Download my CV here

Also see my Google Scholar profile or ORCID pages for publication lists that may be more up to date.

Education

• 2017 Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia
  • Dissertation: Sedimentology, hydrology, and climatic environment of alluvial fans on Earth and Mars, Advisor: Professor Alan D. Howard
• 2010 Bachelor of Science, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California at Santa Cruz

Appointments

• 2021- Present: Research Scientist, Planetary Science Institute
• 2020 - Present: Research Associate, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
• 2020 - 2020: Associate Research Scientist, Planetary Science Institute
• 2017 – 2020: Post-Doctoral Research Geologist, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
• 2015 – 2017: Research Fellow, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
• 2011 – 2015: Research and Teaching Assistant, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
• 2010 – 2011: Research Associate, NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA

Awards and Honors

• 2016 University of Virginia (UVA) Dept. of Env. Sciences Chair’s Award
• 2015 UVA Raven Honor Society; UVA Dept. of Env. Sciences Moore Research Award; Geologic Society of America Graduate Student Research Grant; National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) Seed Grant Recipient
• 2014 UVA Dept. of Env. Sciences Exploratory Research Award
• 2014 – 2015 Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Representative to the UVA Honor Committee

Research Grants

• 2024: Creating a Mars valley database using CTX data
  • NASA PDART Program
  • A.M. Morgan (PI), T.A. Goudge (Co-I, UT Austin), S.A. Wilson (Co-I, Smithsonian), A. Rudolph (Co-I, Smithsonian).
• 2024: Investigating controls on martian alluvial fan formation
  • NASA Mars Data Analysis Program
  • A.M. Morgan (PI), M.C. Palucis (Co-I, Dartmouth), K. Lutz (Grad student, Dartmouth).
• 2024: Composition of Martian Fans, Basin Deposits, and Watersheds Using VNIR Spectroscopy
  • NASA Mars Data Analysis Program
  • J.T. Haber (PI, Smithsonian), A.M. Morgan (Co-I), R.P. Irwin III (Co-I, Smithsonian), B.H.N. Horgan (Collaborator, Perdue), S.A. Wilson (Collaborator, Smithsonian).
• 2021: Reconstructing basaltic sediment transport on Mars using terrestrial analogues
  • NASA Solar Systems Workings Program
  • A.M. Morgan (PI), M.C. Palucis (Co-I, Dartmouth), R.A. Craddock (Co-I, Smithsonian)
• 2021: Timing and spatial variability of post-Noachian fluvial erosion on Mars
  • NASA Mars Data Analysis Program
  • A.M. Morgan (Co-I), R.P. Irwin III (PI, Smithsonian)
• 2021: Do delta deposits around the martian crustal dichotomy record an ancient northern ocean?
  • NASA Mars Data Analysis Program
  • A.M. Morgan (Co-I), M.C. Palucis (PI, Dartmouth), Rivera-Hernandez (Co-I, Georgia Tech)
• 2020: Linking alluvial fan morphology and sedimentology with formation processes via Martian analog studies in the Atacama Desert, Chile
  • NASA Solar Systems Workings Program
  • A.M. Morgan (PI), M.C. Palucis (Co-I, Dartmouth), R.M.E. Williams (Co-I, PSI), R.A. Craddock (Co-I, Smithsonian)
• 2019: Reconstructing basaltic sediment transport on Mars using a Hawaiian Analogue
  • Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Studies Program
  • A.M. Morgan (PI), R.A. Craddock (Co-I, Smithsonian)
• 2016: High-Resolution Mapping and Geomorphological Studies of Martian Valley Networks
  • NASA Mars Data Analysis Program
  • A.M Morgan (Post-doc; wrote and executed proposal), R.A. Craddock (PI, Smithsonian)
• 2015: Investigating alluvial fan formation processes and the implications for Mars’ climate
  • Smithsonian Institution Earth and Space Sciences Predoctoral Fellowship
  • A.M. Morgan (PI), R.A. Craddock (Co-I, Smithsonian)
• 2015: Characterizing the Sedimentology and Hydrology of Death Valley Alluvial Fans through a Field Analogue and Landform Evolution Modeling
  • University of Virginia Department of Environmental Sciences Moore Research Award
• 2015: “Modeling alluvial fan avulsion”
  • Geologic Society of America Graduate Student Research Grant
• 2014: Investigating Flow Processes and Sedimentology in the Death Valley Region
  • University of Virginia Department of Environmental Sciences Exploratory Research Award

Publications

Please email me if you would like a PDF version of any of these papers.

*Indicates student mentees †Indicates equal author contribution

Journal Publications

• R. Rotz, A.M. Milewski, R.A. Craddock, A.M. Morgan, D.S. Leigh (2024). Fluvial-Lacustrine Influences on Linear Dune Erosion at Lake Caroline in the Simpson Desert of Australia. Geomorphology 466. DOI:10.1016/j.geomorph.2024.109438
• A.G. Galofre, A.D. Howard, A.M. Morgan, S.A. Wilson, J.M. Moore (2024). Glacial sculpting of a martian cratered landscape on the northeastern flank of the Hellas basin. Icarus 420. DOI:10.1016/j.icarus.2024.116211
• K.A. Pearson, E.Z Noe Dobrea, D. Zhao, A. Altinok, A.M. Morgan (2024). Mapping Brain Terrain Regions on Mars Using Deep Learning. The Planetary Science Journal 5(7). DOI:10.3847/PSJ/ad5673
• T.A. Goudge, A.M. Morgan, G. Stucky de Quay, C.I. Fassett (2024). Spatial patterns of valley network erosion on early Mars. Icarus 421. DOI:10.1016/j.icarus.2024.116224
• A.M. Morgan (2024). New maximum constraints on the era of martian valley network formation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 626. DOI:10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118509
• M.C. Palucis, A.M. Morgan, J.V. Strauss, F. Rivera-Hernandez, J.A. Marshall, E. Menio, R. Miller (2023). Rates and processes controlling periglacial alluvial fan formation: Implications for martian fans. GSA Bulletin. 135(3-4). DOI:10.1130/B36459.1
• A.M. Morgan, S.A Wilson, A.D Howard (2022). Geospatial data from a global survey of martian fan-shaped sedimentary landforms. Data in Brief 44. DOI:10.1016/j.dib.2022.108494
• A.M. Morgan, S.A Wilson, A.D Howard (2022). The global distribution and morphologic characteristics of fan-shaped sedimentary landforms on Mars. Icarus 385. DOI:10.1016/j.icarus.2022.115137
• E.S. Kite, M.A. Mischna, B. Fan, A.M. Morgan, S.A. Wilson, M.I. Richardson (2022). Changing spatial distribution of water flow charts major change in Mars’s greenhouse effect. Science Advances 8(21). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo5894
• S.J. Holo, S.J., E.S. Kite, S.A. Wilson, A.M. Morgan (2021). The timing of alluvial fan formation on Mars. Planetary Science Journal 2(5). DOI:10.3847/PSJ/ac25ed
• T.A. Goudge†, A.M. Morgan†, G.S. de Quay, C.I. Fassett (2021). The importance of lake breach floods for valley incision on early Mars. Nature 597. DOI:10.1038/s41586-021-038601
• A.D. Howard, Wilson, A.M. Morgan, J.M. Moore, O.L. White (2021). Light-toned deposit in the northeastern Hellas basin formed by terrain-conforming airfall sedimentation. Icarus 360. DOI:10.1016/j.icarus.2021.114356
• S.A. Wilson, A.M. Morgan, A.D. Howard, J.A. Grant (2021). The global distribution of craters with alluvial fans and deltas on Mars. Geophysical Research Letters 48(4). DOI:10.1029/2020GL091653
• M.P. Pfeiffer, A.M. Morgan, A. Heimsath, T. Jordan, A. D. Howard, R. Amundson (2021). A century scale rainfall in the absolute Atacama Desert: landscape response and implications for past and future rainfall magnitudes. Quaternary Science Reviews 254. DOI:10.1016/j.quascirev.2021.106797
• A.M. Morgan, R.A. Craddock (2019). Assessing the accuracy of paleodischarge estimates for rivers on Mars. Geophysical Research Letters 46(21). DOI:10.1029/2019GL084921
• A.M. Morgan, R.A. Craddock (2017). Depositional processes of alluvial fans along the Hilina Pali fault scarp, Island of Hawaii. Geomorphology 296. DOI:10.1016/j.geomorph.2017.08.028
• J.M. Moore, A.D. Howard, A.M. Morgan (2014). The Landscape of Titan as Witness to its Climate Evolution. Journal of Geophysical Research-Planets 119. DOI:10.1002/2014JE004608
• A.M. Morgan, A.D. Howard, D.E.J. Hobley, J.M. Moore, W.E. Dietrich, R.M.E. Williams, D.M. Burr, J.A. Grant, S.A. Wilson, Y. Matsubara (2014). Sedimentology and climatic environment of alluvial fans in the martian Saheki crater and a comparison with terrestrial fans in the Atacama Desert. Icarus 229. DOI:10.1016/j.icarus.2013.11.007
• D. Durda, N. Movshovitz, D. Richardson, E. Asphaug, A. Morgan, A.R. Rawlings, C. Vest (2009). Experimental determination of the coefficient of restitution for meter scale granite spheres. Icarus 211. DOI:10.1016/j.icarus.2010.09.003

Books and book chapters

• J. Radebaugh† and A.M. Morgan† (book under contract). Erosion, Deposition, and Weathering Across Solar System. Elsevier.
• D. Domingue† and A.M. Morgan† (chapter under contract). Weathering processes across the Solar System. In: J. Radebaugh and A.M. Morgan (eds.) Erosion, Deposition, and Weathering Across Solar System. Elsevier.
• M.C. Palucis† and A.M. Morgan† (2020). Extraterrestrial Fluvial Environments. In: J.F. Shroder (Ed.) Treatise on Geomorphology, 2nd Edition. Wiley. DOI: 10.1016/B978-0-12-818234-5.00006-7

Mentoring Experience

Graduate students

• 2021 – present Emma Rogers (Dartmouth College): PhD Co-advisor
• 2024 – present Kathrine Lutz (Dartmouth College): PhD Co-advisor
• 2021 – 2024 Noemi Ortega-Dominguez: M.S. mentor (now at Malin Space Science Systems)

Undergraduate interns

• 2017 Charlie Detelich (NC State) (now Ph.D. student at Cornell)
• 2018 Nhut Nguyen (Santa Monica College) (now at UC Berkeley)
• 2019 Sophia Sanders (University of Georgia) (now at SC DHEC)
• 2020 Nicole Law (Mercyhurst University) (now at Argo AI)

Teaching Experience

• EVSC 2800: Fundamentals of Geology (Four semesters; TA)
• EVSC 2801: Fundamentals of Geology Laboratory (Four semesters; Instructor of Record)
• EVSC 4890: Planetary Geology/Astronomy (Three semesters; TA)
• EVSC 4891: Planetary Geology/Astronomy Laboratory (Three semesters; Instructor of Record)

Professional Service and Outreach

2021 – Present Editor, Planetary Exploration Newsletter (PEN)

Peer review

• Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Earth Surface Dynamics, Geomorphology, Geophysical Research Letters, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, Geosciences, Icarus, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets, and Nature Communications, Remote Sensing

Grant review
Not all panels are listed due to confidentiality concerns
NASA

• Group Chief: Future Investigators in NASA Earth and Space Science and Technology (FINESST)
• Executive Secretary: Lunar Data Analysis Program (LDAP)
• Panelist: Cassini Data Analysis Program (CDAP), New Frontiers Data Analysis Program (NFDAP), Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools (PDART), Solar System Workings (SSW)

NSF

• External reviewer: Geomorphology & Land-use Dynamics (GLD)

Meeting organization

• 2024 Program Committee, Geological Society of America Connects (Annual Meeting)
• 2018 – 2021 Program Committee, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference
• 2016 – 2023 Session Chair, AGU Fall Meeting – Planetary Sediment Transport
• 2016 – present Session Chair, various sessions at LPSC
• 2017 – 2022 AGU OSPA & LPSC Dwornik Award judge

Scientific society leadership

• 2024 – Present Executive board member, Geological Society of America Planetary Geology Division
• 2023 – Present Member-at-Large (Quaternary Geology & Geomorphology), Geological Society of America Grants Committee
• 2015 – 2017 Graduate Student Representative to AGU Planetary Science Section

Outreach

• 2021 – 2024 Participating Scientist, Scientist in Every Florida School
• 2021 – 2024 Participating Scientist and Activity Leader, University of Florida Natural Resources Diversity Initiative Afterschool Science Clubs
• 2015 – 2020 Various public outreach activities at the National Air and Space Museum

Invited Talks

• May 4, 2023: Department of Earth Science, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH
• June 28, 2022: Florida Space Institute, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
• January 14, 2021: Department of Geological Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
• March 11, 2020: Geological Society of Washington, Cosmos Club, Washington, DC
• November 13, 2019: Solar System Exploration Division, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, MD
• October 30, 2019: Department of Mineral Sciences, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
• July 19, 2019: Apollo 50 Festival, National Mall, Washington, DC
• October 18, 2018: Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia

Conference Presentations

Only first authored or student-authored presentations are listed.

• Morgan, A. M. (2022) Evidence for prolonged and episodic fluvial activity recorded in martian valley network morphology. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, The Woodlands, TX
• Morgan, A. M., Wilson, S. A., Howard, A. D. (2022) Geographic distribution and morphological characteristics of fan-shaped sedimentary landforms on Mars. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, The Woodlands, TX
• Morgan, A. M. (2021) Investigation of some valley networks and their associated drainage basins in western Terra Sabaea. AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA
• Morgan, A. M., Goudge, T. A., Stucky de Quay, G., Fassett, C. I. (2021) Paleolake Outlet Valley Incision and the Early Mars Landscape. AGU Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA
• Morgan, A. M. et al. (2021) Mars-analogue alluvial fans in the Chilean Atacama desert. Workshop on Terrestrial Analogs for Planetary Exploration. Virtual.
• Morgan, A.M., Sanders, SC, Craddock, R.A. (2020) Runoff Production on Early Mars. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, The Woodlands, TX
• Morgan, A.M., Wilson, S.A. (2019) Utilizing a global database to explore morphologic trends of martian alluvial fans. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, The Woodlands, TX
• Morgan, A.M., Craddock, R.A. (2019) How Accurate are Paleodischarge Estimates for Martian Rivers?. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, The Woodlands, TX
• Morgan, A.M., Wilson, S.A. (2019) Late Amazonian alluvial fan formation in southern Acidalia Planitia, Mars. AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA
• Morgan, A.M., Craddock, R.A. (2018) Morphometric analyses of every martian valley. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, IN
• Morgan, A.M., Wilson, S.A., Howard, A.D. (2018) Global distribution of alluvial fans and deltas on Mars. Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, IN”
• Morgan, A.M., Wilson, S.A., Howard, A.D., Craddock, R.A., Grant, J.A. (2018) Global distribution of alluvial fans and deltas on Mars. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, The Woodlands, TX
• Morgan, A.M., Craddock, R.A. (2017) Mars-analog alluvial fans along the Hilina Pali. Geological Society of America Cordilleran Meeting, Honolulu, HI
• Morgan, A.M., Howard, A.D., Moore, J.M., Craddock, R.A. (2017) Landform Evolution Modeling of Fine-Grained Alluvial Fan Sedimentation on Mars Utilizing an Atacama Desert Analog. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, The Woodlands, TX
• Morgan, A.M., Craddock, R.A. (2016) Mars analogue alluvial fans along the Hilina Pali fault system, Island of Hawaíi. AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA
• Morgan, A.M., Howard, A.D., Moore, J.M. (2015) Constraints on Environmental Conditions on Mars during Periods of Alluvial Fan Formation: Results from Landform Evolution Modeling. AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA
• Morgan, A.M., Howard, A.D., Moore, J.M., Beyer, R.A. (2013) Simulating Fine grained Alluvial Fan Sedimentation on Mars. AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA
• Morgan, A.M., Howard, A.D., Hobley, D., Matsubara, Y., Moore, J.M., Parsons, R., Dietrich, W., Williams, R.M.E., Burr, D., Hayes, A. (2013) Mars-analog alluvial fans in the Chilean Atacama Desert. International Association of Geomorphology, Paris
• Morgan, A.M., Howard, A.D., Hobley, D., Matsubara, Y., Moore, J.M., Parsons, R., Williams, R.M.E., Burr, D., Hayes, A., Dietrich, W. (2013) Alluvial Fans of Northern Chile as an Analog to Mars. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, The Woodlands, TX
• Morgan, A.M., Howard, A.D. (2013) Sedimentology and Inferred Climatic Environment of the Alluvial Fans in Saheki Crater, Mars. Amtrak Club, Baltimore, MD
• Morgan, A.M., Howard, A.D., Moore, J.M., Beyer, R.A. (2012) Episode (s) of intense alluvial deposition during an era of drought on Mars: Evidence from fans at Saheki (and Gale?). AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA
• Morgan, A.M., Beyer, R.A., Howard, A.D., Moore, J.M. (2012) The alluvial fans of Saheki crater. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, The Woodlands, TX
• Morgan, A.M., Howard, A.D., Hobley, D.D., Moore, J.M., Beyer, R.A. (2012) Intense fluvial deposition during an era of drought on Mars: Evidence from fans at Saheki (and Gale?). AGU Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA
• Morgan, A.M., Beyer, R.A., Howard, A.D., Moore, J.M. (2011) Simulating the Formation of Large Alluvial Fans on Mars. Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, The Woodlands, TX