Dr. Kim Blisnuik

From left: Kit Bella-Pratt, Kirby Kiefer, Dr. Kim Blisnuik, Alex Shumurakov, and Jeff Lee

In the Fall 2016 edition of The Scientist, Dr. Kim Blisniuk’s Earthquake Research Group was featured for their work in the field of geochronology and geomorphology.

Dr. Kim Blisniuk’s research group at SJSU combines the interdisciplinary fields of tectonic geomorphology and Quaternary geochronology to better under-
stand how earthquakes and climate change modify the landscape. As a field geologist and geochronologist, she isinterested in landscape evolution, earthquake geology, and tectonic reconstructions of dynamic processes in the upper crust. A particular interest is how crustal deformation at depth and changes in Earth’s climate are archived on Earth’s surface, as this information is critical for understanding regional climate and tectonics. Her research group implements a variety of field and laboratory tools aimed at characterizing and quantifying rates of active landscapes. These tools include geochronology (specifically terrestrial cosmogenic radionuclides and U-series dating), structural and geomorphic mapping, the analysis of high-resolution topography data, GIS, and the application of mechanical models to simulate the behavior of the structures observed in the field.