide. In many mountainous regions, robust records of avalanche frequency and magnitude are sparse or non-existent. However, dendrochronological methods ... -
Autonomous Aerial Vehicles (AAVs) as a Tool for Improving the Spatial Resolution of Snow Albedo Measurements in Mountainous Regions
(MDPI, 2020-07)We present technical advances and methods to measure effective broadband physical albedo in snowy mountain headwaters using a prototype dual-sensor pyranometer mounted on an Autonomous Aerial Vehicle (an AAV). Our test ... -
Combining high spatial resolution snow mapping and meteorological analyses to improve forecasting of destructive avalanches in Longyearbyen, Svalbard
(Elsevier BV, 2018-10)Two naturally triggered snow avalanches occurred on 19 December 2015 and 21 February 2017 in the town of Longyearbyen, Svalbard in the Norwegian high-Arctic. These events resulted in two fatalities, numerous injuries, and ... -
Enhanced trace element mobilization by Earth’s ice sheets
(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2020-11)Trace elements sustain biological productivity, yet the significance of trace element mobilization and export in subglacial runoff from ice sheets is poorly constrained at present. Here, we present size-fractionated (0.02, ... -
Structural Controls on Crustal Fluid Circulation and Hot Spring Geochemistry Above a Flat‐Slab Subduction Zone, Peru
(2020-06)Hot spring geochemistry from the Cordillera Blanca and Cordillera Huayhuash, Peru, reveal the influence of crustal-scale structures on geothermal fluid circulation in an amagmatic region located above a flat-slab subduction ... -
A new terrestrial trace fossil Feoichnus martini n. isp. from the Upper Cretaceous Two Medicine Formation (USA)
(2020-09)A new trace fossil, Feoichnus martini new ichnospecies, from the Two Medicine Formation is here described. This ichnotaxon is reported from the upper Campanian deposits of the Egg Mountain locality (Montana) and consists ... -
Determining the source of placer gold in the Anaconda metamorphic core complex supradetachment basin using detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology, western Montana, USA
(2020-12)Despite the widespread occurrence and economic significance of gold placer deposits, modern provenance studies of placer sediments remain largely qualitative. This study applies detrital zircon (DZ) geochronology to determine ... -
Holocene geo-ecological evolution of Lower Geyser Basin, Yellowstone National Park (USA)
(2021-08)Changes in climate and fire regime have long been recognized as drivers of the postglacial vegetation history of Yellowstone National Park, but the effects of locally dramatic hydrothermal activity are poorly known. ... -
Magmatism and Extension in the Anaconda Metamorphic Core Complex of Western Montana and Relation to Regional Tectonics
(2021-09)Metamorphic core complexes (MCCs) are a product of crustal extension, but their dynamics are still debated. Early research suggests that the formation of MCCs in the western United States was due to gravitational collapse ...
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