Currently Funded Projects

QRC members lead and participate in a wide range of disciplinary and interdisciplinary research projects from the study of past earth climates and glaciations to shifts in the geographic distributions and evolution of vegetation and faunal communities, to the evolution and dispersals of the genus Homo and the increasing scales of human modification of earth environments through the Holocene. QRC provides a venue for meeting and collaborating with scholars across Quaternary disciplines. We are also fortunate to be able to provide seed funding and small grants for member research projects. We are especially happy to support grad student and junior scholar research activities, much of which leads to larger, external funding from agencies like the National Science Foundation. Since the program’s launch in 2014, we have funded over 100 research projects.

1 project in Scuba diving geology All Projects
  • 2024-25 | |
    • Daniel Cruz, Student
    • Juliet Crider, Faculty

    Comparison of Bedrock Features at Two sites within the Seattle Fault Zone: Rockaway Beach and Blakely Rock, Bainbridge Island, Washington

    Daniel Cruz Abstract: This study compares bedrock features at Rockaway Beach and Blakely Rock, two sites with the Seattle Fault Zone (SFZ). I examined depositional environment and evidence for recent uplift at both sites through field observations and mapping data. I used LiDAR data, GPS data, Pocket LiDAR, and point cloud software, to generate high-resolution DEMs at Rockaway Beach and Blakely Rock which reveal bedding and faults not observable at lower resolutions or in aerial photography. I made detailed stratigraphic descriptions of both sites, including underwater at Blakely Rock, and noted fossil evidence that provided clues to the depositional environment. I used the elevation of fossil clams at Rockaway Beach and pholad clam borings at Blakely Rock to estimate recent uplift. I document the occurrence of small faults and slip surfaces at both locations.

    My findings indicate that the two locations share similar depositional environments, consistent with previous descriptions of the Blakely Harbor Formation as a subaerial, high-energy braided river system with associated floodplains. The position of fossil horse clams at Rockaway Beach and pholad borings at Blakely Rock suggest an uplift of approximately 6 meters, likely associated with the A.D. 923–924
    earthquake. I suggest here that there may be a tear fault between the two sites which could explain their difference in dip directions.

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