RESEARCH INTERESTS


Grahame J. Larson



My research interests include glacial hydrology and Quaternary geology. With respect to glacial hydrology I am involved in defining the origin and pathway of subglacial discharge associated with temperate glaciers. This generally involves quantifying discharge from the terminus of a glacier and separating flow components using isotopic characteristics of the discharge. My interests in Quaternary geology include sedimentology of glaciogenic deposits that occur along the margin of modern glaciers as well as those left behind by icesheets that once covered the Great Lakes basin. This often includes studying the micromorphology of the deposits.

Current projects involve working at the Matanuska Glacier in southern Alaska with a team of researchers from Lehigh University, Penn State University, Augustana College and the U.S. Army Cold Regions Research Laboratory. Of particular concern to the team is the origin of basal ice and debris bands that occur near the glacier terminus. Also of interest is defining flow components of meltwater discharge from the glacier and investigating the micromorphologic characteristics of glaciogenic sediments near the glacier margin.





Current projects in Quaternary Geology include analysing large-scale glaciotectonic structures that occur along the eastern shore of Lake Michigan, defining the sedimentology of mega crevasse fillings at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore in northwestern lower Michigan, and relating burial of the Lake Gribben Forest in central northern Michigan to the Younger Dryas event of Northern Europe.

Funding to support the above research comes from grants awarded by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Geological Survey State Map and Edmap Programs, and U.S. Army Cold Regions Research Laboratory.

Last Revised January 10, 1998.