Research

Most of my research focuses on eolian systems in desert and semi-arid environments. I am particularly interested in dust emission processes, sources and sinks. Dust is important for many reasons because it affects health, visibility, climate, and as an addition to soil, adds nutrients that support plant life. A thick accumulation of dust is called loess. Areas where loess has accumulated have some of the most productive agricultural soils in the world, including those of the Midwest and Great Plains. Loess also houses important paleoclimatic records, allowing us to learn more about Earth's most recent climates and environments.

The PI-SWERL (Portable in situ Wind Erosion Lab, pictured at left) allows me and my students to assess conditions necessary for dust emissions to occur on a variety of geological and anthropogenic surfaces. This data, in turn, can provide information on the susceptibility of an area to emit dust, and provide first estimates of how much dust can be emitted to the atmosphere.

In the sustainability realm, I am interested in human-environmental interactions as well as waste management and recycling.

I include undergraduate and graduate students in most of my research; many of them are featured in these pages.