Peace Through Education

Dr. John B. Shaw

Dr. John B. Shaw
Assistant Professor of Geology
 
30 Gearhart Hall
Department of Geosciences
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
 
Phone: 479-575-7489
FAX: 479-575-3469
 
Degrees Ph.D. University of Texas at Austin, Geosciences, 2013
  B.A. Oberlin College, Geology and Applied Mathematics, 2007
Dr. John B. Shaw Field surveys of the Wax Lake Delta in Louisiana
Dr. John B. Shaw Bathymetric map of the Wax Lake Delta
Dr. John B. Shaw Channel deposits in the Sand Wash Basin, Colorado.  Photo credit:  Robert Mahon
Research Interests
Dr. Shaw is interested in the erosion, transport, and deposition of sediment on the surface of Earth and other planets. He has studied these processes in rivers, deltas, coastlines, and turbidity currents. Although he employs simple models, laboratory experiments, and remote sensing, his primary scientific tool is the analysis of data collected from modern systems and stratigraphic outcrops. He uses these data to test and validate existing models, and to improve the conceptual understanding of sediment transport systems.
Current research questions:
- How do distributary channel tips (the downstream ends of channels) extend on prograding deltas?
- Can the backwater effect (prevalent on large river deltas) be measured in the stratigraphic record?
- What is the best technique for building new land on the Mississippi River delta?
- Can the bathymetry of a delta (see Figure 3) be determined from remote sensing?
- Can the stratigraphic record give us information about how hurricanes affect coastlines?
Dr. John B. Shaw
Taking time lapse photos of migrating sand dunes in the North Loup River, Nebraska
Selected Publications and Presentations
Shaw, J.B., Y. You, D. Mohrig, G. Kocurek, (submitted to Geology), Reconstructing the formation history of a hurricane-generated washover fan on the Texas coast using stratigraphy and storm surge records
Mahon, R.C., J.B. Shaw, K.R. Barnhart, D.E.J. Hobley, B. McElroy, (submitted to J. Geophys. Res. – Earth Surface), Quantifying the stratigraphic completeness of delta shoreline trajectories: Experiments and Forward Modeling
Shaw, J.B., D. Mohrig, (2014), The importance of erosion in distributary channel network growth, Wax Lake Delta, Louisiana, USA, Geology, 42, 31-34, doi: 10.1130/G34751.1
Shaw, J. B., D. Mohrig, and S. K. Whitman (2013), The Morphology and Evolution of Channels on the Wax Lake Delta, J. Geophys. Res., 118, 1–22, doi:10.1002/jgrf.20123.
Nittrouer, J. A., J. Shaw, M. P. Lamb, and D. Mohrig (2012), Spatial and temporal trends for water-flow velocity and bed-material transport in the lower Mississippi River, Geol Soc Am Bull, 124, 400–414, doi:10.1130/B30497.1.
Lamb, M. P., J. A. Nittrouer, D. Mohrig, and J. Shaw (2012), Backwater and river plume controls on scour upstream of river mouths: Implications for fluvio-deltaic morphodynamics, J. Geophys. Res., 117(F1), F01002, doi:10.1029/2011JF002079.
Edmonds, D. A., J. B. Shaw, and D. Mohrig (2011), Topset-dominated deltas: A new model for river delta stratigraphy, Geology, 39(12), 1175–1178, doi:10.1130/G32358.1.
Viparelli, E., J. Shaw, A. Bevington, E. Meselhe, G. Holm, D. Mohrig, R. Twilley, and G. Parker (2011), Inundation Model As an Aid for Predicting Ecological Succession on Newly-Created Deltaic Land Associated with Mississippi River Diversions: Application to the Wax Lake Delta, in World Environmental and Water Resources Congress 2011, pp. 2340–2349, American Society of Civil Engineers.
Viparelli, E., J. Shaw, A. Bevington, E. Meselhe, G. O. Holm, D. Mohrig, R. Twilley, and G. Parker (2011), Inundation Model as an Aid for Predicting Ecological Succession on Newly-Created Deltaic Land Associated with Mississippi River Diversions: Application to the Wax Lake Delta.
Lamb, M. P., B. McElroy, B. Kopriva, J. Shaw, and D. Mohrig (2010), Linking river-flood dynamics to hyperpycnal-plume deposits: Experiments, theory, and geological implications, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull., 122(9-10), 1389–1400.
Shaw, J. B., M. A. Wolinsky, C. Paola, and V. R. Voller (2008), An image-based method for shoreline mapping on complex coasts, Geophys Res Lett, 35, L12405.
Dr. John B. Shaw
Studying a hurricane washover fan, coastal Texas
Teaching Areas
Stratigraphy/Sedimentation
Dynamics of Sediment Transport
Awards and Fellowships
NSF Post-doctoral Fellowship, 2013-2015
SEPM Student Research Grant, 2011
Outstanding Student Paper award, AGU Fall Meeting, 2011
BP Entrance Fellowship, UT-Austin, 2008-2009