Faculty Disciplines

Geosciences Research Overview

Geosciences Department research strengths span a wide range of depths and scales, and include fieldwork and studies from the local Colorado Front Range to Antarctica.  Broad topics of study include fluvial geomorphology, energy geosciences, economic geology, structural geology, petrology, geochemistry, geochronology, sedimentology, tectonics, mineralogy, hydrogeology, geophysics, volcanology, paleoclimatology, and critical zone geoscience.

Faculty and staff research involves research opportunities at all levels,  from undergraduates to postdoctoral scholars. Present research interests of the faculty can be broadly characterized into the following categories.

Faculty Disciplines

Dynamics and processes of rivers, floods, and landslides; associated effects on ecosystem habitats.

PETROLEUM GEOLOGY, SEDIMENTOLOGY, STRATIGRAPHY, AND LOW TEMPERATURE GEOCHEMISTRY

Hydrocarbon geosystems; sedimentology; diagenesis and geochemistry of shales and carbonates; sedimentation.
Lisa Stright , Rebecca Vanderleest

ECONOMIC GEOLOGY

Hydrothermal ore deposits; hydrothermal fluid flow.
John Ridley

PETROLOGY, STRUCTURAL GEOLOGY, AND TECTONICS

Igneous and metamorphic petrology; core complexes and terranes; shear zones, faults and fault focus; extension and rifting of the lithosphere; structure and processes of the mantle.
Jerry Magloughlin, John Singleton, Dennis Harry, Derek Schutt, Lauren Harrison, and Rick Aster

HYDROGEOLOGY AND HYDROGEOPHYSICS

Groundwater flow and transport modeling; isotope and tracer hydrogeology; flow and transport in fractured rock; groundwater recharge; groundwater/surface water interactions; geophysical characterization of aquifers.

GEOPHYSICS, GEODYNAMICS, AND SEISMOLOGY

Earthquake and volcano seismology; imaging the near surface; structure, evolution, and physical state of the lithosphere and asthenosphere; lithospheric deformation modeling; Antarctic and glacial geophysics; geophysical Inverse Methods.
Dennis Harry, Derek Schutt, Dan McGrath, and Rick Aster

VOLCANOLOGY
Petrology, geochemistry, and geochronology used to investigate to volcanic plumbing systems, eruptive tempo, and volcanic hazards.

PALEOCLIMATOLOGY

CRITICAL ZONE GEOSCIENCE