Will Ouimet

Associate Professor

I am a geologist and geomorphologist committed to understanding earth surface processes, landforms and landscapes around the world. My research is focused in two main areas: (1) tectonic geomorphology and landscape evolution in active and rapidly eroding landscapes; and (2) Anthropocene studies and the impact of human-environment interactions on geomorphic processes. I commonly work in the field, where I map landscape features and target earth surface materials for collection, and in the lab, where I process field samples and utilize GIS and Remote Sensing techniques for detailed topographic and spatial analysis, including DEMs and LiDAR. I frequently collaborate with colleagues to incorporate cosmogenic radio nuclides, low-temperature thermochronology, 137Cs and 210Pb isotopes, landscape evolution models, and various geochemical analyses into my research. I currently have active research projects in Taiwan, the Colorado Front Range, and northeastern US/New England and co-lead the UCore Sediment Coring Facility (UCore) in the department.

Education

• Ph.D.: Geology and Geochemistry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• B.S.: Geology and Mathematics at Williams College

Courses

• ERTH 4240 / ERTH 5240: Watersheds and Environmental Change
• ERTH 3020: Earth Surface Processes
• ERTH 4230 / ERTH 5230: GIS and Remote Sensing for Earth Science Applications
• GEOG 3310 / ERTH 5510: Fluvial Geomorphology
• ERTH 4995: Study Abroad (Taiwan; Bahamas)

Select Publications

• Johnson, K.M. and Ouimet, W., In Press, Reconstructing historic forest cover and land use dynamics in the northeastern USA using geospatial analysis and airborne LiDAR, Annals of the Association of American Geographers
• Dow, S., Snyder, N.P., Ouimet, W.B., Martini, A.M., Yellen, B., Woodruff, J.D., Newton, R.M., Merritts, D.J. and Walter, R.C., 2020. Estimating the timescale of fluvial response to anthropogenic disturbance using two generations of dams on the South River, Massachusetts, USA. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 45( 10), pp.2380-2393.
• Abrahams, E.R., Kaste, J.M., Ouimet, W. and Dethier, D.P., 2018. Asymmetric hillslope erosion following wildfire in Fourmile Canyon, Colorado. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 43(9), pp.2009-2021.
• Hsu, W.H., Byrne, T., Ouimet, W., Lee, Y.H, Chen, Y.G., Van Soest, M. and Hodges, K., 2016, Pleistocene onset of rapid, punctuated exhumation in the eastern Central Range of the Taiwan orogenic belt, Geology, 44 (9): 719-722. doi: 10.1130/G37914.1
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