Research
I recently earned a Ph.D. in Geology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where, broadly speaking, I studied the Greater Green River Basin of southwest Wyoming as well as geoscience education. On the geological side of things, I focused on two ancient river systems and their influence on an ancient lake called Lake Gosuite. During the early Eocene (about 55 million years ago) Lake Gosiute covered the southwest corner of what we now know as Wyoming (picture something akin to the Great Salt Lake). It was supplied with water and sediment by two primary fluvial (river) systems: the Aspen and Idaho Rivers. Together, these rivers as well as a couple of others (including the Toya Puki River which I discovered) and Lake Gosuite made up the early Eocene Green River sedimentary system, which I studied using data collected from fieldwork, lab work, and drone imagery-based 3D models.
Step into the boots of a field geologist and explore one of the iconic sandstone outcrops of the Green River Formation in Southwest Wyoming!
Publications
Smith, M.E., Gregorich, H.G., Gipson, L.A., Krueger, R.C., Carroll, A.R., Parrish, E.C., Walters, A.P., Honig, S., Schwaderer, C., Meyers, S., Singer, B.S., Lowenstein, T.K., Arnuk, W.D., 2023. High-resolution X-ray fluorescence-based provenance mapping of Eocene fluvial distributary fans that fed ancient Gosiute Lake, Wyoming, USA. GSA Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1130/B37207.1
Ethan C. Parrish, Alan R. Carroll, Holly Gregorich, M. Elliot Smith, Colby Schwaderer; Watershed-scale provenance heterogeneity within Eocene nonmarine basin fill: Southern Greater Green River Basin, western USA. GSA Bulletin 2023; doi: https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.wisc.edu/10.1130/B36822.1
Hammond, A.P., Carroll, A.R., Parrish, E.C., Smith, M.E., Lowenstein, T.K., 2019. The Aspen paleoriver: Linking Eocene magmatism to the world’s largest Na-carbonate evaporite (Wyoming, USA). Geology 47, 1020–1024. https://doi.org/10/gghxhq
Media
The Zoom recording of my public Ph.D. defense
A glimpse into the “what?” and “why?” of my PhD research looking at the fluvial geology of the Eocene Green River Formation of southwest Wyoming.
A very short (”elevator pitch”) description of my research that I made for a virtual research symposium.
