Mark Bowen

Mark Bowen is an Assistant Professor of Soil Geomorphology and Physical Geography at the Department of Geography, Minnesota State University, Mankato. He serves as Co-Director of the Earth Systems Laboratory. His research focuses on soil-landscape linkages, Quaternary environmental change, and agricultural landscapes, particularly on the Great Plains. He employs field, lab, and GIS techniques to study paleoenvironmental processes and soil-geomorphic interactions.

Education:

• PhD (2011), Geography, University of Kansas
• MS (2004), Resource Planning, Missouri State University
• BS (2000), Geography, Missouri State University

His research interests include soils, geomorphology, Quaternary environmental change, and the Anthropocene. He investigates how human activities and climatic shifts impact soil formation, erosion, and landscape evolution in agricultural regions. Key topics include playa wetlands as archives of environmental change and their role in aquifer recharge dynamics.

Labs & Teams: Co-Director of the Earth Systems Laboratory, which integrates interdisciplinary approaches to study earth system interactions and human-environment dynamics.

Teaching: Teaches courses such as Soil Geomorphology, Soil Conservation, and Earth Transformed, emphasizing field-based learning and GIS applications.