Earth
and Space Sciences Faculty |
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Stephen
C. Porter |
Areas of Interest:
Glacial and Quaternary Geology
Research Group:
Climate
and Paleoclimate
Quaternary
Research
Other UW Academic Affiliations:
Adjunct Professor, Quaternary Research Center
Background and Current
Research:
An early interest in mountains
and mountaineering led Stephen Porter to a research career in glacial and Quaternary
geology of alpine regions that began with doctoral studies at Yale University
on the tectonics and glacial history of the central Brooks Range. Since joining
the University of Washington faculty in 1962, he has carried out glacial-geologic
field studies in the Washington Cascades, southern Alaska, the Himalaya, the
southern Alps of New Zealand, the island of Hawaii, the Andes of Chile and Argentina,
the Italian Alps, the Antarctic Dry Valleys, and the Bolshoi Annechag Range
of northeastern Siberia. The primary focus of this research has been the Pleistocene
stratigraphy and chronology of alpine glaciation, paleoclimatic reconstructions
based on glacier equilibrium-line altitudes, and the pattern and causes of recent
(Neoglacial) glacier fluctuations. He also has worked on Holocene sea-level
fluctuations in the Marshall Islands and southernmost South America, on volcanic
subsidence, landscape evolution, and subglacial volcanism in Hawaii, and on
giant rockfalls and rockfall hazards in the Alps. His studies in volcanic regions
have included investigations of Quaternary tephra layers and use of tephrochronology
for dating surficial deposits. He also has been involved withdeveloping relative
dating techniques and lichenometry.
Porter's current activities involve continuing work on the glacial history of the Cascade Range and collaborative research with Chinese colleagues on the late Quaternary record of paleomonsoons in central China. The latter work, in progress for the past 20 years, has involved field studies on the Loess Plateau, the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, and along the desert margin in Inner Mongolia.
Professor Porter is former editor of the interdisciplinary journal Quaternary Research, and Past President of the International Union for Quaternary Research (INQUA).
Selected Publications:
Full
Bibliography
An, Z. S., Kutzbach, J. E.,
Prell, W. L., and Porter, S. C. (2001). Evolution of Asian monsoons and phased
uplift of the Himalaya-Tibetan plateau since Late Miocene times. Nature 411,
62-66
Porter, S. C. (2000). Onset of Neoglaciation in the Southern Hemisphere. Journal of Quaternary Science 15, 395-408.
Porter, S. C. (2001). Chinese loess record of monsoon climate during the last glacial-interglacial cycle. Earth-Science Reviews 54, 115-128.
Porter, S. C. (2001). Snowline depression in the tropics during the last glaciation. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, 1067-1091.
Porter, S. C., Hallet, B., Wu, X.H., and An, Z. S. (2001). Dependence of near-surface magnetic susceptibility on dust accumulation rate and precipitation on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Quaternary Research 55, 271-283.
Skinner, B. J., Porter, S. C., and Botkin, D. B. (1999) The Blue Planet; an introduction to Earth System Science (2nd edition). New York, John Wiley and Sons, 552 pp.
Skinner, B. J., Porter, S. C., and Park, J. (2003). Dynamic Earth, An Introduction to Physical Geology (- 5th Edition). New York, John Wiley and Sons.
Graduate Research:
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Earth and Space Sciences (Geology, Geophysics, Geological Sciences) University of Washington Johnson Hall 070 • Box 351310 4000 15th Avenue NE • Seattle, WA 98195-1310 Phone 206-543-1190 • Fax 206-543-0489 • Site Info: webmaster@ess.washington.edu • ESS Advising: advising@ess.washington.edu |