Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Matthew Rossi

(He/Him)

Research Scientist

Headshot of Matthew Rossi
Education
  • B.S., The College of William & Mary, 2003
  • Ph.D., Arizona State University, 2014

Research Interests

Matthew Rossi is a Research Scientist in Earth Lab. Trained as a geomorphologist, his research is motivated by developing a quantitative understanding of the processes and process interactions that control the shape of Earth’s surface. His core research activities focus on how feedbacks among climate, tectonics, ecology, and hydrology drive rates of soil production, sediment transport, and river incision. To address these questions, his research heavily relies on field methods, geochronology, remote sensing, and landscape evolution modeling. His broader interest in Earth's Critical Zone has increasingly led him to collaborate on new inter-disciplinary projects on topics like natural hazards, agricultural productivity, and biodiversity change.

 

Current Research

  • Building better models of river incision that account for orographic gradients in stochastic runoff generation
  • Feedbacks among forest dynamics, soil production, and sediment transport in rocky landscapes (Colorado, USA)
  • Relating the long-term pace and pattern of escarpment retreat to event-scale rainstorm properties (Utah, USA; Negev Desert, Israel)
  • Integrating Agent-Based Models of biota (e.g., burrowing organisms, individual plants) into landscape evolution models
  • Building dose-response functions from historic climate data to explain spatio-temporal patterns water supply, crop yields, and flood frequency (contiguous USA)
  • Measuring biodiversity change using eDNA and remote sensing across scales (Cape Floristic Region, South Africa)

Research Categories

Climate and Weather, Solid Earth, Water Resources

Research Images

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Sponsors

CECA Member

Aug 1, 2018

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Aug 1, 2020
P.I.(s)

About CECA

CECA connects and creates a supportive environment for graduate students and postdocs who come from various academic units to do research in CIRES.