View of a typical field day at one of my field sites, Fort Irwin, California.

My research interests cover a wide variety of topics. Much of my research involves using the cosmogenic isotopes, 10Be and 26Al to determine rates of landscape change. Presently, I am applying this technique to desert piedmonts in the Mojave Desert, large drainage basins in Namibia and Panama, and desert pavements in Arizona. I am also using 10Be and 26Al to date a large prehistoric landslide, the Blackhawk, in the Mojave Desert.

Check out the University of Vermont's Cosmogenic Isotope Extraction Laboratory web page to see other ongoing and completed projects.

I am also doing research on environmental geologic problems as well. I am have ongoing projects looking at slope instability (landslides and gullies) and at urban hydrology.

Click on any one of my projects to see the current status.

Below is a list of senior theses that I have advised.

Erin Black, GE ’06 – Turbidity of the Kayaderosseras Creek watershed

Megan Chadwick, GE ’06 – Buffers on the Battenkill: Maping Riparian Zones Using GIS

Michael Cleveland, GE ’06 – Long-term erosion rates of the Grand Canyon using 10Be

Davin Lyons, GE ’06 – Holocene climate change of Keuka Lake, Finger Lakes region, based on sediment cores

Derek Eaton, GE ’05 – Initiation and Growth Processes of the Miller Brook Gully, Stowe, VT

Daniel Feuer, GE ’05 – GIS Analysis of Tributary Basin Characteristics in the Upper Colorado River Basin

Luca Peppe, GE ’05 – Bedrock Depth Study of the Kayaderosseras Valley and a Reinterpretation of the Deglacial History

Veronica Russell, GE ’05 – Using 10Be to Discover the History of the Goldstone Piedmont at Fort Irwin, Mojave Desert, California

Robin Wiles-Skeels, ES ’04 – Evaluating the Effect of Land Use on Peak Discharge and Runoff in the Saratoga Lake Watershed

Katrina Smith, GE ’04 – Paired Watershed Study of the East Branch Kayaderosseras and Sturdevant Creek Near South Corinth, New York

William R. Foniri, GE ’04 – Using In Situ-Produced Cosmogenic ¹⁰Be to Determine Surface History of the Kofa Mountain Piedmont, Yuma, AZ

David O’Connor GE ’03 – Testing the Energy Budget Snowmelt Equation at Potash Mountain, New York

*Lyman Persico GE '02 (UVM) - Tracing Painted Pebbles in the Mojave Desert: Annual Rates of Sediment Movement and the Impact of Off-road Vehicles

*Darrin Santos GE '99 (UVM) - Channel Initiation in the Mojave Desert

*Undergraduate field assistants

For more information please contact me at: knichols@skidmore.edu

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