A. Joshua West

I work at the intersection of geomorphology, biogeochemistry, hydrology, and Earth history. We study linkages between tectonics, topography, erosion, rock structure, hydrology, and weathering, aiming to understand how they conspire to shape the landscapes at Earth's surface; how they regulate water and biogeochemical cycles, and thus life on this planet; and how they contribute to natural hazards, particularly landslides and debris flows.

Much of my work has focused on the modern and ancient carbon cycle, and particularly how erosion and surface processes affect exchanges of carbon between atmosphere, water, organic material and rocks. This movement of carbon ultimately controls Earth's climate.

While carbon has been a central focus of my research, I am motivated by a wide range of problems, from Earth history to water and biogeochemical resources to geohazards. These at once call to basic intellectual curiosity and simultaneously hold promise of knowledge vital to humanity’s future. I want to understand how Earth came to be the planet we know today, why it has remained habitable over hundreds of millions of years, and what has caused changes in the global environment over this time.

At the same time, my research provides knowledge to inform sustainable management of natural resources, and I am interested in what we can learn from Earth’s present and past about global change as well as the cycling of life-sustaining water and nutrients.

Increasingly, I have turned attention to how understanding of Earth’s landscapes can help prediction of natural hazards, and to using novel combinations of tools (such as shallow geophysics coupled with stable water isotopes) to understand water pathways in mountainous terrain which are critical for sustaining freshwater supply.

To address these problems, my group combines challenging fieldwork, cutting-edge laboratory analyses and experiments, remote sensing, and modeling across spatiotemporal scales.