Drs. Jamey V. Jones and Wendi J.W Williams are presenting separate earth science research during the national Geological Society of America Annual Meeting and Exposition Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 in Denver.

Williams, working with Scott Ausbrooks of the Arkansas Geological Survey and James M. Wilkinson of the Central U.S. Earthquake Consortium, will discuss the role geoscientists can play in local, state, and regional efforts toward pubic safety and professional community service with earthquake preparedness.

Jones will present two first-authored papers; both offer new results from ongoing research in the Rocky Mountains and southwestern United States.

“Using a combination of geologic field mapping and isotopic age dating, we have discovered new evidence for a major mountain-building event in New Mexico and Colorado approximately 1.4 billion years ago, and sedimentary connections between the southwestern US and Australia at about the same time,” Jones said. “This work is providing new insights into the tectonic processes that governed growth and stabilization of the North American continent 1.7 to 1.4 billion years ago, and it is also helping us test global plate reconstructions.”