NAU School of Earth and Sustainability

10/05/2026

Check out this nice story on work by SES Prof Abe Springer and his group monitoring the impact of the Dragon Bravo fire on drinking water in the Grand Canyon. Fondriest Environmental, Inc.

After the Dragon Bravo Fire on the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, a professor monitors turbidity at a nearby spring, the park’s sole drinking water source.

09/11/2026

A recently published paper by SES grad student Aden Stern explores why the expansion of AI infrastructure continues in Metro Phoenix, a region with clear biophysical burdens. NAU Research NAU College of the Environment, Forestry & Natural Sciences https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214629626004020

09/11/2026

SES Prof Abe Springer talked to KNAU about connections (or not) between the Dragon Bravo Fire and recent flooding in the Grand Canyon - take a listen!

Last year’s Dragon Bravo Fire increased runoff on the North Rim, but experts say it had only a limited impact on August’s deadly flooding.

09/10/2026

Recent SES graduate student Dr. Joey Phillips, SES Prof Jim Gaherty, and co-authors used unique ocean-bottom seismometers from two Pacific sites to examine how the plate and the mantle beneath it record different kinds of motion. Their results show that the plate preserves clues from plate formation, while the mantle beneath the plate responds broadly to present-day Pacific plate motion and deeper mantle flow.

Read the story: https://ses-nau.org/news/2026-09-pacific-mantle/

09/09/2026

Listen to this excellent Earth Note on work by the Clare Ellsworth Aslan, Sara Souther, and other SES scientists on what tiny cacti can teach us about the recovery of ecosystems after fires. NAU Research NAU College of the Environment, Forestry & Natural Sciences

A tiny cactus that survives intense wildfire could offer clues about the resilience of ecosystems on the Colorado Plateau.

09/03/2026

Radiocarbon dating can take you back 40,000 years. NAU researcher Darrell Kaufman is going much, much further. 🦴🔬

NAU Regents' Professor Darrell Kaufman runs one of just a handful of labs on Earth specializing in amino acid geochronology—a method that can unlock the ages of fossils dating back to the last several ice ages. It's cutting-edge science happening right here in Flagstaff.

Discover what NAU researchers are uncovering about Earth's ancient past: https://bit.ly/4xvbChU

09/03/2026

CEFNS Career & Hiring Fair — October 1!

We’re excited to welcome employers to campus to connect with the next generation of scientists, environmental professionals, foresters, mathematicians, chemists, and STEM leaders.

Whether you’re recruiting for internships, part-time positions, or full-time opportunities, the CEFNS Career & Hiring Fair is a great way to meet talented NAU students.

Registration is required. Register through Handshake and contact Chase Kurbat at [email protected] by September 18 to learn more or reserve space for additional activities. https://app.joinhandshake.com/career_fairs/8f2484ca-bde7-49ab-9c10-8082655e89ed/employer_preview?fbclid=IwY2xjawT-fVpwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMWExRWFFeGFDaVVSOExSazBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeMa8zppdXQVq9TZKCdvfwoi_3PwD6LBsPcHl0XjJOOQWdYIh7tIaiQnMAG74_aem_pgU7ss0TmfiYf89Bkh37jA

NAU School of Earth and Sustainability Department of Astronomy & Planetary Science at Northern Arizona University Ecological Restoration Institute NAUForestry

08/26/2026

New research by SES scientist Leah Marshall and colleagues uses radiocarbon as a tracer of carbon cycling in Arctic lakes over the past 20,000 years, revealing how ancient carbon moves as landscapes change. Check it out! https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379126003306 NAU College of the Environment, Forestry & Natural Sciences NAU Research ,

08/24/2026

SES PhD student Hunter Allen and colleagues reconstructed a 9,600 year record of continuous glacier fluctuations from lake sediment in a proglacial lake in south-central Alaska - Eklutna Lake. Check it out! NAU Research NAU College of the Environment, Forestry & Natural Sciences https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379126003161

08/20/2026

Interested in learning more about regenerative design and permaculture? Join us for this fall's ENV 499 (6631) Introduction to Permaculture class with Dr. Rosemary Logan! Space is limited to register now. Need more info? Email [email protected].

A special congratulations to the students that completed the entire Permaculture Design Course over two semesters, including Environmental Science undergraduate, Danielle Fernandez! Photo: Permaculture design students exploring the garden: Sadie Denson (Climate Science and Solutions), Aryaana Khan (Environmental Science and Policy), and Tamara Smith (Secondary Education and Chemistry).