The Department of Geosciences offers a curriculum that leads to the Bachelor of Science in Geosciences designed for students who are broadly planning a career in the geosciences or wish to teach earth science at the secondary level. As geoscientists, the department’s research spans immense temporal and spatial scales that are increasingly reaching across a spectrum of scientific disciplines (physics, chemistry, biology, and mathematics) to find answers to applied and fundamental questions in the Earth Sciences. The department's faculty utilizes a variety of tools in pursuit of these questions, extending from field-oriented projects to laboratory experimentation and numerical methods. The Graduate Program Committee of the Department of Geosciences consists of the graduate program coordinators for geophysics, geology, hydrologic science, and earth science, plus the chair of the Department. The duties of the Graduate Program Committee include development of recommendations for admission of prospective graduate students, decisions on transfer credits and required background courses, decisions on the award of departmental graduate fellowships and assistantships, and appointment of Supervisory Committees for graduate students.

Follow

Submissions from 2006

Link

Process-Based Reactive Transport Modeling of a Permeable Reactive Barrier for the Treatment of Mine Drainage, K. U. Mayer, S. G. Benner, and D. W. Blowes

PDF

Comparison of Viscous Damping in Unsaturated Soils, Compression and Shear, Paul Michaels

PDF

Relating Damping to Soil Permeability, Paul Michaels

PDF

Investigating the Stratigraphy of an Alluvial Aquifer Using Crosswell Seismic Traveltime Tomography, Geoff J.M. Moret, Michael D. Knoll, Warren Barrash, and William P. Clement

Link

Theoretical Development of the Differential Scattering Decomposition for the 3D Resistivity Experiment, Greg A. Oldenborger and Partha S. Routh

Link

Broad Region of No Sediment in the Southwest Pacific Basin, David K. Rea, Mitchell W. Lyle, Lee M. Liberty, Steven A. Hovan, Matthew P. Bolyn, James D. Gleason, Ingrid L. Hendy, Jennifer C. Latimer, Brandi M. Murphy, Robert M. Owen, Christopher F. Paul, Thomas H.C. Rea, Andrea M. Stancin, and Deborah J. Thomas

PDF

Image Interpretation Using Appraisal Analysis, Partha S. Routh and Carlyle R. Miller

Link

Workshop on the Development of the CoreWall Suite of Applications, W. Snyder

Link

Electrical and Petrophysical Modeling of Ferron Sandstone Data, Robert B. Szerbiak, George A. McMechan, Craig Forster, and Stephen H. Snelgrove

Submissions from 2005

Link

Association of Ice and River Channel Morphology Determined Using Ground-Penetrating Radar in the Kuparuk River, Alaska, Heather Best, James P. McNamara, and Lee Liberty

PDF

Wave Field Migration as a Tool for Estimating Spatially Continuous Radar Velocity and Water Content in Glaciers, John H. Bradford and Joel T. Harper

Link

Measuring Thaw Depth Beneath Peat-Lined Arctic Streams Using Ground-Penetrating Radar, John H. Bradford, James P. McNamara, William Bowden, and Michael N. Gooseff

Link

Improved Water Table Dynamics in MODFLOW, Tom Clemo

Link

Competing Fe(II)-Induced Mineralization Pathways of Ferrihydrite, Colleen M. Hansel, Shawn G. Benner, and Scott Fendorf

Link

Fresnel Volume Georadar Attenuation-Difference Tomography, Timothy C. Johnson, Partha S. Routh, and Michael D. Knoll

Link

Evaluation of Ground-Penetrating Radar to Detect Free-Phase Hydrocarbons in Fractured Rocks—Results of Numerical Modeling and Physical Experiments, J. W. Lane Jr., Mark L. Buursink, F. P. Haeni, and R. J. Versteeg

Link

Do Geochemical Estimates of Sediment Focusing Pass the Sediment Test in the Equatorial Pacific?, Mitchell Lyle, Neil Mitchell, Nicklas Pisias, Alan Mix, Jose Ignacio Martinez, and Adina Paytan

Link

Patchy Deposits of Cenozoic Pelagic Sediments in the Central Pacific, Neil C. Mitchell and Mitchell Lyle

Link

Sensitivity of Electrical Resistivity Tomography Data to Electrode Position Errors, Greg A. Oldenborger, Partha S. Routh, and Michael D. Knoll

Link

Near-Surface Seismology: Surface-Based Methods, John R. Pelton

Link

Near-Surface Seismology: Wave Propagation, John R. Pelton

Link

Paleogene Calcite Compensation Depth in the Eastern Subtropical Pacific: Answers and Questions, David K. Rea and Mitchell Lyle

Link

Spectral Decomposition of Seismic Data with Continuous-Wavelet Transform, Satish Sinha, Partha S. Routh, Phil D. Anno, and John P. Castagna

Link

Vertical Radar Profiling: Influence of Survey Geometry on First-Arrival Traveltimes and Amplitudes, Jens Tronicke and Michael D. Knoll

Submissions from 2004

Link

Significance of Porosity for Stratigraphy and Textural Composition in Subsurface, Coarse Fluvial Deposits: Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, Warren Barrash and Edward C. Reboulet

Link

Influence of Equatorial Diatom Processes on Si Deposition and Atmospheric CO2 Cycles at Glacial/Interglacial Timescales, R. C. Dugdale, Mitchell Lyle, F. P. Wilkerson, F. Chai, R. T. Barber, and T. H. Peng

PDF

Seismic Expression of Pleistocene Paleoceanographic Changes in the California Borderland from Digitally Acquired 3.5 Khz Subbottom Profiles and Ocean Drilling Program Leg 167 Drilling, Aleksandra Janik, Mitchell W. Lyle, and Lee M. Liberty

PDF

Design of Geophysical Surveys in Transportation, Paul Michaels

Link

Paleogene Tropical Pacific: Clues to Circulation, Productivity, and Plate Motion, T. C. Moore. Jr., Jan Backman, Isabella Raffi, Catherine Nigrini, Annika Sanfilippo, Heiko Pälike, and Mitchell Lyle

PDF

VSP Traveltime Inversion: Near-Surface Issues, Geoff J. M. Moret, William P. Clement, Michael D. Knoll, and Warren Barrash

PDF

Effects of Signal Processing and Antenna Frequency on the Geostatistical Structure of Ground-Penetrating Radar Data, Greg A. Oldenborger, Michael D. Knoll, and Warren Barrash

Link

Climatically Driven Changes in Oceanic Processes Throughout the Equatorial Pacific, Adina Paytan, Mitchell Lyle, Alan Mix, and Zanna Chase

PDF

Fire and Ice in Central Idaho: Modern and Holocene Fires, Debris Flows, and Climate in the Payette River Basin, and Quaternary and Glacial Geology in the Sawtooth Mountains, Jennifer L. Pierce, Grant A. Meyer, Glenn D. Thackray, Spencer H. Wood, Kari Lundeen, Jennifer A. Borgert, and Eric Rothwell

Link

Regional Climate Shifts Caused by Gradual Global Cooling in the Pliocene Epoch, Ana Christina Ravelo, Dyke H. Andreasen, Mitchell Lyle, Annette Olivarez Lyle, and Michael W. Wara

PDF

Terminal Moraine Remnants of the Trail Creek Glacier Northeast of Sun Valley, Idaho, Eric L. Rothwell and Spencer H. Wood

PDF

Multivariate Analysis of Cross-Hole Georadar Velocity and Attenuation Tomograms for Aquifer Zonation, Jens Tronicke, Klaus Holliger, Warren Barrash, and Michael D. Knoll

PDF

Geology Across and Under the Western Snake River Plain, Idaho: Owyhee Mountains to the Boise Foothills, Spencer H. Wood

PDF

Mae Sae Basin and Wiang Nong Lom: Radiocarbon Dating and Relation to the Active Strike-Slip Mae Chan Fault, Northern Thailand, Spencer H. Wood, Fongsaward S. Singharajwarapan, Tharaporn Bundarnsin, and Eric Rothwell

Link

Hydraulic Properties of a Desert Soil Chronosequence in the Mojave Desert, USA, M. H. Young, E. V. McDonald, T. G. Caldwell, S. G. Benner, and D. G. Meadows

Submissions from 2003

PDF

Tracer/Time-Lapse Radar Imaging Test at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, Warren Barrash, Michael D. Knoll, David W. Hyndman, Tom Clemo, Edward C. Reboulet, and Elisabeth M. Hausrath

Link

High-Resolution Climatic Evolution of Coastal Northern California During the Past 16,000 Years, John A. Barron, Linda Heusser, Timothy Herbert, and Mitchell Lyle

PDF

Recent Paleoseismic Investigations in Northern and Western Thailand, Clark H. Fenton, Punya Charusiri, and Spencer H. Wood

PDF

Borehole Radar Attenuation-Difference Tomography During the Tracer/Time-Lapse Test at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, Sarah E. Goldstein, Tim C. Johnson, Michael D. Knoll, Warren Barrash, and William P. Clement

Link

The Portland Hills Fault: Uncovering a Hidden Fault in Portland, Oregon Using High-Resolution Geophysical Methods, Lee M. Liberty, Mark A. Hemphill-Haley, and Ian P. Madin

Link

Neogene Carbonate Burial in the Pacific Ocean, Mitchell Lyle

PDF

Lower Miocene to Present Stratigraphy of the Equatorial Pacific Sediment Bulge and Carbonate Dissolution Anomalies, Neil C. Mitchell, Mitchell W. Lyle, Marie B. Knappenberger, and Lee M. Liberty

Link

Radar Determination of the Spatial Structure of Hydraulic Conductivity, Greg A. Oldenborger, Robert A. Schincariol, and Lalu Mansinha

The Portland Hills Fault: An Earthquake Generator or Just Another Old Fault?, Ivan G. Wong, Mark A. Hemphill-Haley, Lee M. Liberty, and Ian P. Madin

Submissions from 2002

PDF

Hierarchical Geostatistics and Multifacies Systems: Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, Boise, Idaho, Warren Barrash and Tom Clemo

PDF

Depth Characterization of Shallow Aquifers with Seismic Reflection, Part I—The Failure of NMO Velocity Analysis and Quantitative Error Prediction, John H. Bradford

PDF

Depth Characterization of Shallow Aquifers with Seismic Reflection, Part II—Prestack Depth Migration and Field Examples, John H. Bradford and D. S. Sawyer

Link

Patterns of CaCO3 Deposition in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean for the Last 150 kyr: Evidence for a Southeast Pacific Depositional Spike During Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2, Mitchell Lyle, Alan Mix, and Nicklas Pisias

PDF

Identification of Subsonic P-Waves, Paul Michaels

PDF

Equatorial Ocean Circulation in an Extremely Warm Climate, T. C. Moore, D. K. Rea, Mitchell W. Lyle, and Lee M. Liberty

Link

Space-Local Spectral Texture Segmentation Applied to Characterizing the Heterogeneity of Hydraulic Conductivity, Greg A. Oldenborger, Robert A. Schincariol, and Lalu Mansinha

Link

Hydrochemical Coupling of a Glacial Borehole-Aquifer System, Greg Oldenborger, Garry K.C. Clarke, and David H.D. Hildes

Link

Stochastic Simulation of Aquifer Heterogeneity in a Layered Basalt Aquifer System, Eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho, John A. Welhan, Tom Clemo, and Edith L. Gégo

Link

Morphology of Inflated Pahoehoe Lavas and Spatial Architecture of Their Porous and Permeable Zones, Eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho, John A. Welhan, Chad M. Johannesen, Kelly S. Reeves, Tom Clemo, John A. Glover, and Kenneth W. Bosworth

PDF

Geologic and Tectonic History of the Western Snake River Plain, Idaho and Oregon, Spencer H. Wood and Drew M. Clemens

Submissions from 2001

Link

Collapse of the California Current During Glacial Maxima Linked to Climate Change on Land, T. D. Herbert, J. D. Schuffert, D. Andreasen, L. Heusser, Mitchell Lyle, A. Mix, A. C. Ravelo, L. D. Stott, and J. C. Herguera

Link

Interglacial Theme and Variations: 500 k.y. of Orbital Forcing and Associated Responses from the Terrestrial and Marine Biosphere, U.S. Pacific Northwest, Mitchell Lyle, Linda Heusser, Timothy Herbert, Alan Mix, and John Barron

PDF

Use of Engineering Geophysics to Investigate a Site for a Bridge Foundation, Paul Michaels

PDF

Use of Principal Component Analysis to Determine Down-Hole Tool Orientation and Enhance SH-Waves, Paul Michaels

Submissions from 2000

Link

New Aeromagnetic Data Reveal Large Strike-Slip (?) Faults in the Northern Willamette Valley, Oregon, Richard J. Blakely, Ray E. Wells, Terry L. Tolan, Marvin H. Beeson, Anne M. Trehu, and Lee M. Liberty

Link

Ground Penetrating Radar Imaging of an Aquifer During a Pumping Test, Anthony L. Endres, William P. Clement, and David L. Rudolph

Link

Vegetation and Climate of the Northwest Coast of North America During the Last 500 K.Y.: High-Resolution Pollen Evidence from the Northern California Margin, L. E. Heusser, Mitchell Lyle, and Alan Mix

Link

Sedimentary Record of the California Current System, Middle Miocene to Holocene: A Synthesis of Leg 167 Results, Mitchell Lyle, Itaru Koizumi, Margaret L. Delaney, and John A. Barron

Link

Millennial-Scale CaCO3 and Corg Events Along the Northern and Central California Margin, Mitchell Lyle, Alan Mix, A. Christina Ravelo, Dyke Andreasen, Linda Heusser, and Annette Olivarez

Submissions from 1999

PDF

Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site (BHRS): Objectives, Design, Initial Geostatistical Results, Warren Barrash, Tom Clemo, and Michael D. Knoll

PDF

Geophysical Surveys Across the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site to Determine Geophysical Parameters of a Shallow, Alluvial Aquifer, William P. Clement, Michael D. Knoll, Lee M. Liberty, Paul R. Donaldson, Paul Michaels, Warren Barrash, and John R. Pelton

PDF

Use of Engineering Geophysics in the Design of Highway Passing Lanes, P. Michaels

PDF

3‐D GPR Imaging of Complex Fluvial Stratigraphy at the Boise Hydrogeophysical Research Site, William R. Peretti, Michael D. Knoll, William P. Clement, and Warren Barrash

Submissions from 1998

PDF

Seismic Reflection Imaging of a Geothermal Aquifer in an Urban Setting, Lee Liberty

Submissions from 1997

Link

Modeling Axially Symmetric and Nonsymmetric Flow to a Well with MODFLOW, and Application to Goddard2 Well Test, Boise, Idaho, Warren Barrash and Martin E. Dougherty

Link

Recognition of Units in Coarse, Unconsolidated Braided-Stream Deposits from Geophysical Log Data with Principal Components Analysis, Warren Barrash and Roger H. Morin

PDF

The Effects of Sparging on P- and SH- Vertical Seismic Profiles, P. Michaels and W. Barrash

Link

Earthquakes in the Pamplona Zone, Yakutat Block, South Central Alaska, John R. Pelton

Submissions from 1996

PDF

The Anomalous Behavior of SH‐Waves Across the Water Table, P. Michaels and W. Barrash

Submissions from 1994

PDF

Vertical Variation in Groundwater Chemistry Inferred from Fluid Specific-Conductance Well Logging of the Snake River Plain Basalt Aquifer, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, Southeastern Idaho, Spencer H. Wood and William Bennecke

Submissions from 1993

Link

A High-Resolution Seismic Reflection and Gravity Survey of Quaternary Deformation Across the Wasatch Fault, Utah, John R. Pelton

PDF

A Versatile Shotgun Source for Engineering and Groundwater Seismic Surveys, John R. Pelton

Submissions from 1991

PDF

An Electrically Detonated Downhole Seismic Gun, James C. Parker, John R. Pelton, and Martin E. Dougherty

Submissions from 1990

Link

Microearthquakes in the Middle Butte/East Butte Area, Eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho, John R. Pelton, R. J. Vincent, and N. J. Anderson

Submissions from 1985

Link

A Computer-Based System for Interactive Processing of Earthquake Seismograms Recorded on Microfilm, John R. Pelton

Submissions from 1984

Link

Eyewitness Account of Normal Surface Faulting, John R. Pelton, C. W. Meissner, and K. D. Smith

Submissions from 1983

PDF

Chronology of Late Pleistocene and Holocene Volcanics, Long Valley and Mono Basin Geothermal Areas, Eastern California, Spencer H. Wood

Submissions from 1982

Link

Contemporary Vertical Surface Displacements in Yellowstone National Park, John R. Pelton

Submissions from 1981

PDF

Areal Distribution, Thickness, Mass, Volume, and Grain Size of Air-Fall Ash from the Six Major Eruptions of 1980, Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki, Susan Shipley, Richard B. Waitt Jr., Daniel Dzurisin, and Spencer H. Wood

PDF

Proximal Air-Fall Deposits of Eruptions Between May 24 and August 7, 1980 -- Stratigraphy and Field Sedimentology. U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey, Richard B. Waitt Jr., Vicki L. Hansen, Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki, and Spencer H. Wood