Geology & Planetary Science
508 SRCC
4107 O'Hara Street
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA 15260

412-624-5873

skilling@pitt.edu

Degree

PhD in Geology, 1988
University of Lancaster, UK
Curriculum Vitae

Research Areas

• Field-based volcanology
• Magma-water/magma-sediment interaction
• Sub-glacial volcanism in Iceland
• Image analysis of eruptions and pyroclasts
• Mars volcanology

Research page
Research Lab Group Page

Courses Offered

• GEOL 0870 The Planets
  Examination of the historical development of knowledge of the various bodies that make up the planetary system. For non-majors. Offered every spring.
• GEOL 1003 Igneous and Metamorphic Petrology
  Examination of the physical and chemical processes that control the formation of igneous and metamorphic rocks. For upper level majors. Offered every spring.
• GEOL 1701 Geology of the Planets
  Examination of the morphology, nature, and origin of features found on the planets of our solar system. For upper-level undergraduates. Offered alternate years.
• GEOL 2750 Volcanology
  Introduction to the physical properties of lavas, volcanic landforms, the dynamics of volcanic eruptions, and volcanic deposits Graduate level. Offered alternate years.
• GEOL 3975 Describing and Interpreting Pyroclastic Rocks
  Critical study of pyroclastic rocks, deposits (unconsolidated) and pyroclasts erupted in various settings on Earth. Graduate level. Offered occasionally.
• GEOL 3975 Exploring Explosions
  Interpretation of eruption mechanisms, transport processes and depositional processes of all types of pyroclastic material. Graduate level. Offered occasionally.

Representative Publications

Busby, C.J., DeOreo, S., Skilling, I.P. and Gans, P. (2008) Carson Pass-Kirkwood paleocanyon system: Paleogeography of the ancestral Cascades Arc and implications for landscape evolution of the Sierra Nevada California. Geological Society of America Bulletin, DOI 10.1130/B25849.1.

Busby, C.J., Hagan, J.C., Putirka, K., Pluhar, C.J., Gans, P., Wagner, D.L., Rood, D., DeOreo, S.B., and Skilling, I.P. (2008) The ancestral Cascades arc: Cenozoic evolution of the central Sierra Nevada (California) and the birth of the new plate boundary. In Wright, J.E., and Shevais, J.W. (eds), Ophiolites, Arcs, and Batholiths: Geological Society of America Special Paper 438, DOI: 10.1130/2008.2438(12), 48 p.

McClintock, M., White, J.D.L., Houghton, B.F., and Skilling, I.P. (2008) Physical volcanology of a large crater-complex formed during the initial stages of Karoo flood basalt volcanism, Sterkspuit, Eastern Cape, South Africa. In Skilling, I.P. and White, J.D.L. (eds), Physical Volcanology of LIPs, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, DOI: 10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2005.11.012.

Ross, P.S., Ukstins-Peate, I., McClintock, M., Xu, Y.G., Skilling, I.P., White, J.D.L. and Houghton, B., (2005) Mafic volcaniclastic deposits in large volume igneous provinces: A review. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 145, 281-314.

Skilling, I.P., (2002) Basaltic pahoehoe lava-fed deltas: Clast generation, emplacement mechanisms and environmental discrimination. In Smellie et al. (eds), Volcano-Ice Interaction on Earth and Mars, Journal of the Geological Society of London, Special Publication 202, 91-113.

Full list of publications