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Professor of Geology |
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I work
on problems involving modeling of earth surface processes, such as the
effects of erosion, weathering and creep, typically using cellular automata
methods. Recently, I have become interested in neogeomorphology, the
study of the change of the earth’s surface as a result of human activity.
Today the surface of the earth is undergoing a change as profound as that
that occurred in the Silurian with the emergence of vegetation onto the
continents. By an incredible stroke of luck (for a geomorphologist), we are alive
at a time when it is possible to observe the rare phenomenon of a global
transformation of the earth’s outermost layer as neogeomorphology redefines
classical geomorphology. A second area of interest is the changing technological environment. As technology accelerates, the technological sphere exerts an increasing influence on humans relative to the natural sphere. Our technological environment is expanding while our natural environment is contracting. Part of my work is devoted to understanding the implications for human beings of this difference in rate of change. I am also interested in the philosophy and practice of modeling and prediction. The ability of science to predict lies at the base of social support for science (including earth science), and in a rapidly changing world prediction of the future behavior and form of the surface of the earth is increasingly required. I am interested in the extent to which limitations on our predictive abilities lie in the models we make of earth systems, versus the extent to which such limitations lie in the nature of earth surface processes themselves. |
Contact Information: Peter
K. Haff Chairman Professor
of Geology Division
of Earth and Ocean Sciences Nicholas
School of the Environment and Earth Sciences Duke
University Durham,
North Carolina 27708-0230 phone:
919-684-5902 fax:
919-684-5833 email: haff@duke.edu |
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Masters
of Environmental Management: Projects in Environmental Security |
___________ Recent
Graduate Students: Lonny
Boring Lesley
Glass |
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Courses Fall
2001 EOS 122: The Earth and
Planets TODAY! Spring
2002 EOS
243S: Advanced Geomorphology – Humans as Geomorphic Agents Fall 2002 |