41 Philosophy of Extreme Events and Landscape Evolution on Earth and Other Planets: Thinking Geologically in the Spirit of Victor Baker

This session highlights Victor Baker’s contributions to Earth-based and planetary research on catastrophic events in shaping landscapes and the role of outrageous hypotheses in scientific inquiry. Presentations explore these transformative influences on understanding surface processes.

Sunday, 19 October 2025
1:30 PM - 5:30 PM
HBGCC, 213AB

Participants

• Chair Tao Liu
• Chair Lisa Ely
• Chair Virginia Gulick

Presentations

• 1:35 PM
  Beyond Deep Time: The Early 19th Century Recognition of Planetary, Biotic, and Cosmic Evolution
  Alan Lester, University of Colorado, Boulder, Boulder, Colorado
  411959 (Technical Sessions)
• 1:50 PM
  Six Decades of (Sometimes Outrageous) Geological Hypothesizing about Catastrophic Flooding
  Victor Baker, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
  413148 (Technical Sessions)
• 2:10 PM
  Geomorphic Effects of Major Floods – Integrating Ancient, Modern and Experimental Data
  Piret Plink-Bjorklund, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado and Mark Hansford, Eden GeoPower, Vancouver, BC and Haipeng Li, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, Sichuan and Kenya Ono, INPEX, Tokio and Amanda Castillo-lopez, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado and Nathan Lenssen, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado and Arielle Hutson, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado
  413961 (Technical Sessions)
• 2:25 PM
  Fluvial and Catastrophic Flood Activity Late in Mars Geologic History: Implications for Late Paleoclimate Changes?
  Virginia Gulick, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ and Rowan Huang, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
  414632 (Technical Sessions)
• 2:40 PM
  Eroded basins in the Channeled Scablands: Evidence for extensive food erosion
  Rowan Huang, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ and Mackenzie Mills, Washington Water Science Center, Tacoma, WA and Virginia Gulick, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ and Ruby Fulford, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
  413690 (Technical Sessions)
• 2:55 PM
  Arctic gullies as an analog to Martian Lowlands gully formation
  Rowan Huang, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ and Virginia Gulick, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
  413698 (Technical Sessions)
• 3:10 PM
  Landscape Change After a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood in the Mt. Everest Region, Nepal
  Lucia Manatschal, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC and Karl Wegmann, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC and Basant Bhandari, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu and Lewis Owen, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
  412686 (Technical Sessions)
• 3:25 PM
  Quantum Tunneling in Late Heavy Bombardment Impact-Generated Nanofracture Networks as a Pathway to Abiogenesis
  J. Alexis Rodriguez, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
  414956 (Technical Sessions)