Categories
Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

Massive Hunga Volcano Eruption Sets New Standard for Crowdsourcing Scientific Observation of Seismic Events

Newswise The massive Jan. 15 eruption of the undersea Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in the South Pacific Ocean was a once-in-a-century event that allowed an international group of 76 scientists using multiple forms of technology to crowdsource their data in ways never before possible. SMU geophysicist Stephen Arrowsmith, one of the co-authors of the eruption […]

Categories
Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

SMU study reveals impact of paleoclimate structure on large herbivore populations, may provide clues related to climate change

Newswise A new study led by SMU paleontologist Anthony Fiorillo identifies the key role precipitation and temperature play in structuring vertebrate herbivore dinosaur populations in Alaska. The findings, which are published in the journal Geosciences, may also provide historical insights into the consequences of climate change. “Our study shows the fundamental role precipitation plays in […]

Categories
Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

Fossil of dinosaur killed in asteroid strike discovered in North Dakota, scientists say

USA Today Anthony Fiorillo, an SMU research professor and expert in taphonomy, a branch of paleontology focusing on how things become fossils, is quoted in this USA Today article. A small dinosaur leg discovered in southwestern North Dakota may have been ripped from the animal’s body on the same day a giant asteroid struck Earth and eventually […]

Categories
Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

International Research Team Identifies New Armored Dinosaur Species Found in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert

SMU News A new species of armored dinosaur from the southern Gobi Desert of Mongolia that may have used its unique tail as a weapon has been identified by an international team of vertebrate paleontologists and researchers. Researchers from SMU (Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas) and universities in  South Korea, Japan, and Mongolia identified […]

Categories
Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Institute for the Study of Earth and Man

“We are making a culture change”: Exhibit hopes to inspire young girls to join the STEM field

SMU News Myria Perez, a 2018 graduate of SMU with degrees in geology and anthropology, was recently featured in a CBS Evening News segment about a new exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. #IfThenSheCan – The Exhibit features 120 life-size 3D-printed statues of women who have made an impact in the science, […]

Categories
Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

SMU Provost Elizabeth Loboa and geohazards researcher Zhong Lu elected AAAS fellows for their advancement of science

SMU NEWS Elizabeth G. Loboa, SMU’s provost and vice president for academic affairs, and Zhong Lu, the Shuler-Foscue Chair in SMU’s Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed by their peers upon the […]

Categories
Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

Geothermal energy could mean a renewable future for Colorado’s oil fields

KUNC Originally Posted: December 8, 2021 The grasslands north of Fort Morgan in eastern Colorado are a hive of energy production. Clusters of spinning wind turbines mark the horizon. And, of course, oil and natural gas operations are everywhere. As far as oil fields go, this one is roughly middle-aged. Wells here are still comfortably […]

Categories
Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

Dinosaurs once roamed the Arctic. What can they tell us about adapting to a changing climate?

Alaska Public Radio Originally Posted: October 8, 2021 Scientists are learning more about how dinosaurs adapted to the climate in Alaska. Studying what these prehistoric giants left behind may reveal clues to help better adapt to warming temperatures brought on by climate change. Lori Townsend discusses ongoing research with paleontologists Anthony Fiorillo and Patrick Druckenmiller. […]

Categories
Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences Faculty News

New landslides on US West Coast detected by SMU scientists

SMU News Originally Posted: September 27, 2021 Team of Dallas-based university researchers use satellite radar imagery to reveal hundreds of unseen landslides occurring in western states SMU geophysicists have used satellite imagery to identify more than 600 slow-moving landslides occurring near the U.S. West Coast. Fewer than 5% of these landslides in California, Oregon and Washington […]

Categories
Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences Dedman College Research Earth Sciences

SMU alumna, archaeologist and paleontologist Myria Perez, is among those being honored with a statue at NorthPark Center

Dallas Morning News Originally Posted: June 2, 2021 Jennifer Stimpson was 9 when she decided she wanted to be a scientist. She grew up in Oak Cliff working summers in her family’s West Dallas compounding pharmacy, where she watched her father — Stimpson’s first science mentor — do more than just dispense medications for his […]