ProfessorJamie Howarth

I am an Earth scientist interested in how earthquakes, storms and human activities reshape landscapes and ecosystems over timescales beyond direct observation. My research combines sedimentary records from lakes and oceans with numerical modelling to understand the processes driving environmental change.

My work focuses on three connected areas: the behaviour and hazard of plate-boundary faults; the response of mountain landscapes to earthquakes and extreme storms; and the impacts of natural and anthropogenic disturbance on ecosystems and carbon cycling. I use sedimentology, geophysics, geochronology, palaeoecology and environmental DNA to turn natural archives into quantitative records of past hazards and environmental change.

I lead large interdisciplinary research collaborations connecting fundamental Earth science with practical outcomes. I co-lead the NZ$14.5 million Ngā Ngaru Wakapuke programme and have contributed to securing more than NZ$65 million in external research funding.

My teaching is similarly research-led and applied, spanning Earth science, natural hazards and environmental change. I focus on authentic research experiences, quantitative and critical-thinking skills, and connecting students with professional practice, mātauranga Māori and contemporary environmental challenges. Postgraduate supervision is a particularly important part of my teaching and research practice, with 20 Masters and PhD completions to date.