UW Sediment Dynamics Group

People

Faculty

Chuck Nittrouer

Chuck's research interests include the modern and ancient formation of sedimentary strata in continental margin environments, and the effects of physical and biological oceanic processes on sedimentary characteristics. He obtained his Ph.D in Geological Oceanography at the University of Washington in 1978 and returned to join the UW faculty in 1998.

Contact: nittroue@ocean.washington.edu

Andrea Ogston

Andrea Ogston was drawn to the study of sediment transport while driving past mud flats, walking along beaches with crashing waves, and sailing across river plumes laden with sediment. She obtained her undergraduate degree in Civil Engineering at Oregon State University, and after a few years in environmental consulting she returned to academia for graduate study in Oceanography. Since joining the faculty in the School of Oceanography in 2000, she has focused her research on the interaction between geological and physical oceanography of the coastal ocean, using observational techniques to study the dispersal of sediment from river to deep sea.

Contact: ogston@ocean.washington.edu

Students

Kristen Lee

Profile coming soon

Rip Hale

Rip graduated from Brown University in 2006, receiving a BS with Honors in Geology/Biology. His senior thesis employed coastal sediment cores to reconstruct the record of major hurricanes in the northeast US over the past 5000 years. After working as a coastal geologist for a Boston-area environmental consulting firm, Rip returned to academia in the fall of 2008 in pursuit of a masters and PhD at the UW. Rip is interested in nearshore sediment transport; specifically, linking instrument data with data from sediment cores to understand transport processes and deposition. For his masters degree, Rip used cores to study the effects of a major typhoon on sedimentation in a submarine canyon off the SW coast of Taiwan. For his PhD, Rip is studying the fate of sediment exiting the Waipaoa river in New Zealand, and what processes are responsible for transporting it along, across, and off the continental shelf. Outside of his research, Rip enjoys all-things outdoors, especially cycling, rock climbing, snowboarding, and camping.

Contact: rhale@uw.edu

Katie Boldt

Katie graduated from Dartmouth College in 2008 with a degree in Earth Sciences. While there, she spent a semester with the Sea Education Association (SEA) and discovered her interest in the oceans. For her undergraduate thesis, she helped calibrate a 2000-year record of major hurricane events along the northeastern coast based on preserved layers in the sedimentary record. After a summer working for SEA, Katie headed to UW to continue studying coastal sedimentary processes and archives. Her master’s work involved relating sediment transport processes to short-and long-term sediment deposition patterns and rates in Willapa Bay, WA. For her PhD, she is working in Alaska, Patagonia, and western Antarctic Peninsula fjords to study the processes controlling the erosion, transfer and accumulation of sediment in glacial-marine environments. Besides glaciers and the ocean, Katie loves outdoor sports, running and throwing pottery.

Contact: kboldt@uw.edu

Dan Nowacki

Dan came to the UW in 2008 after a stint at the U.S. Geological Survey's National Research Program, where he studied flow and transport in the Florida Everglades. His undergraduate degree is from Syracuse University, and he completed his M.S.E. in Civil & Environmental Engineering at the UW in 2010, where he investigated sediment transport in and removal from the Columbia River plume. He's now pursuing his Ph.D. in Oceanography, studying sediment transport and fluid mechanics in various tidally influenced environments, including tidal flats and large tidal rivers. Apart from research, he enjoys traveling to South America, hiking the North Cascades, and working on his 22-year-old Toyota Land Cruiser.

Contact: nowacki@uw.edu

Aaron Fricke

Aaron graduated from Carleton College in 2009 with a degree in Geology. After a year spent living and working in Chile, Aaron joined the School of Oceanography at UW in 2010. He is interested in understanding modern sedimentary processes and deposits in order to better understand ancient sedimentary systems. Aaron's master's work focuses on sedimentation in Lake Chelan, in the North Cascades of Washington state. His work on Lake Chelan examines deltaic dynamics and coupled fluvial-lacustrine sedimentation associated with the Stehekin River. In his free time Aaron enjoys hiking, B&W photography, travel, and working on old (<$1000) cars.

Contact: atfricke@uw.edu

Emily Eidam

Emily completed B.S. degrees in civil engineering and geology at the University of Alaska Anchorage in 2008 and 2010, respectively. She chose geology as a career field after years of hiking in the Chugach and Talkeetna mountains and driving past the silty tidal flats of Cook Inlet. She joined the University of Washington School of Oceanography in 2011 to study offshore, fine-grained sediment dynamics following removal of the Glines Canyon and Elwha dams. Outside of school Emily enjoys hiking, photography, and various arts & crafts.

Contact: efe@uw.edu