Dr. Jose Luis Antinao Rojas

Title: Post Doctoral Fellow
Affiliation: Division of Earth and Ecosystem Sciences
Location: DRI Reno
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: 775.673.7450

Professional Interests

My research is focused on the study of Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology in tectonically active areas, and how to integrate it into the quantitative analysis of Landscape Evolution. Detailed fieldwork is the base of my research, being helped by techniques like digital terrain analysis, and geochronological tools like cosmogenic isotopes and low temperature thermochronology. In particular I am interested in: a) understanding quantitatively the contribution of different surface processes to the mass flux in tectonically active areas, and its timing in relation to climatic and tectonic events, and b) to innovate in the methodological aspects of geochronological tools for Quaternary records, especially cosmogenic isotope methods.

Current research deals with the geological and geochronological analysis of alluvial fan sequences to help establish the predominance of certain climate patterns in arid and semiarid areas, like the Andes of central Chile and Argentina or the southwestern US and northwestern Mexico. In the case of the southwestern US, alluvial fan aggradation during the Pleistocene-Holocene might have occurred as a response to enhanced activity of tropical storms coming from the Pacific off southern Mexico and migrating northward across Baja California and Sonora, to reach the US southwestern deserts. Soils chronosequence analysis, remote sensing, cosmogenic isotope exposure dating and erosion rate determination, and luminescence dating are some of the techniques that will be integrated in this work.

Research Areas

• Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology
• Landscape Evolution and Surface Processes
• Cosmogenic Isotopes
• (U-Th-Sm)/He Thermochronology
• Large Landslides from Massive Rock slope Failure
• Natural Hazards in Mediterranean and Semiarid areas