Bibek Giri
Degrees Held:
MS (Geology), Central Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University, Nepal, 2016-2018
B.Sc. (Geology), Tri-Chandra Multiple Campus, Nepal, 2011-2015
Degree Sought:
PhD, Structural Geology and Tectonics
Email Address:
Advisor:
Dr. Mary Hubbard
Research Project:
Timing, genesis, and tectonics of the Benkar Cross Fault, Eastern Nepal
My areas of research are structural geology and tectonics. Currently, I am working on a cross-fault (the Benkar Fault) near Mt. Everest in the eastern Nepal Himalaya. Cross-faults are geological structures that cut a mountain range at a high angle. Through my research, I aim to understand how and when this fault was formed and what role it played in the regional tectonics. The methods I use include field mapping, structural/kinematic analysis, petrology, petrography, and thermochronology.
Research and Professional Experience:
A member of “The 2019 National Geographic Mount Everest Science Expedition” science team, 2019
Summer Internship at National Geographic, Washington DC (06/019-08/019): I was an intern with the “Science and Exploration, Life at the Extremes” initiative team, working under Dr. Aurora Elmore.
Instructor for ‘433 Tectonics, Fall 2022’ under supervision of Prof. Mary Hubbard, Ph.D. Enhancement Award.
Mineral prospecting in the Cordilleran Belt Supergroup (Idaho) followed by map preparation and report writing, Childs Geoscience Inc., July 2021
Teaching Assistant (09/2018-present), Montana State University for courses: Earth System Science, Structural Geology, and Dinosaurs.
Geological and Engineering Geological mapping for the Naumure Multipurpose Project and the Karnali Stage 1 Hydropower Project (western Nepal), Environment and Resource Management Consultant, April-May 2018
Work for Field Survey and Ground Modeling, “The Project for Assessment of Earthquake Disaster Risk for the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal”, OYO International, September 2015
Publications and Presentations:
Peer-reviewed publications
Giri, B. and Hubbard, M.S., (2021). Lateral heterogeneity in convergent mountain belt settings. AGU Books.
Hubbard, M., Mukul, M., Gajurel, A. P., Ghosh, A., Srivastava, V., Giri, B., Seifert, N., & Mendoza, M. M. (2021). Orogenic Segmentation and Its Role in Himalayan Mountain Building. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9(259).
Gajurel, A.P., Hubbard, M. S., Giri, B., Elmore, A. C., Maka, S., Rafter, P. A., Putnam, A. E., Elvin, S., Tait, A., & Mayeswki, P. A. (2021). Climatic and tectonic significance of Taboche Lake, Khumbu Region, Nepal. iScience, 24(5), 102418.
Wesnousky, S. G., Kumahara, Y., Chamlagain, D., Pierce, I. K., Reedy, T., Angster, S. J., & Giri, B. (2017). Large paleoearthquake timing and displacement near Damak in eastern Nepal on the Himalayan Frontal Thrust.Geophysical Research Letters, 44(16), 8219-8226.
Miner, K. R., & 21 others (2020). An overview of physical risks in the Mt. Everest region. One Earth, 3(5), 547-550.
Conference Presentations
Hubbard, M.S., Giri, B., Mukul, M., Gajurel, A.P., Ghosh, A., Srivastava, V., Seifert, N. and Mendoza, M., Orogenic segmentation and the role of cross faults in the Himalaya, 2021.
Giri, B., and Hubbard, M.S., Cross faults and lateral heterogeneity in mountain belts, The Geological Society of America Annual Meeting, 2021.
Giri, B., Gajurel, A.P.; Hubbard, M.S. and Nelson, M., IRSL ages and significance of Late Pleistocene surficial sand deposits in the lower Khumbu region, Nepal, The American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting, 2020.
Gajurel* A.P., Hubbard, M.S., Giri, B., Maka, S., Rafter P.A., Putnam, A.E., Elmore A.C., S. ElvinS.,Tait A., and Mayewski P.A., Sedimentology of glacial lake core from Gokyo Valley, Everest Region, Nepal, The AGU Fall meeting, 2020.
Gajurel, A.P.; Hubbard, M.S., Giri, B., Maka, S., Shrestha, B., Ghimire, A., Putman, A.P., and Mayewski, P.A., Assessing Environmental Variability in High Mountain Region from Sediment Core of Gokyo Lake, Eastern Nepal, The AGU Fall Meeting, 9-13 December 2019.
Clark, M., Zekkos, D., Roback, K., Medwedeff, W., Greenwood, W., West, A.J., Chamlagain, D., and Giri, B.*, Landslide Distribution Relative to the 2015 Mw 7.8 Gorkha Earthquake, Nepal, The 11th Asian Regional Conference of IAEG, November 2017.
West, A.J., Quackenbush, P., Dahlquist, M., Clark, M., Zekkos, D., Chamlagain, D., and Giri, B.*, Tectonic Control on Landsliding and Influence of Debris Flows on Landscape Evolution Revealed by 2015 Gorkha Earthquake, The 11th Asian Regional Conference of IAEG, November 2017.
Chamlagain, D., Lanzo, G., Poovarodom, N., and Giri, B., Earthquake Geotechnical Characterization Kathmandu Valley with Reference to the 2015 Gorkha Earthquake (Mw7. 8), 10th ASNEngr Annual Conference 2017.
Chamlagain, D., Lanzo, G., Pagliaroli, A., Poovarodom, N., Gautam, D., and Giri, B., Cyclic Geotechnical Characterization of Soils from Kathmandu Valley with Reference to 2015 Gorkha Seismic Sequence, Lessons learned, future roadmap for safer community and sustainable development, Department of Mines and Geology, 2016.
Honors and Awards:
Ph.D. Enhancement Award, Montana State University, Fall 2021
Donald L. Smith Memorial Scholarship, via Montana State University, April 2021
Earth Sciences General Scholarship, Department of Earth Sciences, April 2021
Research and Exploration Early Career Grant ($10k), National Geographic, February 2021
Graduate Student Research Grant (Robert D. Hatcher Research Award), Geological Society of America, May 2020
Graduate School Dean’s Excellence Scholarship, Montana State University, 2020
Jagdishwar-Sashi Award for Excellence in Geo-science, Nepal Geological Society, 2019
Scholarship for Excellent Student, Central Department of Geology, Tribhuvan University, 2017a, 2017b and 2018
Chinese Academy of Sciences Thesis Grant, University Grant Commission, Tribhuvan University, 2017/18
Mitra Rai Memorial Scholarship, Nepal Geological Society, 2017