RICHARD P. LANGFORD Sedimentology, Geomorphology, Arid Lands PhD., 1989; University of Utah Dr. Langford joined the faculty in 1996 after teaching for year at Rutgers University and conducting research for six years at the Bureau of Economic Geology at the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests focus on terrestrial deposition in arid lands. His major interest is understanding how arid landscapes respond to environmental change through erosion and deposition. He also studies the evolution of river systems and in the interactions between different desert environments. The El Paso region provides a unique natural laboratory to solve these problems. Active research is ongoing in four areas. In Southern Utah, several students are studying sandstones through which hydrocarbon bearing fluids migrated in order to determine the diagenetic and depositional controls on hydrocarbon reservoir formation. At the White Sands National Monument, we are studying the climatic and geomorphic controls on when and where the dune field formed. At several sites along the Rio Grande, The New ASSET flume has been used to measure the erosion potential of sediments. In the Jornada Experimental Range, in collaboration with Dr. Dale Gillette of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, we are studying the interplay between wind and vegetation that shapes the landscape during desertification Graduate Theses Chair Clepper, Marta, 2002 (M.S.), Stable isotopes and paleoclimate of a 12 million year record during TransPecos Texas Rio Grande Rift Development Imana, Ekal, 2002 (PhD; w/D.I. Doser), An Integrated geophysical and hydrogeological study of the structures of the lower Mesilla Valley. Xie, Hongjie, 2002 (Ph.D.; w/G.R. Keller) Image processing and data fusion of AIRSAR/TOPSAR, TM and geophysical data, GIS integration, and their application in Trans-Pecos Texas. Couroux, Emile 2001, (M.S., w/D.I. Doser), An integrated study of landform development using nearsurface geophysics, remote sensing and geomorphology, at the Great Sand Dunes National Monument (Outstanding Geology Thesis; Dept. Geol. Sci.). Depret, Pierre-Andre, 2001 (M.S.), Influence of diagenesis on the reservoir quality of the Cedar Mesa Sandstone, southeastern Utah, and comparison with Rotliegende Sandstone, North Sea (Outstanding Geology Thesis; Dept. Geol. Sci.) in Progress Depret, Pierre-Andres, PhD (with K.C. Miller), An integrated sedimentological and 3-D study of the Weber Sandstone, Rangely Field Colorado. Kennedy, John Ph.D, Topographic and Paleohydrologic study of the Southern Rio Grande Rift. Neu, Roene Neu, Ph.D, Studies of erodability of modern and ancient sediments. Pool, Brandi (M.S.), Stratigraphy of the Pliocene-Pleistocene Camp Rice Formation in the Hueco and Mesilla bolson Selected Publications published Langford, R. P., 2003 The Holocene history of the White Sands dune field and influences on eolian Langford - 1 deflation and playa lakes: Quaternary International,v. 104, p. 31-39. Langford, R. P., 2002, Playa Lake Shorelines and the History of White Sands Dune field; in Geology of White Sands: New Mexico Geological Society, p. 45-47 Langford, R., P., 2002, Deflationary Origin of White Sands Dune Field; in Proceedings of the International Conference on Wind Erosion and Other Aeolian Processes ICAR 5 and GCTE-SEN Joint Meeting Langford, R.P., 2000, Nabkha (Coppice Dune) fields of south-central New Mexico, USA: Jour. Arid Environ, v. 45, no. 1, p. 25-41. Langford, R.P., and Eshete Tefera, 2000, Fissure behavior in the Chihuahuan Desert, and depth estimation using sediment strength: Environ. Engr. Geosci., v. 6, p. 301-309. Scanlon, B., R.S. Goldsmith, and R.P. Langford, 2000, Relationships between grid geomorphic settings and unsaturated zone flow: Case study, Chihuahuan Desert, Texas: Texas Bureau of Econ. Geol., Rpt. of Investigation, no. 261, 133 p. Langford, R. P., 2000, Review of Wireline Logging/Les diagraphies au cable. By Ecole du Petrole et des Moteurs, CD-ROM for PC and MAC: Jour. Petroleum Sci. Engr. p. 97. Research Activities Principal Investigator – EPA: Establishing a mobile flume for studying erosion and sediment transport along the U.S. Mexico Border Principal Investigator – U.S. Corp of Engineers: Soil Erosion Potential on Disturbed and Undisturbed Manuever Areas , Fort Bliss, Texas Principal Investigator – EPA: Sediment Erosion in the Rio Grande Co-Principal Investigator – NSF: Building Pathways into the Geosciences for an Hispanic Community of Learners in El Paso Co-Principal Investigator – EPA/STAR: Bank Filtration in an Arid Environment Co-Principal Investigator – TX Low-level Radioactive Waste Authority: Contract for continuing studies at the repository site Langford - 2