Dr. Elizabeth A. Balgord
Education
Ph.D. at the University of ArizonaM.S. at Idaho State University
B.S. at University of Wisconsin -Eau Claire
Contact Information
Email: elizabethbalgord@weber.edu
Phone: 801-626-6225
Office Location:
Tracy Hall Science Center (TY)
Room 331, Mail Code 2507
Room 331, Mail Code 2507
Teaching Philosophy & Focus
Geology has always been an experiential endeavor for me; time spent hiking across mountain ranges collecting samples and mapping geologic relationships is just as important to building an understanding of a geologic system as determining ages or compositional information from samples in a lab. I have found that my students also respond well to active experiences that connect the processes they have studied in the classroom to tangible evidence they observe in the field. More on my philosophy & experience is here.Courses Taught
GEO 3550 - Sedimentology and StratigraphyGEO 1220 - Historical Geology
GEO 4060 - Field Methods
Research Areas of Interest
I use sedimentologic analysis to study orogenic systems. Much of my work involves significant time spent in the field mapping and measuring stratigraphic section. My lab work includes sedimentary petrology, detrital zircon and apatite fission track analysis. My publications are listed here.Specific Projects
Argentina: My current research is in the Andes Mountains of Argentina. I am studying early foreland basin deposits in order to determine the timing of initial uplift in central Argentina. I have spent over 9 months during the past 4 years living and working in the high Andes of Mendoza and San Juan mapping and measuring section in the late Cretaceous to early Cenozoic stratigraphy. I also just finished a 6 month Fulbright Fellowship living and working with geologists in Mendoza.Wind River Range, Wyoming: I am working with a number of other colleagues from UA on the low-temperature history of the Wind River Range using a combination of apatite fission track and zircon (U-Th)/He thermochronology.
Utah and Idaho: During my time at Idaho State University I studied the Rodinian rift and Snowball Earth related deposits in northern Utah and Southwestern Idaho. Stratigraphy in the northern Wasatch Range has its challenges of steep loose terrain, and a complex structural history, but the story and views are spectacular. I’m incredibly excited to have these units in my backyard again.
Montana: I have spent many summers mapping in western Montana (near Butte, Dillon, Helena and Elliston) with an eye on the contact between the Mesoproterozoic Belt Supergroup and the Cambrian Flathead Sandstone.
