Michael J. Soreghan

Assistant Professor

Ph.D., 1994, University of Arizona
M.S., 1990, Indiana University
B.S., 1986, University of California, Los Angeles

phone (405) 325-3393

msoreg@ou.edu

Teaching Interests

I am interested in communicating the importance of Earth Science to the general public and so I teach undergraduate non-major courses in Physical Geology and in Earth System Science. The latter course is geared for elementary education majors and is co-taught with Dr. Susan Postawko in the Dept. of Meteorology. I also teach occasional graduate courses in paleoclimate, sedimentary geology, and rift basins. In all classes I try to challenge students to look at the big picture and to see that geology is a multidisciplinary subject.

Research Interests

My general research centers on the broad theme of delineating the controls of sedimentation in continental settings. My most recent work involves reading long-term climatic signals from sediments and sedimentary rocks. Specific research projects are outlined in my personal web page (see link below), but over the past several years I have worked on fluvial, lacustrine and eolian systems of varying times and tectonic settings. My main research methods lie in field-oriented data collection, however, I have increasingly employed geochemistry, computer imaging and modeling to supplement the field data. My research has mainly been funded by NSF, however, past work in East Africa has been supported by various oil companies who view the rift as an important analog for other buried, petroliferous rift systems.

I am always interested in talking with students interested in pursuing graduate studies that are in some way related to these research themes—please contact me at (msoreg@ou.edu).

Please see my expanded web page at: http://faculty-staff.ou.edu/S/Michael.J.Soreghan-1/