Professor, Director of UVM/NSF Community Cosmogenic Laboratory

I study Earth’s dynamic surface with a focus on human’s interaction with landscapes. I have wide-ranging interests including climate, geochemistry, erosion, writing, science communication, and diversification of science as a profession. I am particularly interested in working at the interface between active research, education, and science literacy at all levels. My current work is in both the tropics (Cuba) and the arctic (Greenland) as well as Vermont. I am the author of two college level textbooks and a forthcoming trade book about Greenland, climate change, and ice cores.

Publications

Christ, A.J. and 16 others, (2021) A multi-million-year-old record of Greenland vegetation and glacial history preserved in sediment beneath 1.4 km of ice at Camp Century, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021442118

Bierman, P. (2020) Teamwork, the Cuban way, Working Life, Science, vol. 367, issue 6483 p. 1274.  doi.org/10.1126/science.367.6483.1274

Bierman et al. (2020) ¡Cuba! River water chemistry reveals rapid chemical weathering, the echo of uplift, and the promise of more sustainable agriculture. GSA TODAY. doi.org/10.1130/GSATG419A.1

Weiss, H. S., Bierman, P. R., Hamshaw, S. D. and Dubief, Y. (2019) Optimization of over-summer snow storage at mid-latitude and low elevation. Cryosphere. doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-3367-2019

Portenga, E., Bierman, P. R., Trodick, C., Dejong, B., Greene, S. and Pavich, M. (2019) Background rates of erosion and sediment generation in the Potomac River basin, USA, derived using in situ 10Be, meteoric 10Be, and 9Be. GSA Bulletin.  doi.org/10.1130/B31840.1

Corbett, L. B., Bierman, P. R., Wright,S., Shakun, J., Davis, P.T., Goehring, B., Halsted, C., Koester, A., Caffee, M., and Zimmerman, S. (2018) Analysis of multiple cosmogenic nuclides constrains Laurentide Ice Sheet history and process on Mt. Mansfield, Vermont’s highest peak, Quaternary Science Reviews. doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2018.12.014

Shakun, J. D., Corbett, L. B., Bierman, P. R., Underwood, K., Rizzo, D. M., Zimmerman, S. R., Caffee, M. and Naish, T. (2018) Minimal East Antarctic Ice Sheet retreat onto land during the past 8 Myr. Nature. v. 558, p. 284-287. doi.org/10.1038/s41586-018-0155-6

Bierman, P. R., Shakun, J., Rood, D, Corbett, L. B. and Zimmerman, S. (2016) A persistent and dynamic East Greenland Ice Sheet over the past 7.5 million years. Nature. v. 540, p. 256–260. doi.org/10.1038/nature20147

Bierman, P. R., Davis, P. T., Corbett, L. B., Lifton, N. and Finkel, R. (2015) Cold-based, Laurentide ice covered New England’s highest summits during the Last Glacial Maximum. Geology. v. 43(12), p. 1059-1062. doi.org/10.1130/G37225.1

Paul Bierman

Areas of Expertise and/or Research

Instructional programs: Environmental Sciences, Sustainablility, Ecology and Policy
Research: Geology, geohydrology, erosion and human-landscape interaction, climate change, science education and communication

Education

  • Ph.D., 1993, Geology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA with A. Gillespie, "Cosmogenic Isotopes and the Evolution of Granitic Landforms"
  • MS, 1990, Geology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA with A. Gillespie, "Accuracy and Precision of Rock Varnish Cation Ratio Dating"
  • BA, 1985, Geology and Environmental Studies, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, "Deglaciation of Northwestern Massachusetts," (cum laude and senior thesis)

Contact

Phone:
  • 802-656-4411
Office Location:

307 Delahanty Hall, Trinity Campus, 180 Colchester Avenue