Marisa C. Palucis

Marisa C. Palucis is an Associate Professor of Earth Sciences at Dartmouth College, specializing in planetary geomorphology and sediment transport. She leads a research group investigating landscape evolution under changing climates, with a focus on Mars and Arctic systems. Her work integrates field studies, physical experiments, and modeling to understand fluvial processes, debris flows, and periglacial dynamics.

Education:

• B.S., University of South Carolina, Columbia
• Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley

Research Interests: Process geomorphology, planetary geology, sediment transport mechanics, debris flow initiation, Arctic landscape response to climate change, and Martian hydrology. Her current NSF-funded project explores how warming affects permafrost-dominated landscapes, linking terrestrial and extraterrestrial processes.

Group & Collaborations: Advises 6 current graduate students and 9 past advisees. Collaborates with institutions including Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, and the University of Delaware. Active in NASA-related research and planetary exploration initiatives.

Grants & Funding: Collaborative NSF grant on Arctic geomorphic responses to climate change with Jill Marshall and Justin Strauss.

Labs & Teams: Directs the Dartmouth Planetary Geomorphology Group, which combines fieldwork (e.g., Arctic Canada, Death Valley) with experimental flume studies and remote sensing analysis.