Dr. Alan Howard

My interests focus on the geomorphology of the Earth and other planetary bodies. Processes that have been studied include fluvial processes such as sediment transport, river incision, stream meandering and alluvial fans. Additional processes include mass wasting, dissolution, volatile erosion and deposition, impact cratering, glacial and ice-related processes, and lava emplacement. Planetary bodies to which these studies have been applied include the Earth, the Moon, Mars, Europa, Callisto, Titan, minor satellites of Saturn, and Pluto. My approaches include geomorphic mapping using remote sensing and topographic information, quantitative modeling of long-term landform evolution, and statistical characterization of landforms. Much of the quantitative modeling has been incorporated into a landform evolution model MARSSIM, which is publicly available. Current planetary studies are focused primarily on Mars and Pluto.

(UL) Field work on Alluvial Fans in the Chilean Atacama Desert. Fellow PSI Scientists Becky Williams (left) an Alex Morgan (right); (UR) Measuring flow and sediment transport through a meander bend in the muddy Quinn River, NV; (LL) Solar sublimation pits in nitrogen ice on Sputnik Planitia, Pluto; (LR) Computer model of sublimation pits.