Brian Horton holds a joint appointment with the Department of Geological Sciences (Professor) and the Institute for Geophysics (Research Professor) at UT-Austin.

Brian's research focuses on sedimentary basin development and mountain building processes. He utilizes sedimentology, stratigraphy, geochronology, structural geology, and geochemistry to understand modern and ancient sedimentation, river drainage patterns, sediment provenance, and orogenesis.

Recent and ongoing projects involve graduate students, postdoctoral associates, and diverse external collaborators working on problems in the Andes and major river systems of South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia), as well as basin systems in the Middle East (Zagros), central Asia (Tibetan plateau, Mongolia), and western North America (Rocky Mountains).

Research Interests
- Modern and ancient nonmarine depositional systems
- Dynamics of sedimentary basins and orogenic systems
- Sediment provenance, routing systems, and river network evolution
- Integration of geochronology and paleoaltimetry with basin analysis
- Tectonic and climatic interactions in thrust belts and foreland basins
- Mountain building and plateau construction along convergent plate margins