J. Elmo Rawling, III

I study the landforms and landscapes left behind by the Ice Age–how they were formed, how they are changed by today’s geologic processes, and what resources they contain (such as gravel and groundwater). These projects employ tools such as active seismic surveys, structure-from-motion elevation models with drone photogrammetry, and optical age estimates that help to constrain the stratigraphy and timing of Pleistocene glacial events in Wisconsin. I’m also actively involved in mapping the Quaternary geology of Bayfield, Sawyer, Ashland, Price, and Burnett counties (1:100,000 scale), and in creating a Quaternary and bedrock elevation map of the state of Wisconsin (1:500,000 scale).

Current projects

A few projects I’m working on are:

• glacial geology in the Central Sands and Lake Superior Region,
• shoreline erosion in Lake Michigan, and
• the effects of ice cover on shoreline erosion on Lake Superior.

My current projects can be explored through this interactive map:

View interactive map

More about my work

• Investigating bluff collapse along Lake Michigan

Select publications

WGNHS Publications

• Theuerkauf, E.J., Zoet, L.K., Volpano C.A., Dodge, S.E., Hartley, B.M., Rawling III, J.E., 2024: Shore ice control on coastal geomorphic evolution in cold regions. Geomorphology 466, 109409, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2024.109409.
• Dodge, S.E., Zoet, L.K., Rawling III, J.E., Morgan-Witts, N., Theuerkauf, E.J., 2024: The effects of beach energy on sediment entrainment within the nearshore ice complex. Journal of Great Lakes Research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2024.102379.
• Prescott, J.S., Zoet, L.K., Hansen, D.H., Penprase, S.B., Rawling III, J.E., 2024: Controls on glacial kettle morphology. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 49, 5244–5253, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.6030.
• Theuerkauf, E.J., Zoet, L.K., Dodge, S.E., Tuttle, W., and Rawling III, J.E., 2023: Nearshore ice complex breakup is controlled by a balance between thermal and mechanical processes. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 1–15. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5698
• Faulkner, D.J., Rawling III, J.E., and Larson, P.H., 2023: Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology of the Eau Claire Region. in Lodge, R.W.D. (Ed.), Institute on Lake Superior Geology Proceedings, 69th Annual Meeting, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Part 2 – Field Trip Guidebooks. v.69, part 2, p.72-86.
• Dodge, S.E., Zoet, L.K., Rawling III, J.E., Theuerkauf, E.J. and Hansen, D.D. 2022: Transport properties of fast ice within the nearshore. Coastal Engineering 177, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2022.104176.
• Volpano, C.A., Zoet. L.K., Rawling III, J.E., Theuerkauf, E.J., 2022: Measuring and modelling nearshore recovery of an eroded beach in Lake Michigan, USA. Journal of Great Lakes Research 48, 633-644, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2022.03.012.
• Zoet, L.K., Rawling III, J.E., Woodard, J.B., Barrette, N., and Mickelson, D.M., 2021: Factors that contribute to the elongation of drumlins beneath the Green Bay Lobe, Laurentide Ice Sheet. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 46, 2540-2550, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.5192
• Roland, C. J., Zoet, L. K., Rawling III, J. E., and Cardiff, M., 2021: Seasonality in cold coast bluff erosion processes. Geomorphology, 374, 107520.
• Volpano, C.A., Zoet, L.K., Rawling III, J.E., Theuerkauf, E.J., and Krueger, R., 2020: Three-Dimensional Bluff Evolution in Response to Seasonal Fluctuations in Great Lakes Water Levels. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 46(6), 1533-1543.
• Krueger, R., Zoet, L.K., Rawling III, J.E., 2020: Coastal bluff evolution in response to a rapid rise in surface water level. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 125 (10).
• Carson, E.C., Attig, J.W., Rawling III, J.E., Hanson, P.R., and Dodge, S.E., 2020, Chronology of advance and recession dynamics of the southern Green Bay Lobe of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, south-central Wisconsin, USA: Quaternary Research, v. 95, p. 142-153, https://doi.org/10.1017/qua.2020.8.
• Carson, E.C., Attig, J.W., and Rawling, J.E., III, 2019, The glacial record in regions surrounding the Driftless Area, The Physical Geography and Geology of the Driftless Area: The Career and Contributions of James C. Knox, Eric C. Carson, J. Elmo Rawling, III, J. Michael Daniels, John W. Attig https://doi.org/10.1130/2019.2543(02)
• Carson, E.C., Rawling, J.E., III, Daniels, J.M., and Attig, J.W., eds., The physical geography and geology of the Driftless Area: The career and contributions of James C. Knox: Geological Society of America Special Paper 543, p. 37–50.
• Ceperley, E.G., Marcott, S.A., Rawling, J.E., III, Zoet, L.K., and Zimmerman, S.K., 2019, The role of permafrost on the morphology of an MIS 3 moraine from the southern Laurentide Ice Sheet: Geology 47, no. 5, p. 440–444.
• Zoet, L.K., Muto, A., Rawling III, J.E. and Attig, J.W. 2019: The effects of tunnel channel formation on the Green Bay Lobe, Wisconsin, USA. Geomorphology, 324, 36-47, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2018.09.021.
• Carson, E.C., Rawling III, J.E., Attig, J.W. and Bates, B.R. 2018: Late Cenozoic Evolution of the Upper Mississippi River, Stream Piracy, and Reorganization of North American Mid-Continent Drainage Systems, GSA Today 28, p. 4-11, https://doi.org/10.1130/GSATG355A.1.
• Attig J.W., and Rawling III, J.E. 2017: Influence of persistent buried ice on late glacial landscape development in part of Wisconsin’s Northern Highlands, in Kehew, A.E., and Curry, B.B., eds., Quaternary Glaciation of the Great Lakes Region: Process, Landforms, Sediments, and Chronology: Geological Society of America Special Paper 530, p. 103–114.
• Zoet L.K., and Rawling III, J.E. 2017: Analysis of a sudden bluff failure along the southwest Lake Michigan shoreline. Journal of Great Lakes Research 43, 999-1004.
• Larson E.R. and Rawling III, J.E. 2016: Developing New Sources of Proxy Climate Data from Historical Structures in the Lake Michigan-Huron Basin. Journal of Great Lakes Research 42, 328-335.

Back to top