Extremely rapid up-and-down motions of island arc crust during arc-continent collision

Larry Syu-Heng Lai, doctoral student, and Rebecca J. Dorsey, professor

A new study finds evidence of surprisingly rapid upward movement of Earth’s crust on the island of Taiwan. Over roughly half a million years, the Coastal Range of east Taiwan was rising at a rate of 9 to 14 millimeters per year, the research shows. While this seems imperceptibly slow by human standards, it’s quite fast for mountains. Much of the dramatic topography on the surface of the planet is formed by vertical movements of less than a millimeter per year.

Read the published work in Communications Earth and Environment and an article about their research in Around the O.

The devastating mudslides that follow forest fires

Josh Roering, professor

The risk of dangerous landslides is increasing as forest fires devastate more landscapes across the West, a UO researcher finds, but it can be hard to predict in the aftermath of a fire, especially given environmental variations across geographic regions. UO geologist Josh Roering studies landslides in the Pacific Northwest and aims to better understand how they are different from those in drier regions. One of his research projects shows how landslides can behave differently in the Pacific Northwest and emphasizes why it’s important to understand these geographic nuances.

Read about his work in Nature and Around the O.

The largest hoplophonine and a complex new hypothesis of nimravid evolution

Paul Barrett, graduate student

There’s a new saber-toothed predator in town — and it’s been hiding in plain sight.The fossil specimen, unearthed in Wyoming, was on display for decades at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. When it went off-exhibit in 2017 during a museum renovation, UO graduate student Paul Barrett finally got a closer look. He describes the species in a paper published in Nature Scientific Reports.

Read the published research in Nature Scientific Reports and an article about his work in Around the O.