UA department head to pilot national geology group

"I chase old floods," said Baker, who has been at the University of Arizona since 1981.

He will be the 110th geological society president.

Baker said models of the Earth's rising climate indicate floods may become larger and more frequent than ever before.

If we want to learn how to cope with these megafloods of the future, Baker said we must first get an accurate picture of what past floods have done.

"Floods leave a record like a bullet leaves a bullet hole," Baker said.

He said the record can tell scientists the frequency, duration and volume of floods that occurred thousands of years ago.

In his search for the Earth's complete hydrological record, Baker has studied past waterways of the United States, Australia, India, Israel, other countries and even other planets.

Baker worked interpreting geological data collected on Mars and Venus - two planets that have a significant hydrological history.

He also has studied ways in which science education relates to people's perceptions of their environment.

Baker said it's important for scientists to look only at the hard evidence when studying the environment.

He said some environmental scientists try to explain the Earth's history of geological change using the most elegant theories imaginable.

But instead of making risky presumptions about the Earth's past and future, Baker said the science he practices "tries to see what the Earth has to say to us."

Baker received a geology bachelor's degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1967 and a doctorate in geology from the University of Colorado in 1971.

Before he came to the UA, Baker was a member of the University of Texas at Austin's faculty from 1971 to 1981.