6.8 in Southern Japan
Quick appearance on CHCH about this interesting earthquake in a very seismically active part of the world!
Grad Student Spotlight - Mili!
Mili is featured in this week’s CPS Grad Spotlight. Read more about her and her research!
Mili across the Andes
Check out this wonderful video from Mili about her research in the Andes. This is only the first installment - Can’t wait for more!
Another great paper from Maurio!
Check out Mauricio’s latest work on the thermochronologic story of the southern Brazilian escarpment.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004019512600034X
Earthquake in southern Ontario
Audio only, but this is a fun interview with CBC Metro Morning on the January 2026 M 4.1 near Orillia.
And now congratulations to Dr. Wolpert!
Josh defended his thesis on Friday, December 5th. It went incredibly well, showcasing Josh’s diverse and of-the-highest-quality work!
Recruiting a PhD student for Fall 2026
We are looking for a PhD student for an NSF and NSERC funded project investigating the tectonic evolution of the Puna Plateau, Argentina and the potential influence of lithospheric foundering on tectonic deformation. The student will undertake field-focused research involving geologic mapping, structural analyses, measured stratigraphic sections, and geochronology as part of a larger, multi-disciplinary project to constrain the tectonic evolution of the Puna Plateau.
The position is at the University of Toronto Department of Earth Sciences and will be co-advised by Lindsay Schoenbohm (UTM) and Alex Tye (Utah Tech University/University of Pittsburgh). The student will also interact closely with project co-PIs and collaborators Marissa Tremblay (Purdue), Joyce Sim and Mitchell McMillan (Georgia Tech), and Patricio Payrola (Universidad Nacional de Salta). Applications are due January 15, 2026. Interested candidates should contact Lindsay Schoenbohm (lindsay.schoenbohm@utoronto.ca) to discuss the project.
The University of Toronto Mississauga and the Schoenbohm Research Group is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcome applications from racialized persons/persons of color, women, Indigenous/Aboriginal People of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.
Congratulations to Dr. Haag!
Mauricio defended his thesis on Friday, and is starting a postdoc and MIT in September! Always sad to see a member of the group graduate, but excited to see what’s next for him after a spectacular PhD!
Big earthquake in Kamchatka
It was fun to talk about this big earthquake and tsunami. Usually earthquakes only make the news when there are a lot of casualties, so this was a nice change.
Here’s an interview with CTVNews
I also did 10 separate interviews with CBC stations across Canada. Here’s an example from Quebec City - Breakaway with Alison Brunette.
Mauricio's new paper on escarpment retreat in Brazil
Great new work that suggests long-term persistence of rifted margin topography and digs into the role of lithology in shaping how the escarpment evolves.
Nice story on Himani's ongoing research in the Rockies!
https://www.utm.utoronto.ca/cps/news/extraction-chlorine-sand-samples-canadian-rockies
Josh's paper in GRL is out today as well!
https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1029/2024GL112229
Mauricio's Thor paper is just out in EPSL today.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0012821X25001633
Earthquakes near Santorini
I was on CTV Your Morning talking about the earthquake swarm along the Santorini-Amorgos fault zone today.
Mauricio's Science Advances paper is out!
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adr2610
Introducing THOR - the rock strength database
Mauricio has assembled an extensive and (nearly) exhaustive database of Schmidt hammer-based rock strength measurements into the THOR database. This should be an invaluable resource for anyone interested in how rock resistance to erosion affects landscape evolution and erosion rates. Very exciting!
Rocks Matter: Why it is Important to Consider Lithologic Resistance to Erosion in Landscape Evolution
Check out my talk for Landscapes Live! Thanks to James, Erin, Josh, Mauricio, and Himani for their great research on this subject.
PhD opportunity in tectonics/tectonic geomorphology
We are looking for a PhD student for an NSF and NSERC funded project investigating the tectonic evolution of the Puna Plateau, Argentina and the potential influence of lithospheric foundering on tectonic deformation. The student will undertake field-focused research involving geologic mapping, structural analyses, measured stratigraphic sections, and geochronology as part of a larger, multi-disciplinary project to constrain the tectonic evolution of the Puna Plateau. The position is at the University of Toronto Department of Earth Sciences and will be co-advised by Lindsay Schoenbohm (UTM) and Alex Tye (Utah Tech University). The student will also interact closely with project co-PIs and collaborators Marissa Tremblay (Purdue), Joyce Sim and Mitchell McMillan (Georgia Tech), and Patricio Payrola (Universidad Nacional de Salta). Applications are due January 15, 2024. Interested candidates should contact Lindsay Schoenbohm (lindsay.schoenbohm@utoronto.ca) to discuss the project.
The University of Toronto Mississauga and the Schoenbohm Research Group are strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcome applications from racialized persons/persons of color, women, Indigenous/Aboriginal People of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.