School of Earth & Sustainability
Sedimentary Geology
Sedimentary geology encompasses a broad array of inquiry concerning the evolution of the Earth’s marine and terrestrial surfaces and the biological, chemical and physical processes that act upon them. Sedimentary geologists at NAU study both modern environments and vast ancient tectonic basins using a variety of conventional and modern techniques.
Current research at Northern Arizona University
Current projects include trace fossil sedimentology of Cambrian strata in the Grand Canyon, the tectonics and sequence stratigraphy of Pennsylvanian basins across western North America, the ancient lakes in the Eocene Rocky Mountains and Miocene Lake Mead area, and modern submarine canyons of Northern California.
Who we are
Faculty and research staff Accordion Open
- Michael Smith, Associate Professor (Geochronology of sedimentary basins, deep time stratigraphy, marine geomorphology)
- Paul Umhoefer, Professor (Tectonics, sedimentary basins, structural geology)
- Dan Buscombe, Assistant Research Professor (Earth surface processes, quantitative methods)
- Nancy Riggs, Professor (Volcanology, geochronology, tectonics)
For students
Degree programs Accordion Open
- Bachelor’s degree (BS) in Geology
- Master’s degree (MS) in Geology
- PhD in Earth Sciences & Environmental Sustainability, with an emphasis in Earth Systems
Graduate-level courses Accordion Closed
- GLG 625 Sedimentary Petrology
- GLG 627 Depositional Systems
- GLG 629 Evolution Of Sedimentary Basins