Research Projects

Research & Project Highlights

Windmill, with cloudy sky in the Sandhills, western Nebraska

The Landscape Evolution and Luminescence Geochronology Laboratory studies changes in earth systems in the recent past. We focus on understanding how dunefields, river systems and lakes are impacted by environmental and anthropogenic changes through time. 

Much of our research involves using geochronology, primarily optically-stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating methods. Luminescence dating methods have been effectively used to estimate the last time that sand grains were exposed to either sunlight or heat, allowing us to accurately date sediments in archaeological, geological and pedogenic environments. 

Research Projects

 
Reconstructing Fire History in the Nebraska Sand Hills
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Joe and Jasmine using color charts
 
Early Holocene Dune-Dammed Lake in the Central Nebraska Sand Hills
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Image by Mariah Lundgren / Platte Basin Timelapse

Image by Mariah Lundgren / Platte Basin Timelapse

 
Locating and Assessing
 Oregon Trail Ruts in Nebraska 
 
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Map showing Oregon Trail in Nebraska

 

 

 

Future Project