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Matthew Morriss

@rockiceandsnow.bsky.social

780 followers 410 following 170 posts

Geomorphologist and outdoor enthusiast. Passionate educator and curious soul. Mapping Geologist @ UGS. Posts = my own. his/him pronouns. Author of: Cave records reveal recent origin of North America’s deepest canyon (PNAS)🏳️‍🌈🥾🧗‍♂️

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Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · May 29

After 15 years of thinking and work, I'm very proud to share that I finally know how old Hells Canyon - the deepest fluvial gorge in North America is - ~2.1 Ma.

For more details see our recent article in @pnas.org
www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Cave records reveal recent origin of North America’s deepest canyon | PNAS

We explore how and when Hells Canyon, North America’s deepest river gorge (~2,400 m deep), formed, addressing these fundamental questions first pos...

www.pnas.org

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Reposted by Matthew Morriss

Sexy CHOAM Nomsky costume @samthielman.com · Aug 28

My brother sent me this

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Reposted by Matthew Morriss

Jenna C. Hill @chillocean.bsky.social · Aug 29

New seafloor mapping offshore Alaska in the Alaska-Aleutian subduction zone! #USGS #NOAA #MarineGeohazards 🧪⚒️🌊

New seafloor mapping offshore Kodiak Island, Alaska, reveals extensive submarine landslides

In summer 2025, a research team led by the USGS worked with the NOAA ship Rainier to map a large swath of seafloor offshore of Kodiak Island, Alaska, along the Alaska-Aleutian Trench.

www.usgs.gov

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Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · Aug 29

Its a map that put together a lot of existing 500k maps. not yet a seamless national product...

Reposted by Matthew Morriss

Alka Tripathy-Lang @dralkatrip.bsky.social · Aug 28

Yes, yes I do want to see this new geologic map!

David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · Aug 28

You want to see this new geologic map of the contiguous US that the USGS just released.

Cooperative National Geologic Map | NGMDB

Explore the Cooperative National Geologic Map, a unified view of our Nation's geology, with interactive layers and geologic data.

ngmdb.usgs.gov

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Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · Aug 21

just had a friend who was there recently! yikes!

Reposted by Matthew Morriss

Jill A Marshall she/her 🇺🇸 @happygeojill.bsky.social · Aug 20

Can forests damp earthquake waves and thus limit co-seismic landslides? What does this mean for Critical Zone development? Postdoctoral position with Will Struble and a multi-disciplinary team (including me🌲🌲🌊🌳🪾). Position is open until filled.

willstruble.com
#CZScience #Postdoc

Will Struble

Tectonic Geomorphology and Surface Processes at the University of Houston

willstruble.com

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Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · Aug 20

Does anyone know a way to project terrace location and elevations onto a river long profile, both of which were done without using Matlab/Python/R? Basically a GIS based framework?

Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · Aug 20

congratulations!

Reposted by Matthew Morriss

Dave Petley @davepetley.bsky.social · Aug 8

The 21 July 2025 rock avalanche in the Matia'an valley in Wanrong, east Taiwan is generating a lake that could have a volume of 86 million cubic metres at the point of overtopping. This poses a threat to at least seven downstream communities.
eos.org/thelandslide...

The barrier lake of the 21 July 2025 landslide in the Matia'an valley in Taiwan. Image by etaiwan.news.

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Reposted by Matthew Morriss

maryn sanders @maryn-geomorph.bsky.social · Aug 11

shamelessly made a bluesky account so I could plug my first first-author paper (!) on postfire erosion in steep rocky catchments -- go check her out!

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

The influence of wildfire on debris flows in a landscape of persistent disequilibrium: Columbia River Gorge, OR, USA

Debris flow erosion in rocky catchments of northern Oregon (USA) is found to be relatively insensitive to fire conditions.

www.science.org

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Reposted by Matthew Morriss

Gareth Funning @gfun.earth · Jul 30

NISAR has lifted off! And been successfully placed in its orbit! Good job, ISRO! Woohoo!

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Reposted by Matthew Morriss

Chris Rowan @allochthonous.bsky.social · Jul 30

Although large earthquakes generates strong shaking over a wide area, this is somewhat mitigated by the rupture being offshore. But if the rupture breaks the ocean floor, it generates destructive a tsunami that can spread across the ocean basin in the hours that follow.

Radio&Nukes @radioandnukes.com · Jul 30

Footage of the aftermath of the earthquake in Severo-Kurilsk is published by the Kamchatka branch of the Unified Geophysical Service of the Russian Academy of Sciences

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Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · Jul 30

NISAR LAUNCHED!!! congrats to all those involved!

Reposted by Matthew Morriss

Adam Forte @topoismyforte.bsky.social · Jun 5

If proposal success rates are going to start looking like the probabilities of winning some money from lottery "scratchers", might as well just make grant money a lottery. Would save us all a lot of time.

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Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · Jun 2

More Hells Canyon coverage - this time an interview with @sfgate.com
www.sfgate.com/national-par...

Scientists make major discovery about America's deepest canyon

Hells Canyon might be deeper than the Grand Canyon, but it's barely 2 million years old, according to a new study.

www.sfgate.com

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Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · May 30

What a lovely hillshade! did you make that in Qgis?

I believe Lydia Staisch is looking hard for that paleo river sediments in Montana this summer!

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Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · May 29

This was a real tour-de-force of collaboration with @geomorphyuggs.bsky.social, Nate Mitchell, Lydia Staisch, and Oliver Korup.

Reposted by Matthew Morriss

Melaine Le Roy @subfossilguy.bsky.social · May 28

Seeing Blatten buried again and again, from every angle...

Properly staggering! 😮😱

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Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · May 29

chat me and I'll get you one

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Reposted by Matthew Morriss

geomorphyuggs.bsky.social @geomorphyuggs.bsky.social · May 20

🚨New Paper🚨 @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social and others (including myself) quantify the evolution of North America's deepest canyon (sorry, Grand Canyon, it's not you).

Cave records reveal recent origin of North America’s deepest canyon | PNAS

We explore how and when Hells Canyon, North America’s deepest river gorge (~2,400 m deep), formed, addressing these fundamental questions first pos...

nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com

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Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · May 29

Cave records reveal recent origin of North America’s deepest canyon | PNAS

We explore how and when Hells Canyon, North America’s deepest river gorge (~2,400 m deep), formed, addressing these fundamental questions first pos...

www.pnas.org

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Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · May 29

Excited to see @nature.com covering my recent article in @pnas.org

www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1...

Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · May 29

Happy to see so much coverage of my recent research published in @pnas.org

OPB @opb.org · May 28

Hells Canyon, the deepest river gorge in the United States, likely got rapidly carved 2.1 million years ago when a shifting landscape in Idaho caused a giant lake to start overflowing.

Eastern Oregon’s Hells Canyon, the deepest gorge in the US, is surprisingly young

Hells Canyon is the deepest river canyon in the United States. Now scientists have solved the mystery of when it formed.

www.opb.org

Matthew Morriss @rockiceandsnow.bsky.social · Mar 1

I stand with Ukraine, and the people of Ukraine. THAT was not who we are as Americans... 🇺🇦

Reposted by Matthew Morriss

Amy Weislogel (she/her) @amyrocks.bsky.social · Feb 25

Proud to be a GSA member 🌎🪨⚒️🧪

Matt Brueseke @matttg.bsky.social · Feb 24

Good to see this from the Geological Society of America #StandUpForScience #ScienceForAll 🧪⚒️

Geological society of America releases statement in support of science.

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