Education / Degrees
B.A., Rutgers University at New Brunswick, 1972
M.S. , University of Cincinnati, 1974
Ph.D., University of Utah, 1979
Research Interest
My research interests lie in the fields of structural geology and geomorphology. Most of my research is in active tectonics within plate interiors. I have conducted research in the New Madrid seismic zone of the central Mississippi River valley, Arizona, Oklahoma, and southeastern Australia.
Courses Taught
Structural Geology
Geomorphology
Tectonics
Physical Geology
Landforms
Recent Articles
Csontos, R., Van Arsdale, R., Cox, R., and Waldron, B., 2008, The Reelfoot Rift and its impact on Quaternary deformation in the central Mississippi River Valley. Geosphere, v. 4, n. 1, p. 145-158.
Van Arsdale, R.B., Bresnahan, R.P., McCallister, N.S., and Waldron, B., 2007, The Upland Complex of the central Mississippi River valley: its origin, denudation, and possible role in reactivation of the New Madrid seismic zone. In Continental Intraplate Earthquakes: Science, Hazard, and Policy Issues, S. Stein and S. Mazzotti (eds.), Geological Society of America Special Paper 425, p. 177-192.
Van Arsdale, R., and Cox, R., 2007, The Mississippi’s Curious origins. Scientific American, January, p. 33-39.
Cox, R.T.,Wang, F., Han, L., Kung H., and Van Arsdale, R., 2006, Applications of Landsat-5 imagery in assessing and mapping water quality in Reelfoot Lake, Tennessee. International Journal of Remote Sensing, v. 27, n. 23, p. 5269-5283.
Baldwin, J.N., Harris, J.B., Van Arsdale, R.B., Givler, R., Kelson, K.I., Sexton, J.L., and Lake, M., 2005, Constraints on the location of the Late Quaternary Reelfoot and New Madrid North faults in the northern New Madrid seismic zone, central United States. Seismological Research Letters, v. 76, n. 6, p. 772-789.
Velasco, M., Van Arsdale, R., Waldron, B., Harris, J., and Cox, R., 2005, Quaternary faulting beneath Memphis, Tennessee. Seismological Research Letters, v. 76, n. 5, p. 598-614.
Smalley, R., Jr., Ellis, M.A., Paul, J., and Van Arsdale, R., 2005, Space geodetic evidence for rapid strain rates in the New Madrid seismic zone of central USA. Nature, v. 435, n. 23, p. 1088-1090.
Broughton, J., and Van Arsdale, R., 2004, Surficial geologic map of the Northwest Memphis Quadrangle, Shelby County, Tennessee, and Crittenden County, Arkansas. U.S. Geological Survey, scale 1:24,000. http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2004/2838/.
Parrish, S., and Van Arsdale, R., 2004, Faulting along the southeastern margin of the Reelfoot rift in northwestern Tennessee revealed in deep seismic reflection profiles. Seismological Research Letters, v. 75, p. 782-791.
Van Arsdale, R., 2004, Surficial geologic map of the Ellendale Quadrangle, Shelby County, Tennessee. U.S. Geological Survey, scale 1:24,000. http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2004/2836/.
Van Arsdale, R., 2004, Surficial geologic map of the Germantown Quadrangle, Shelby County, Tennessee. U.S. Geological Survey, scale 1:24,000. http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2004/2837/.
Gomberg, J., Waldron, B., Schweig, E., Hwang, H., Webbers, A., Van Arsdale, R., Tucker, K., Williams, R., Street, R., Mayne, P., Stephenson, W., Odum, J., Cramer, C., Updike, R., Hutson, S., and Bradley, M., 2003, Lithology and shear-wave velocity in Memphis, Tennessee. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, v. 93, p. 986-997.
