Ken Ferrier

Research

My research group at the University of Wisconsin-Madison investigates the topographic and chemical evolution of the Earth’s surface, from variations in sea level to the growth of mountain ranges to chemical weathering in soils. We use a variety of tools to explore these topics, including laboratory measurements, field instrumentation, and numerical modeling.

Our group’s research focuses on two themes: surface processes and sea-level change. This work is motivated by two overarching questions: How do climate and tectonics influence the topographic and geochemical evolution of mountains? How do sea-level changes drive topographic changes and respond to them? We address these topics with a quantitatively rigorous and novel blend of numerical modeling, lab measurements, field monitoring, and analogue experiments.

Publications

Google Scholar

Teaching

• GEOSCI 106: Environmental Geology
• GEOSCI 340: Geoscience Data Analysis
• GEOSCI 350: Geophysics
• GEOSCI 701: Quantitative Geomorphology

Current Graduate Students

• Rachel Breunig