Dr. Tina Niemi

The field research that my students and I conduct provides some of the basic data for estimating earthquake probabilities and to quantifying the seismic hazards of a region. My lab at UMKC, the Geoarchaeology and Paleoseismology Lab, is very interdisciplinary utilizing history, archaeology, geochemistry, paleontology, geophysics, and stratigraphic records. Everything we do involves studying young sediments and artifacts. We dig or core into sedimentary deposits and use geophysical and remote sensing imaging technologies to look back in time to find the physical evidence that record past earthquakes or hurricanes, the changes in climate and sea level, and to find out how humans have altered the environment in the past. We presently have field research projects in Jordan, Israel, The Bahamas, Turkey, and Baja, Mexico. I am also actively involved in teacher professional development projects (GeoMAP, GeoPATHS, IRIS Desktop Seismographs in Schools) that model inquiry-based lessons that integrate geosciences content into middle and high school course instruction. I enjoy leading field trips for teachers and students (e.g. to a coalmine, nuclear power plant, and the New Madrid seismic zone) that seek to foster a better understand of earth as a system. See the 2009 UMatter Faculty Profile and UNews article for recent interviews.