I’m a structural geologist and my research is focused on understanding the neotectonic development of collisional orogenic systems - primarily the Himalayan-Tibetan orogen, and the Andean orogen of Argentina and Colombia. Essentially I try to understand the geometry, kinematics, and mechanics of active fault systems with the ultimate goal of gaining insight into the dynamics of orogenesis. My approach involves the integration of structural geology and geomorphology, geodesy, remote sensing, and working with specialists in geochronology to obtain slip rates on active faults over various timescales from years to 106 years. Recently, my research group has been involved in understanding (1) the geomorphic response of active extensional structures on the Tibetan plateau, (2) the role of active strike slip faulting in the High Himalaya of Nepal, (3) the slip rate of the southern Karakoram fault in southwest Tibet, (4) active thrust faulting in the retro arc regions of the Colombian and Argentinian Andes, and more recently (5) how surface processes modify earthquake ruptures using repeat terrestrial LiDAR scans of the 2010 El-Mayor-Cucapah earthquake in northern Mexico in collaboration with UC-Davis and CISESE.

My time at ERI will be spent collaborating primarily with Dr. Tatsuya Ishiyama. My hope is to gain a better understanding of the neotectonic behavior of the Ryukyu Islands and the recurrence intervals of large earthquakes associated with the active fault systems there, using a combined approach of geomorphology and Quaternary geochronology.

For additional information on my group’s research activities, please check out the following URL: http://www.geo.ku.edu/programs/tectonics/taylor