Eric Kirby

Professor
EMES Department Chair

Tectonics and Geomorphology Lab

Education

Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2001)
M.S., University of New Mexico (1994)
B.A., Hamilton College (1992)

Research Interests

Tectonics and Landscape Evolution

Research and Activities

My students and I seek to understand the interplay between climate, erosion, and tectonics during the growth and decay of mountain ranges. Present and past research includes: 1) assessing dynamics of slip along active fault systems; 2) evaluating mountain building along convergent margins and strain accumulation along megathrust plate boundaries, 3) characterizing landscape response to spatial and temporal variations in rock uplift; 4) evaluating surface deformation and uplift in response to mantle flow; 5) reconstructing uplift and erosion of the Tibetan Plateau; and 6) assessing the interplay among hydrology, soil erosion, rock fracture, and landscape evolution. Our research spans active mountain ranges across the globe.

Selected Publications

2020 1. Rittase, W.M., Walker, J.D., Andrew, J., Kirby, E., and Wang, E., in press, Pliocene – Pleistocene basin evolution along the Garlock fault zone, Pilot Knob Valley, California: Geosphere 2. Zhang, H., Kirby, E., Li, H., Cook, K., and Zhang, P.,

2020, Ten years after the Wenchuan earthquake: New insights into the geodynamics of the Eastern Tibet: Tectonics, v. 39, e2020TC006215. 3. *Su, Q., Kirby, E., Ren, Z., Zhang, P., Zhang, H., Manopkawee, P., and Lei, Q.,

2020, Chronology of the Yellow River terraces at Qingtong Gorge (NE Tibet): Insights into the evolution of the Yellow River since the Middle Pleistocene: Geomorphology, v. 349, 106889. (published online October, 24, 2019) 2019 1. *West, N., Kirby, E., Nyblade, A., and Brantley, S., 2019, Climate preconditions the Critical Zone: Elucidating the role of subsurface fractures in the evolution of asymmetric topography: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 513, pp. 197-205. 2. *Li, K., Kirby, E., Xu, X., Chen, G., and Wang, D., 2019, Holocene normal faulting rate along the Dong Co Fault, central Tibet: Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, v. 183, 103962. (published online August 12, 2019) 3. Aslan, A., Karlstrom, K., Kirby, E., Heizler, M., Granger, D., Feathers, J., Hanson, P., and Mahan, S., 2019, Resolving time-space histories of Late Cenozoic bedrock incision along the Upper Colorado River, USA: Geomorphology, v. 347, 106855 (published online August 30, 2019) 2018 1. Kirby, E., 2018, Global erosion by glaciers revisited: Nature, v.559, p.34-35. 2. Denn, A.R., Bierman, P.R., Zimmerman, S.R.H., Caffee, M.W., Corbett, L.B., and Kirby, E., 2018, Cosmogenic nuclides indicate that boulder fields are dynamic, ancient, multigenerational features: GSA Today, v. 28, doi:10.1130/GSATG340A.1 (published online December 20, 2017) 3. DiBiase, R.A., Denn, A.R., Bierman, P.R., Kirby, E., West, N., and Hidy, A.J., 2018, Stratigraphic control of landscape response to base-level fall, Young Womans Creek, Pennsylvania, USA: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 504, pp. 263-173, doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.10.005. 4. *Li, K., Xu, X., Kirby, E., Tang, F., and Kang, W., 2018, Late Quaternary paleoseismology of the Milin fault: Implications for active tectonics along the Yarlung Zangbo Suture, Southeastern Tibet Plateau: Tectonophysics, v. 731-732, p.64-72 (doi:10.1016/j.tecto.2017.12.026, published online December 29, 2017) 2017 1. *Regalla, C., Fisher, D.M., Kirby, E., Oakley, D. and Taylor, S., 2017, Slip inversion along inner fore-arc faults, Eastern Tohoku, Japan: Tectonics, v. 37, p. 2647-2668 (doi:10.1002/2017TC004766, published online November 24, 2017) 2. *Shi, X., Kirby, E., Furlong, K.P., Meng, K., Robinson, R., Lu, H., and Wang, E., 2017, Rapid and punctuated Late Holocene recession of Siling Co, central Tibet: Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 172, p.15-31 (doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2017.07.017, published online July 20, 2017) 3. *Shi, X., Furlong, K., Kirby, E., Meng, K., Marrero, S., Gosse, J., Wang, E., and Phillips, F., 2017, Evaluating the size and extent of paleolakes in central Tibet during the late Pleistocene: Geophysical Research Letters, v. 44, p. 5476-5485 (doi:10.1002/2017GL072686, published online June 12, 2017) 4. Wang, W., Zheng, W., Zhang, P., Li, Q., Kirby, E., Yuan, D., Zheng, D., Liu, C., Wang, Z., Zhang, H., and Pang, J., 2017, Expansion of the Tibetan Plateau during the Neogene: Nature Communications, 8:15887 (doi: 10.1038/ncomms15887, published online June 21, 2017) 5. Zhang, H., Kirby, E., Pitlick, J., Anderson, R.S., and Zhang, P., 2017, Transient geomorphic response to base level fall in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau: Journal of Geophysical Research – Earth Surface, v. 122, p. 546-572 (doi:10.1002/2015JF003715, published online February 24, 2017) 2016 1. Sullivan, P.L., Hynek, S., Gu, X., Singha, K., White, T., West, N., Kim, H., Clarke, B., Kirby, E., Duffy, C., and Brantley, S.L.., 2016, Oxidative dissolution under the channel leads geomorphological evolution at the Shale Hills catchment: American Journal of Science, v. 316, p.981-1026. 2. *Yu, J., Zheng, W., Kirby, E., Zhang, P., Lei, Q., Ge, W., Wang, W., Li, X., and Zhang, N., 2016, Kinematics of Late Quaternary slip along the Yabrai Fault: Implications for Cenozoic tectonics across the Gobi Alashan block, China: Lithosphere, v. 8 (doi: 10.1130/L509.1, published online March 3, 2016) 3. *Shi, X., Kirby, E., Furlong, K.P., 2016, Reply to Comment on “Crustal strength in central Tibet determined from Holocene shoreline deflection around Siling Co”: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 433, p. 396-398.