Utah Tech Earth & Environmental Sciences

Students from GIS courses in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Utah Tech University contributed to this community-based project by assisting with survey design, data collection, web mapping. This work supports the documentation and preservation of historic pioneer rock walls in Leeds, Utah.
This collaboration highlights the value of community-based learning, where students apply geospatial skills to real-world challenges while contributing to local heritage and community efforts.

https://www.ksl.com/article/51495731/southern-utah-locals-creating-map-to-document-historic-pioneer-rock-walls-in-leeds?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=news&utm_campaign=hootsuite

Every semester the SET Building lost & found turns into a hydration museum. 😅

At this point we could probably open a reusable cup store in SET 421.

If one of these emotional support water bottles belongs to you… come claim it before the collection gains sentience. 💧☕🥤

📍Lost & Found — SET 421

🌎🎉 Congratulations to our 2026 Earth & Environmental Sciences Student of the Year, Carson! 🏔️🔬

Carson has distinguished himself through his leadership, enthusiasm, and active involvement within the department. Whether participating in class discussions, supporting his classmates, or contributing to undergraduate research, Carson consistently brings curiosity, dedication, and energy to everything he does.

His eagerness to learn, willingness to engage, and passion for Earth & Environmental Sciences have made him an outstanding representative of the program and a valued member of the department community.

The Earth & Environmental Sciences Department is proud to recognize Carson for his scholarship, leadership, and commitment to scientific exploration. Please join us in congratulating him on this well-deserved honor! 👏🌿

Beyond the coordinates. 📍📈

The Trailblazer Symposium was a great success! Our students have spent months diving deep into spatial analysis, remote sensing, and geostatistical modeling to bring these ArcGIS projects to life.

Swipe to see some of the incredible data visualizations on display. ➡️

Ditching the desks for the riverbank. 🌊
Environmental Science students taking over the riverbank for some hands-on field analysis.

Ground-truthing Fire Models. 🔥

Our Wildland Fire Modeling class spent the weekend at the Forsyth Canyon fire site in Pine Valley, Utah to bridge the gap between digital simulations and ecological reality. The Forsyth Fire, which ignited from a lightning strike in June 2025, smoldered for 10 days before Red Flag conditions pushed it across 15,000+ acres. By comparing our computer models to actual field results—analyzing burn severity and fuel consumption—we can better calibrate our predictions for future fire behavior in complex terrains like the Dixie National Forest.

A huge thank you to the Pine Valley Fire Department for sharing their firsthand expertise on the fire’s behavior and the local conditions we saw on the ground. We are also incredibly grateful to Dr. Matthews and Dr. Melton for walking students through the burn site and planning an amazing weekend providing the scientific context needed to bridge the gap between our models and the reality of the Forsyth Canyon fire.

A huge honor today at the Denis & Diane Robards Lyman Southwest Geoscience Center! ⚒️
We had the pleasure of hosting Diane Lyman on campus, where she got to meet Rob, our very first graduate from the program.
It’s incredible to see the direct impact of the Lymans’ generosity—connecting the vision that built this center with the students who are now out in the field making it a reality.

Mapping Geomorphic Pediments 🏜️
Students spent the day in the field deferring between pediment deposits and alluvial fans. Moving from the erosional, bedrock-dominated surfaces of the pediments to the different depositional sequences of stream beds requires a sharp eye for sediment thickness and underlying structure.
Field Observations:
• Pediment: Identifying the thin veneer of alluvium over stable bedrock.
• Objective: Understanding the differences between Pediment and Alluvial Fan Deposition

Field day in the Virgin River Gorge! ⚒️ Our Geomorphology students led by Dr. Natalie Tanski studied the fascinating concepts of fluvial transport and deposition. The “smoking gun” for the day? Porphyritic rocks from the Pine Valley Laccolith. By tracking these specific rocks further up the canyon, students successfully located possible ancient paleo-channels, revealing the abandoned paths the Virgin River once took through the canyon. 🏜️