Daniel Muhs
I study geomorphology, soils and Quaternary stratigraphy to reconstruct paleoclimates over the past two and a half million years of geologic time.
My main study areas are in the central and western USA (Mississippi Valley, Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, desert Southwest, Pacific Coast and Alaska), but I have also worked in the Caribbean, Spain and Israel. My main interests are in origin and paleoclimatic significance of dune fields, stratigraphy and paleopedology of loess, effects of long-range-transported dust on soils, the atmosphere, oceans and ecosystems, and sea level history.
Education:
University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado 1977-1980 (Ph.D., Physical geography/Geology)
University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 1973-1975 (M.S., Physical geography/Soil science)
University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 1972-1973 (B.A., Physical geography)
University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 1970-1972 (B.A., English, History)
Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa 1968-1970 (English)
Professional experience:
1995-date: Geologist, Geology and Environmental Change Science Center, USGS, Denver, CO
1985-1995: Geologist, Branch of Isotope Geology, USGS, Denver, CO
1983-1984: Soil Scientist with USGS while on leave-of-absence with the University of Wisconsin to accept National Research Council Research Associateship, Denver, Colorado.
1980-1985: Assistant and Associate Professor of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI
1978-1980, part-time Soil Scientist, U.S. Geological Survey, Branch of Central Regional Geology.
1977-1979: Instructor (while a Ph.D student), Department of Geography, University of Colorado at Boulder and University of Colorado at Denver
1975-1976: Soil Scientist, U.S. Soil Conservation Service/Iowa State University
Science and Products
Geochemical evidence for a complex origin for the Kelso dunes, Mojave National Preserve, California USA
Geochemical evidence for seasonal controls on the transportation of Holocene loess, Matanuska Valley, southern Alaska, USA
Sea level, paleogeography, and archeology on California's Northern Channel Islands
Late Quaternary sea-level history and the antiquity of mammoths (Mammuthus exilis and Mammuthus columbi), Channel Islands NationalPark, California, USA
A high-elevation, multi-proxy biotic and environmental record of MIS 6-4 from the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Snowmass Village, Colorado, USA
Interpreting the paleozoogeography and sea level history of thermally anomalous marine terrace faunas: A case study from the the last interglacial complex of San Clemente Island, California
Evidence of repeated wildfires prior to human occupation on San Nicolas Island, California
Loess records
Ecological change on California's Channel Islands from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene
Geologic setting and stratigraphy of the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Snowmass Village, Colorado
Uranium-series ages of corals, sea level history, and palaeozoogeography, Canary Islands, Spain: an exploratory study for two Quaternary interglacial periods
Landscapes of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Geochemical evidence for a complex origin for the Kelso dunes, Mojave National Preserve, California USA
Geochemical evidence for seasonal controls on the transportation of Holocene loess, Matanuska Valley, southern Alaska, USA
Sea level, paleogeography, and archeology on California's Northern Channel Islands
Late Quaternary sea-level history and the antiquity of mammoths (Mammuthus exilis and Mammuthus columbi), Channel Islands NationalPark, California, USA
A high-elevation, multi-proxy biotic and environmental record of MIS 6-4 from the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Snowmass Village, Colorado, USA
Interpreting the paleozoogeography and sea level history of thermally anomalous marine terrace faunas: A case study from the the last interglacial complex of San Clemente Island, California
Evidence of repeated wildfires prior to human occupation on San Nicolas Island, California
Loess records
Ecological change on California's Channel Islands from the Pleistocene to the Anthropocene
Geologic setting and stratigraphy of the Ziegler Reservoir fossil site, Snowmass Village, Colorado
Uranium-series ages of corals, sea level history, and palaeozoogeography, Canary Islands, Spain: an exploratory study for two Quaternary interglacial periods
Landscapes of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.