The Department of Geosciences at the University of Montana uses scientific methods to study the physical processes that shape the planet. The department have two areas of special focus, including water and earth. In both areas, the faculty of the department analyze how earth materials such as water, minerals, sediments and rocks, and energy move and change. The research and creative scholarship by the faculty of the Department of Geosciences emphasizes goals and questions that simultaneously address issues of global importance and serve the people of Montana, hence the interest in water, climate, geologic resources, and natural hazards. Specifically, the faculty studies water movement; the water cycle and its influences on landscapes and ecosystem; groundwater recharge; restoration, management, and sustainability; the lithosphere; the record of erosion and deposition; the evolution of life; and more.

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Submissions from 2019

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Helium in Stream Water as a Volcanic Monitoring Tool, W. Payton Gardner and David D. Susong

Submissions from 2018

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METAL CONTAMINATION AND FOOD WEB CHANGES ALTER EXPOSURE TO UPPER TROPHIC LEVELS IN UPPER BLACKFOOT RIVER BASIN STREAMS, MONTANA, Jack E. Landers, Sean Sullivan, Lisa Eby, Andrew C. Wilcox, and Heiko Langner

Submissions from 2015

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Flow and scour constrainst on uprooting of pioneer woody seedlings, Sharon Bywater-Reyes, Andrew C. Wilcox, John C. Stella, and Anne Lightbody

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Quantifying meltwater refreezing along a transect of sites on the Greenland ice sheet, C. Cox, N. Humphrey, and Joel T. Harper

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Temperature distribution and thermal anomalies along a flowline of the Greenland ice sheet, Joel A. Harrington, Neil F. Humphrey, and Joel T. Harper

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Coarse bedload routing and dispersion through tributary confluences, Kurt Imhoff and Andrew C. Wilcox

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Thermal boundary conditions on western Greenland: Observational constraints and impacts on the modeled thermomechanical state, Toby W. Meierbachtol, Joel T. Harper, Jesse V. Johnson, Neil F. Humphrey, and Douglas John Brinkerhoff

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The science and practice of river restoration, Ellen E. Wohl, Stuart N. Lane, and Andrew C. Wilcox

Submissions from 2014

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Ecogeomorphic feedbacks and flood loss of riparian tree seedlings in meandering channel experiments, Li Kui, John C. Stella, Anne Lightbody, and Andrew C. Wilcox

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Climate and topographic controls on simulated pasture production in a semiarid Mediterranean watershed with scattered tree cover, J. Lozano-Parra, Marco P. Maneta, and S. Schnabel

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Changes to Snowpack Energy State from Spring Storm Events, Columbia River Headwaters, Montana, Zachary M. Seligman, Joel T. Harper, and Marco P. Maneta

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Rapid reservoir erosion, hyperconcentrated flow, and downstream deposition triggered by breaching of 38 m tall Condit Dam, White Salmon River, Washington, Andrew C. Wilcox, Jim E. O'Connor, and Jon J. Major

Submissions from 2013

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Compressional and EM wave velocity anisotropy in a temperate glacier due to basal crevasses, and implications for water content estimation, John Bradford, Joshua Nichols, Joel T. Harper, and Toby W. Meierbachtol

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Water-rock interaction and life, Nancy W. Hinman

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Aluminum in silica phases formed in hot springs, Nancy W. Hinman and J. Michelle Kotler

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Influences of lithology on water quality: a study of the Ngam and Mou watersheds in West Cameroon (Central Africa), E. Kemayou Tchamako, RV Tsinkou Fotsing, JP Tchouankoue, JR Ndam Ngoupayou, B Ngounou Ngatcha, and Nancy W. Hinman

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Understanding Greenland ice sheet hydrology using an integrated multi-scale approach, A. K. Rennermalm, S. E. Moustafa, J. Mioduszewski, V. W. Chu, R. R. Forster, B. Hagedorn, Joel T. Harper, T. L. Mote, D. A. Robinson, C. A. Shuman, L. C. Smith, and M. Tedesco

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Dynamically downscaled winter precipitation over complex terrain of the Central Rockies of Western Montana, USA, Nicholas Loren Silverman, Marco P. Maneta, S.-H. Chen, and Joel T. Harper

Submissions from 2012

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Georadar-derived estimates of firn density in the percolation zone, western Greenland ice sheet, Joel Brown, John Bradford, Joel T. Harper, W. Tad Pfeffer, Neil Humphrey, and Ellen Mosley-Thompson

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Thermal tracking of meltwater retention in Greenland’s accumulation area, Neil F. Humphrey, Joel T. Harper, and W. Tad Pfeffer

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Monitoring glacier surface seismicity in time and space using Rayleigh waves, T. D. Mikesell; K. van Wijk; M. M. Haney; J. H, Bradford; H. P. Marshall; and Joel T. Harper

Submissions from 2011

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High-resolution study of layering within the percolation and soaked facies of the Greenland ice sheet, Joel Brown, Joel T. Harper, W. Tad Pfeffer, Neil Humphrey, and John H. Bradford

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Hydraulics, Morphology, and Energy Dissipation in an Alpine Step-pool Channel, Andrew C. Wilcox, Ellen E. Wohl, Francesco Comiti, and Luca Mao

Submissions from 2010

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Timing of present and future snowmelt from high elevations in northwest Montana, Bonnie Jean Gillan, Joel T. Harper, and Johnnie N. Moore

Submissions from 2009

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Complex dielectric permittivity measurements from ground-penetrating radar data to estimate snow liquid water content in the pendular regime, John H. Bradford, Joel T. Harper, and Joel Brown

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Continuous profiles of electromagnetic wave velocity and water content in glaciers: an example from Bench Glacier, Alaska, USA, John H. Bradford, Joshua Nichols, T. Dylan Mikesell, and Joel T. Harper

Submissions from 2008

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Diurnal fluctuations in borehole water levels: configuration of the drainage system beneath Bench Glacier, Alaska, USA, T. J. Fudge, Neil Humphrey, Joel T. Harper, and W. Tad Pfeffer

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Air compression as a mechanism for the underdamped slug test response in fractured glacier ice, Toby W. Meierbachtol, Joel T. Harper, Neil Humphrey, Jeremy Shaha, and John Bradford

Submissions from 2007

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Two modes of accelerated glacier sliding related to water, Joel T. Harper, Neil Humphrey, W. T. Pfeffer, and Brian Lazar

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Significance of trends toward earlier snowmelt runoff, Columbia and Missouri Basin headwaters, western United States, Johnnie N. Moore, Joel T. Harper, and Mark C. Greenwood

Submissions from 2006

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Flow Resistance Dynamics in Step-pool Channels: 2. Partitioning Between Grain, Spill, and Woody Debris Resistance, Andrew C. Wilcox, Jonathan M. Nelson, and Ellen E. Wohl

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Flow Resistance Dynamics in Step-pool Stream Channels: 1. Large Woody Debris and Controls on Total Resistance, Andrew C. Wilcox and Ellen E. Wohl

Submissions from 2005

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Wave field migration as a tool for estimating spatially continuous radar velocity and water content in glaciers, John H. Bradford and Joel T. Harper

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Diurnal water-pressure fluctuations: timing and pattern of termination below Bench Glacier, Alaska, USA, T. J. Fudge, Joel T. Harper, Neil Humphrey, and W. Tad Pfeffer

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Evolution of subglacial water pressure along a glacier’s length, Joel T. Harper, Neil Humphrey, W. Tad Pfeffer, T. J. Fudge, and Shad O'Neel

Submissions from 2003

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High altitude Himalayan climate inferred from glacial ice flux, Joel T. Harper and Neil Humphrey

Submissions from 2002

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Basal conditions and glacier motion during the winter/spring transition, Worthington Glacier, Alaska, U.S.A., Joel T. Harper, Neil Humphrey, and Mark C. Greenwood

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Depth-varying constitutive properties observed in an isothermal glacier, H. P. Marshall, Joel T. Harper, W. Tad Pfeffer, and Neil Humphrey

Submissions from 2001

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Spatial variability in the flow of a valley glacier: Deformation of a large array of boreholes, Joel T. Harper, Neil Humphrey, W. Tad Pfeffer, Snehalata V. Huzurbazar, David B. Bahr, and Brian C. Welch

Submissions from 2000

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In situ stress tensor measured in an Alaskan glacier, W. Tad Pfeffer, Neil Humphrey, B. Amadei, Joel T. Harper, and J. Wegmann

Submissions from 1998

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Crevasse patterns and the strain-rate tensor: a high-resolution comparison, Joel T. Harper, Neil Humphrey, and W. Tad Pfeffer

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Mapping subglacial surfaces of temperate valley glaciers by two-pass migration of a radio-echo sounding survey, Brian C. Welch, W. Tad Pfeffer, Joel T. Harper, and Neil F. Humphrey