Research
The Caltech Surface Processes Group studies the origin and evolution of landscapes on Earth and Mars, and how these processes impact people, ecosystems and global change. Our approach is to develop and test theories to describe the sediment cycle: the processes that erode rock in mountains to produce sediment, transport sediment downstream through river networks, and deposit that sediment to build new land in floodplains and coastal wetlands. We also use these theories to reconstruct ancient environmental conditions on Earth and Mars as recorded in the shape of landforms and the layering within their deposits.
Our current research projects are aimed at answering important questions about Earth's changing environments, in addition to understanding ancient rivers and oceans on Mars:
- Will river deltas and coastal landscapes drown due to sea level rise?
- How are Arctic rivers and floodplains responding to permafrost thaw?
- What controls riverbank erosion rates?
- What is the global distribution of Earth's sediment and soil?
- Can we predict where debris flows will occur after wildfire?
- When and where did water flow across the surface of Mars?