Research

My overall research objective is to utilize the sedimentary record to investigate and understand past and present Earth conditions. The sedimentary record is a representation of Earth surface processes through time and, as such, can be analyzed to reconstruct ancient environments as they relate to tectonism, climatic and sea-level fluctuations, oceanic conditions, and intrinsic dynamics of depositional systems.

Much of my past and current research is focused on ancient and modern deep-marine depositional systems with an emphasis on the distribution of terrigenous sediment in basins adjacent to active continental margins. Preserved strata in these settings are commonly the most complete record of the transfer of sediment from continents to oceans over long geologic time scales. Moreover, the character of the sediment itself (e.g., composition, age, etc.) holds clues to the nature of mountain belts that have long since eroded away.

Investigation of Quaternary sediment dispersal systems from source-to-sink addresses the transfer of terrigenous material across continental margins. Relatively precise dating techniques (e.g., radiocarbon) provide a temporal framework helpful for understanding the timing of events, transport rates, and residence times along the dispersal pathway. Source-to-sink studies increase our understanding of how various forcings such as climate, tectonics, etc. are manifested in the sedimentary record.

You can read a bit more about my research and download my papers on my page at Virginia Tech.

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BLOG POSTS ABOUT RESEARCH

Posts about peer-reviewed papers on which I’m the primary author:

• Deep-Time Perspective of Land-Ocean Linkages (review paper for Annual Reviews of Marine Science)
• El Niño and Sediment Flux to the Deep Sea (Holocene Santa Monica Basin, offshore southern California)
• Stratigraphic Evolution of an Ancient Depositional Slope System (Cretaceous Tres Pasos Formation, southern Chile)

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Here are some posts about papers I’ve co-authored:

• Linking Erosional and Depositional Landscapes (for Wired Science blog network)

• Highstand Fans of the California Continental Borderland

• Highstand Fans of the California Continental Borderland – Comment & Reply

• Conglomeratic Injectites in Patagonia

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I am also very interested in fundamental concepts and theory in sedimentary geology and stratigraphy:

• Theoretical Stratigraphy #1: Wheeler’s Baselevel

• Theoretical Stratigraphy #2: Barrell and the Rhythms of Geologic Time

• Sediment Accumulation Rate and Measurement Interval Bias: The Sadler Effect

• Source-to-Sink: The future of sedimentary geology?

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PUBLICATIONS

I have authored/co-authored numerous peer-reviewed papers published in journals including GSA Bulletin, Geology, Basin Research, Sedimentology, Marine Geology, The Journal of Geology, Marine & Petroleum Geology, and Journal of Sedimentary Research.

Check out a full list, download PDFs, and read more about my research on my page at Virginia Tech.

Here’s my GoogleScholar and citation page: http://scholar.google.com/citations?user=MlHoEl4AAAAJ