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 an Eolian sand dam across the North and South Platte rivers in Nebraska
Dating marine terraces with relative-age and correlated-age methods
Geochemical variations in Peoria Loess of western Iowa indicate paleowinds of midcontinental North America during last glaciation
An evaluation of methods for identifying and interpreting buried soils in late Quaternary loess in Alaska: A section in Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1998
Sediment magnetic data and thermomagnetic determinations of Holcene and Pleistocene soils and their parent materials from Zanesville, Ohio; contributions to Quaternary paleoclimate studies of Midcontinent loess deposits
200,000 years of climate change recorded in eolian sediments of the High Plains of eastern Colorado and western Nebraska
Sand dunes of the northern Great Plains of Canada and the United States
Late Quaternary loess in northeastern Colorado: Part I - Age and paleoclimatic significance
Late Quaternary loess in northeastern Colorado: Part II - Pb isotopic evidence for the variability of loess sources
Geology for a changing world; a science strategy for the Geologic Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, 2000-2010
Sediment magnetic data and thermomagnetic determinations of Holocene and Pleistocene soils and their parent materials from Bellevue, Scarpy County, Nebraska; contributions to Quaternary paleoclimate studies of Midcontinent loess deposits
Sediment magnetic data from the Elba Cut, Fullerton Canal, Howard County, Nebraska; contributions to Quaternary paleoclimatic studies of Midcontinent loess deposits
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 an Eolian sand dam across the North and South Platte rivers in Nebraska
Dating marine terraces with relative-age and correlated-age methods
Geochemical variations in Peoria Loess of western Iowa indicate paleowinds of midcontinental North America during last glaciation
An evaluation of methods for identifying and interpreting buried soils in late Quaternary loess in Alaska: A section in Geologic studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1998
Sediment magnetic data and thermomagnetic determinations of Holcene and Pleistocene soils and their parent materials from Zanesville, Ohio; contributions to Quaternary paleoclimate studies of Midcontinent loess deposits
200,000 years of climate change recorded in eolian sediments of the High Plains of eastern Colorado and western Nebraska
Sand dunes of the northern Great Plains of Canada and the United States
Late Quaternary loess in northeastern Colorado: Part I - Age and paleoclimatic significance
Late Quaternary loess in northeastern Colorado: Part II - Pb isotopic evidence for the variability of loess sources
Geology for a changing world; a science strategy for the Geologic Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, 2000-2010
Sediment magnetic data and thermomagnetic determinations of Holocene and Pleistocene soils and their parent materials from Bellevue, Scarpy County, Nebraska; contributions to Quaternary paleoclimate studies of Midcontinent loess deposits
Sediment magnetic data from the Elba Cut, Fullerton Canal, Howard County, Nebraska; contributions to Quaternary paleoclimatic studies of Midcontinent loess deposits
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.