My research interests are field intensive and focus on paleomagnetics and magnetostratigraphy. My current projects are using magnetostratigraphy to analyze the late Miocene-early Pliocene Bouse Formation in the Lower Colorado River Corridor in Arizona, US. We have also investigated earlier deposits that pre-date the arrival of the Colorado River in northwestern Arizona. The timing of the arrival of the river and the mechanisms of inundation are under debate, and magnetostratigraphy, along with other dating methods, will help to determine the timing of deposition of the sediments in the river valleys.
Another research project is assisting in the age determination of fill within the over-deepened Unaweep Canyon in western Colorado. The origins of this unique canyon are under debate, though current research strongly supports a glacial origin for this valley. Paleomagnetic analysis will help determine the age of the fill, and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility measurement on the core may help determine processes of deposition in the canyon.
I am also interested in using paleomag to determine the timing of deformation in meteorite impact events. The age of many impact events is only constrained stratigraphically, and in many cases, pmag can be used to further constrain deformation associated with the bolide impact.
