Brian Horton holds a joint appointment with the Department of Geological Sciences (Professor) and the Institute for Geophysics (Research Professor) at UT-Austin.
Brian's research focuses on sedimentary basin development and mountain building processes. He utilizes sedimentology, stratigraphy, geochronology, structural geology, and geochemistry to understand modern and ancient sedimentation, river drainage patterns, sediment provenance, and orogenesis.
Recent and ongoing projects involve graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and diverse external collaborators working on problems in the Andes and major river systems of South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia), as well as basin systems in the Middle East (Zagros), central Asia (Tibetan plateau, Mongolia), and western North America (Rocky Mountains).
Research Interests
- Modern and ancient nonmarine depositional systems
- Dynamics of sedimentary basins and orogenic systems
- Sediment provenance, routing systems, and river network evolution
- Integration of geochronology and paleoaltimetry with basin analysis
- Tectonic and climatic interactions in thrust belts and foreland basins
- Mountain building and plateau construction along convergent plate margins
Ph.D.
in Geosciences, University of Arizona, 1998
M.S.
in Earth Sciences, Montana State University, 1994
B.S.
in Geology (with distinction), University of New Mexico, 1992
Tectonics of sedimentary basins, evolution of orogenic systems, sediment provenance and routing systems, nonmarine depositional processes.
Session Co-Chair,
International Association of Sedimentologists, International Meeting of Sedimentology, Sedimentary Basins symposium: Interactions of Sedimentation and Tectonics (2017)
Visiting Professor,
Yachay Tech University, School of Geological Sciences, Urcuquí, Ecuador (2016 - 2017)
Session Co-Chair,
AGU fall meeting, Building the Andes: from mantle geodynamics to surface processes (2015)
Editor,
Geological Society of America Special Paper, Toward an improved understanding of uplift mechanisms and the elevation history of the Tibetan Plateau (v. 507, edited by J. Nie, B.K. Horton, and G.D. Hoke) (2014)
Session Co-Chair,
GSA annual meeting, The geodynamics of flat-slab subduction and its influence on upper plate deformation, magmatism, and basin evolution (2014)
Guest Editor,
Journal of South American Earth Sciences, Special Issue: Tectonic and climatic shaping of the northern Andes and southern Caribbean margin (v. 39, edited by G. Bayona, B.K. Horton, and A. Reyes-Harker) (2012)
Session Co-Chair,
AAPG annual convention, Regional interaction of tectonics and sedimentation: Examining relationships between deformation and basin evolution (2010)
Exceptional Reviewer,
Lithosphere, (2010)
Editor,
Basin Research, (2009 - 2014)
Session Co-Chair,
AGU fall meeting, Cenozoic mountain building in Asia and South America: Impact on surface processes, erosion, climate change, and deep Earth processes (2009)
Editorial Board,
Lithosphere, (2008 - 2014)
Exceptional Reviewer,
Geological Society of America Bulletin, (2007)
Co-Supervisor of Paleomagnetics Laboratory,
with Dr. Jack Holt, Jackson School of Geosciences, UT-Austin (2006 - 2018)
Best Paper Award
- Society of Exploration Geophysicists (2022)
Knebel Teaching Award
- Department of Geological Sciences (2021)
Outstanding Researcher Award
- Institute for Geophysics, UT-Austin (2019)
William R. Dickinson Medal (Award for Excellence in Sedimentary Geology by a Mid-Career Scientist)
- Society for Sedimentary Geology (SEPM) (2018)
Outstanding Educator Award
- Jackson School of Geosciences, UT-Austin (2017)
Outstanding Researcher Award
- Institute for Geophysics, UT-Austin (2013)
Faculty Research Assignment (sabbatical research fellowship)
- UT-Austin (2012 - 2013)
Outstanding Research Award
- Jackson School of Geosciences, UT-Austin (2011)
Directors Circle of Excellence Award
- Institute for Geophysics, UT-Austin, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017 (2011 - 2017)
Humboldt Research Fellowship
- Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Germany (2006 - 2007)
Fellow
- Geological Society of America (2005)
Young Scientist Award, Donath Medal
- Geological Society of America (2004)
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship
- National Science Foundation (1998 - 1999)
Graduate Research Fellowship
- National Science Foundation (1993 - 1996)
>70 invited lectures at universities and professional scientific conferences,
(see CV),
