Department of Geosciences
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Virginia Tech's Department of Geosciences focuses on research, education, and outreach dealing with the nature of the earth. Our students and faculty investigate earth processes at scales that range from atomic to planetary. Our undergraduate program offers B.S. degrees with Geology, Geochemistry, Geophysics, and Earth Sciences Education options and our graduate program offers M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in one of our many research areas. Our department also operates the Museum of Geosciences, open to the public and located in 2062 Derring Hall.
Collections in this community
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Departmental Publications, Department of Geosciences [42]
Newsletters, annual reports, and other departmental publications -
Scholarly Works, Department of Geosciences [133]
Research articles, presentations, and other scholarship
Recent Submissions
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Victoria continental microplate dynamics controlled by the lithospheric strength distribution of the East African Rift
(2020-06-08)The Victoria microplate between the Eastern and Western Branches of the East African Rift System is one of the largest continental microplates on Earth. In striking contrast to its neighboring plates, Victoria rotates ... -
When does eruption run-up begin? Multidisciplinary insight from the 1999 eruption of Shishaldin volcano
(2018-03-15)During the run-up to eruption, volcanoes often show geophysically detectable signs of unrest. However, there are long-standing challenges in interpreting the signals and evaluating the likelihood of eruption, especially ... -
Ceres internal structure from geophysical constraints
(2018-09)Thermal evolution modeling has yielded a variety of interior structures for Ceres, ranging from a modestly differentiated interior to more advanced evolution with a dry silicate core, a hydrated silicate mantle, and a ... -
Editorial for Special Issue “Nanomineralogy”
(MDPI, 2020-06-05)Nanoscience and nanotechnology study the properties of materials within the range 0 [...] -
Seismic imaging of mid-crustal structure beneath central and eastern North America: Possibly the elusive Grenville deformation?
(2019-04)The ca. 1 Ga Grenville orogeny was a protracted mountain-building event that culminated in the collision of Laurentia and Amazonia and the formation of the Rodinia supercontinent. While the expression of Grenville orogenesis ... -
Aluminum hydroxide coatings in limestone drains
(2019-04)This paper describes a mixed flow reactor experiment and associated data analysis scheme that are well suited for studying the chemical and physical processes that occur in limestone drains used to treat acid mine drainage ... -
Three-Dimensional Basin and Fault Structure From a Detailed Seismic Velocity Model of Coachella Valley, Southern California
(2019-05)The Coachella Valley in the northern Salton Trough is known to produce destructive earthquakes, making it a high seismic hazard area. Knowledge of the seismic velocity structure and geometry of the sedimentary basins and ... -
Aluminum mobility in mildly acidic mine drainage: Interactions between hydrobasaluminite, silica and trace metals from the nano to the meso-scale
(2019-08-05)Aluminum precipitates control the hydrochemistry and mineralogy of a broad variety of environments on Earth (e.g., acid mine drainage, AMD, coastal wetlands, boreal and alpine streams, tropical acid sulfate soils, laterites ... -
Dome formation on Ceres by solid-state flow analogous to terrestrial salt tectonics
(2019-10)The dwarf planet Ceres's outer crust is a complex, heterogeneous mixture of ice, clathrates, salts and silicates. Numerous large domes on Ceres's surface indicate a degree of geological activity. These domes have been ... -
Shift in the Raman symmetric stretching band of N-2, CO2, and CH4 as a function of temperature, pressure, and density
(2020-03)The Raman spectra of pure N-2, CO2, and CH4 were analyzed over the range 10 to 500 bars and from -160 degrees C to 200 degrees C (N-2), 22 degrees C to 350 degrees C (CO2), and -100 degrees C to 450 degrees C (CH4). At ... -
Holocene relative sea-level change along the tectonically active Chilean coast
(2020-05-15)We present a comprehensive relative sea-level (RSL) database for north, central, and south-central Chile (18.5 degrees S - 43.6 degrees S) using a consistent, systematic, and internationally comparable approach. Despite ... -
Museum of Geosciences Annual Report 2019-20
(Virginia Tech. Department of Geosciences, 2020)In March 2020 the world and Virginia Tech entered the era of COVID-19. Our operations and metrics will no doubt change. The Museum of Geosciences (MoGs) is a tangible way the Department of Geosciences fulfills Virginia ... -
Museum of Geosciences Annual Report 2018-2019
(Virginia Tech. Department of Geosciences, 2019)The Museum of Geosciences (MoGs) is a tangible way the Department of Geosciences fulfills Virginia Tech’s Land Grant mission to create, preserve, and provide information about science and technology for the public. Exhibits ... -
The first ornithosuchid from Brazil and its macroevolutionary and phylogenetic implications for Late Triassic faunas in Gondwana
(2020-01-31)Ornithosuchidae is one of the most enigmatic clades of Triassic pseudosuchians. The group is composed by three carnivorous species that were excavated from Upper Triassic beds of Scotland and Argentina. We describe the ... -
Inherited Depositional Topography Control on Shelf-Margin Oversteepening, Readjustment, and Coarse-Grained Sediment Delivery to Deep Water, Magallanes Basin, Chile
(2020-01-23)A shelf-margin depositional system is the stratigraphic product of terrigenous sediment delivery to the ocean, comprising a flat to low-gradient shelf, or topset, which transitions to a steeper deep-water slope, and, ... -
Systematic Review Shows That Work Done by Storm Waves Can Be Misinterpreted as Tsunami-Related Because Commonly Used Hydrodynamic Equations Are Flawed
(2020-02-05)Coastal boulder deposits (CBD), transported by waves at elevations above sea level and substantial distances inland, are markers for marine incursions. Whether they are tsunami or storm deposits can be difficult to determine, ... -
Nanocomposite structure of two-line ferrihydrite powder from total scattering
(2020-02-21)Ferrihydrite is one of the most important iron-containing minerals on Earth. Yet determination of its atomic-scale structure has been frustrated by its intrinsically poor crystallinity. The key difficulty is that ... -
Northward migration of the Oregon forearc on the Gales Creek fault
(2020-04)The Gales Creek fault (GCF) is a 60-km-long, northwest-striking dextral fault system (west of Portland, Oregon) that accommodates northward motion and uplift of the Oregon Coast Range. New geologic mapping and geophysical ... -
Atmosphere–ocean oxygen and productivity dynamics during early animal radiations
(National Academy of Sciences, 2019-09-24)The proliferation of large, motile animals 540 to 520 Ma has been linked to both rising and declining O₂ levels on Earth. To explore this conundrum, we reconstruct the global extent of seafloor oxygenation at approximately ... -
High-Pressure Raman and Infrared Spectroscopic Study of Prehnite
(MDPI, 2020-03-31)High-pressure Raman and infrared spectra of a natural sample of prehnite, with a chemical composition of Ca2(Al0.74,Fe0.26)2Si3O10(OH)2, are ...
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