Phone: 979.845.3651
Fax: 979.845.6162
v-tchakerian@tamu.edu

Room 204B, Room 803-E, Oceanography and Meteorology (O&M) Building

Course Offerings:

  • GEOG 203 - Planet Earth: Introduction to Earth Systems Science
  • GEOG 320 - The Middle East/li>
  • GEOG 370 - Coastal Processes
  • GEOG 400 - Arid Lands Geomorphology
  • GEOG 405 - Field Trips
  • GEOG 431 - Geomorphology
  • GEOG 627 - Arid Lands
  • GEOG 686 - Quaternary Geomorphology

Current Students

Paul Rindfleisch (PhD)

Paul is studying the geomorphology and soils and paleosols of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park and adjacent areas in West Texas and New Mexico. The primary focus of his dissertation is to construct a Quaternary chronology of the geomorphic events using both radiometric and paleomagnetic dating as well as carbon isotope analysis.

Jeffrey Given (MS)

Jeffrey is presently looking into the geomorphology and the Quaternary evolution of alluvial fans in and around the Guadalupe Mountains National Park in West Texas and New Mexico.

David Gwynn (MS)

David is studying the nature, frequency and the global distribution of megafans, using primarily space shuttle photography and digital image processing.

Eric Haase (MS)

Eric is presently looking into the study of aeolian processes and sediments on Mars.

Vatche Tchakerian

Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for the College of Geosciences

Ph.D., University of California at Los Angeles, 1989

Research specialty: geomorphology

Research:

Research interests include desert geomorphology, especially Aeolian processes and land forms; scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in the study of aeolian sediments; coastal dunes and Quaternary environments. Current research focuses on the nature and frequency of late Quaternary aeolian activity in the southwestern deserts of North America, in particular the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, and dune dynamics and sediments of the Wahiba Sands in Oman. Other research includes the dynamics of coastal dune/beach systems in central California and Sonora, Mexico and the development of paradigms in physical geography and the regional geography of the Middle East and North Africa.

Publications:

  • Pease, P.P. and Tchakerian, V.P. (2002) Composition and sources of sand in the Wahiba Sand Sea, Sultanate of Oman, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, v. 93, p. 416-434.
  • Tchakerian, V.P. and Lancaster, N. (2001) Late Quaternary arid/humid cycles in the Mojave Desert and western Great Basin, Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 21, p. 799-810.
  • Tchakerian, V.P. (2000) Desert Landforms, in M. Mares (ed.), Encyclopedia of Deserts, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, p. 35-70.
  • Tchakerian, V.P. (1999) Aeolian palaeoenvironments, in. A.S. Goudie, I. Livingstone and S. Stokes (eds.), Aeolian Environments, Sediments and Landforms, London: John Wiley & Sons, p. 261-292.
  • DeChant, L., Pease, P.P. and Tchakerian, V.P. (1999) Modeling alluvial fan morphology, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, v. 24, p. 641-652.
  • Pease, P.P., Bierly, G.D., Tchakerian, V.P. and Tindale, N.W. (1999) Mineralogical identification of dune sand using Landsat TM imagery, Wahiba Sand Sea, Sultanate of Oman, Geomorphology, v. 29, 235-249.
  • Pease, P.P., Tchakerian, V.P. and Tindale, N.W. (1998) Aerosols over the Arabian Sea: Geochemistry and source regions for desert aeolian dust, Journal of Arid Environments, v. 39, p. 477-496.
  • Tchakerian, V.P. (1997) The North American Deserts, in D.S.G. Thomas (ed.), Arid Zone Geomorphology: Process, Form and Change in Drylands, 2nd edition, London: John Wiley & Sons, p. 523-541.
  • Lancaster, N. and Tchakerian, V.P. (1996) Geomorphology and sediments of sand ramps, Mojave Desert, California. Geomorphology, v. 17, p. 151-166.

Links: