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
Filter Total Items: 163
Unprecedented last-glacial mass accumulation rates determined by luminescence dating of loess from western Nebraska
A high-resolution chronology for Peoria (last glacial period) Loess from three sites in Nebraska, midcontinental North America, is determined by applying optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to 35-50 ??m quartz. At Bignell Hill, Nebraska, an OSL age of 25,000 yr near the contact of Peoria Loess with the underlying Gilman Canyon Formation shows that dust accumulation occurred...
Authors
H.M. Roberts, Daniel R. Muhs, A.G. Wintle, G.A.T. Duller, E. Arthur Bettis
Marine terraces, sea level history and Quaternary tectonics of the San Andreas fault on the coast of California
No abstract available.
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, C. Prentice, D.J. Merrits
Mid-Holocene climates of the Americas: a dynamical response to changed seasonality
Simulations of the climatic response to mid-Holocene (6 ka BP) orbital forcing with two coupled ocean–atmosphere models (FOAM and CSM) show enhancement of monsoonal precipitation in parts of the American Southwest, Central America and northernmost South America during Northern Hemisphere summer. The enhanced onshore flow that brings precipitation into Central America is caused by a...
Authors
S. P. Harrison, J.-E. Kutzbach, Z. Liu, Patrick J. Bartlein, Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, Daniel R. Muhs, I.C. Prentice, R.S. Thompson
Quaternary loess-Paleosol sequences as examples of climate-driven sedimentary extremes
No abstract available.
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis
Eolian sand transport pathways in the southwestern United States: Importance of the Colorado River and local sources
Geomorphologists have long recognized that eolian sand transport pathways extend over long distances in desert regions. Along such pathways, sediment transport by wind can surmount topographic obstacles and cross major drainages. Recent studies have suggested that three distinct eolian sand transport pathways exist (or once existed) in the Mojave and Sonoran Desert regions of the...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, R. T. Reynolds, J. Been, G. Skipp
Last Glacial loess in the conterminous USA
The conterminous United States contains an extensive and generally well-studied record of Last Glacial loess. The loess occurs in diverse physiographic provinces, and under a wide range of climatic and ecological conditions. Both glacial and non-glacia lloess sources are present, and many properties of the loess vary systematically with distance from loess sources. United States' mid...
Authors
E. Arthur Bettis, Daniel R. Muhs, Helen M. Roberts, Ann G. Wintle
A late quaternary record of eolian silt deposition in a maar lake, St. Michael Island, western Alaska
Recent stratigraphic studies in central Alaska have yielded the unexpected finding that there is little evidence for full-glacial (late Wisconsin) loess deposition. Because the loess record of western Alaska is poorly exposed and not well known, we analyzed a core from Zagoskin Lake, a maar lake on St. Michael Island, to determine if a full-glacial eolian record could be found in that...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, T. A. Ager, J. Been, J.P. Bradbury, Walter E. Dean
Stratigraphy and palaeoclimatic significance of Late Quaternary loess-palaeosol sequences of the Last Interglacial-Glacial cycle in central Alaska
Loess is one of the most widespread subaerial deposits in Alaska and adjacent Yukon Territory and may have a history that goes back 3 Ma. Based on mineralogy and major and trace element chemistry, central Alaskan loess has a composition that is distinctive from other loess bodies of the world, although it is quartz-dominated. Central Alaskan loess was probably derived from a variety of...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, T. A. Ager, E. Arthur Bettis, J. McGeehin, J.M. Been, J. E. Beget, M.J. Pavich, Thomas W. Stafford, D.A.S.P. Stevens
Last interglacial climates
The last interglacial, commonly understood as an interval with climate as warm or warmer than today, is represented by marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e, which is a proxy record of low global ice volume and high sea level. It is arbitrarily dated to begin at approximately 130,000 yr B.P. and end at 116,000 yr B.P. with the onset of the early glacial unit MIS 5d. The age of the stage is...
Authors
G.J. Kukla, M.L. Bender, J. -L. de Beaulieu, G. C. Bond, Wallace S. Broecker, P. Cleveringa, J.E. Gavin, T.D. Herbert, J. Imbrie, J. Jouzel, L.D. Keigwin, Kathy L. Knudsen, J.F. McManus, J. Merkt, Daniel R. Muhs, H. Muller, R.Z. Poore, S.C. Porter, G. Seret, N. J. Shackleton, C. Turner, P.C. Tzedakis, Isaac J. Winograd
Evidence for the timing and duration of the last interglacial period from high-precision uranium-series ages of corals on tectonically stable coastlines
The last interglacial period has a timing and duration that can be estimated from U-series dating of emergent, coral-bearing deposits on tectonically stable coastlines. High-precision dating from Bermuda, the Bahamas, Hawaii, and Australia suggests that the last interglacial period had a sea level at least as high as present from ???128,000 to 116,000 yr B.P. Sea level reached a near...
Authors
D.R. Muhs
The last interglacial period on the Pacific Coast of North America: Timing and paleoclimate
New, high-precision U-series ages of solitary corals (Balanophyllia elegans) coupled with molluscan faunal data from marine terraces on the Pacific Coast of North America yield information about the timing and warmth of the last interglacial sea-level highstand. Balanophyllia elegans takes up U in isotopic equilibrium with seawater during growth and shortly after death. Corals from the...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, K. Rogers Simmons, G. L. Kennedy, T. K. Rockwell
Timing and warmth of the Last Interglacial period: New U-series evidence from Hawaii and Bermuda and a new fossil compilation for North America
The timing and duration of the Last Interglacial period have been controversial, with some studies suggesting a relatively short duration that is orbitally forced and others suggesting a long duration that is at most only partly related to orbital forcing. New, high-precison thermal ionization mass spectrometric (TIMS) U-series ages of Last Interglacial corals from Hawaii and Bermuda...
Authors
D.R. Muhs, K. R. Simmons, B. Steinke
Non-USGS Publications**
Crittenden, R.C. and Muhs, D.R., 1986, Cliff-height and slope-angle relationships in a chronosequence of marine terraces, San Clemente Island, California: Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, v. 30, p. 291-301.
Muhs, D.R., 1985, Age and paleoclimatic significance of Holocene sand dunes in northeastern Colorado: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, v. 75, p. 566-582.
Muhs, D.R., 1985, Amino acid age estimates of marine terraces and sea levels, San Nicolas Island, California: Geology, v. 13, p. 58-61.
Muhs, D.R., Kautz, R., and MacKinnon, J.J., 1985, Soils and the location of cacao orchards at a Maya site in western Belize: Journal of Archaeological Science, v. 12, p. 121-137.
Muhs, D.R., 1984, Intrinsic thresholds in soil systems: Physical Geography, v. 5, p. 99-110.
Muhs, D.R., 1983, Airborne dust fall on the California Channel Islands, U.S.A.: Journal of Arid Environments, v. 6, p. 223-238.
Muhs, D.R., 1983, Quaternary sea-level events on northern San Clemente Island, California: Quaternary Research, v. 20, p. 322-341.
Gillette, D.A., Adams, J., Muhs, D.R., and Kihl, R., 1982, Threshold friction velocities and rupture moduli for crusted desert soils for the input of soil particles into the air: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 87, p. 9003-9015.
Muhs, D.R., 1982, A soil chronosequence on Quaternary marine terraces, San Clemente Island, California: Geoderma, v. 28, p. 257-283.
Muhs, D.R. and Szabo, B.J., 1982, Uranium-series age of the Eel Point terrace, San Clemente Island, California: Geology, v. 10, p. 23-26.
Muhs, D.R., 1982, The influence of topography on the spatial variability of soils in Mediterranean climates, in Thorn, C.E., ed., Space and Time in Geomorphology: London, George Allen and Unwin, p. 269-284.
Johnson, D.L., Muhs, D.R., and Barnhardt, M.L., 1977, The effects of frost heaving on objects in soils, II: Laboratory experiments: Plains Anthropologist, v. 22, p. 133-147.
**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
Filter Total Items: 163
Unprecedented last-glacial mass accumulation rates determined by luminescence dating of loess from western Nebraska
A high-resolution chronology for Peoria (last glacial period) Loess from three sites in Nebraska, midcontinental North America, is determined by applying optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to 35-50 ??m quartz. At Bignell Hill, Nebraska, an OSL age of 25,000 yr near the contact of Peoria Loess with the underlying Gilman Canyon Formation shows that dust accumulation occurred...
Authors
H.M. Roberts, Daniel R. Muhs, A.G. Wintle, G.A.T. Duller, E. Arthur Bettis
Marine terraces, sea level history and Quaternary tectonics of the San Andreas fault on the coast of California
No abstract available.
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, C. Prentice, D.J. Merrits
Mid-Holocene climates of the Americas: a dynamical response to changed seasonality
Simulations of the climatic response to mid-Holocene (6 ka BP) orbital forcing with two coupled ocean–atmosphere models (FOAM and CSM) show enhancement of monsoonal precipitation in parts of the American Southwest, Central America and northernmost South America during Northern Hemisphere summer. The enhanced onshore flow that brings precipitation into Central America is caused by a...
Authors
S. P. Harrison, J.-E. Kutzbach, Z. Liu, Patrick J. Bartlein, Bette L. Otto-Bliesner, Daniel R. Muhs, I.C. Prentice, R.S. Thompson
Quaternary loess-Paleosol sequences as examples of climate-driven sedimentary extremes
No abstract available.
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, E. Arthur Bettis
Eolian sand transport pathways in the southwestern United States: Importance of the Colorado River and local sources
Geomorphologists have long recognized that eolian sand transport pathways extend over long distances in desert regions. Along such pathways, sediment transport by wind can surmount topographic obstacles and cross major drainages. Recent studies have suggested that three distinct eolian sand transport pathways exist (or once existed) in the Mojave and Sonoran Desert regions of the...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, R. T. Reynolds, J. Been, G. Skipp
Last Glacial loess in the conterminous USA
The conterminous United States contains an extensive and generally well-studied record of Last Glacial loess. The loess occurs in diverse physiographic provinces, and under a wide range of climatic and ecological conditions. Both glacial and non-glacia lloess sources are present, and many properties of the loess vary systematically with distance from loess sources. United States' mid...
Authors
E. Arthur Bettis, Daniel R. Muhs, Helen M. Roberts, Ann G. Wintle
A late quaternary record of eolian silt deposition in a maar lake, St. Michael Island, western Alaska
Recent stratigraphic studies in central Alaska have yielded the unexpected finding that there is little evidence for full-glacial (late Wisconsin) loess deposition. Because the loess record of western Alaska is poorly exposed and not well known, we analyzed a core from Zagoskin Lake, a maar lake on St. Michael Island, to determine if a full-glacial eolian record could be found in that...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, T. A. Ager, J. Been, J.P. Bradbury, Walter E. Dean
Stratigraphy and palaeoclimatic significance of Late Quaternary loess-palaeosol sequences of the Last Interglacial-Glacial cycle in central Alaska
Loess is one of the most widespread subaerial deposits in Alaska and adjacent Yukon Territory and may have a history that goes back 3 Ma. Based on mineralogy and major and trace element chemistry, central Alaskan loess has a composition that is distinctive from other loess bodies of the world, although it is quartz-dominated. Central Alaskan loess was probably derived from a variety of...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, T. A. Ager, E. Arthur Bettis, J. McGeehin, J.M. Been, J. E. Beget, M.J. Pavich, Thomas W. Stafford, D.A.S.P. Stevens
Last interglacial climates
The last interglacial, commonly understood as an interval with climate as warm or warmer than today, is represented by marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e, which is a proxy record of low global ice volume and high sea level. It is arbitrarily dated to begin at approximately 130,000 yr B.P. and end at 116,000 yr B.P. with the onset of the early glacial unit MIS 5d. The age of the stage is...
Authors
G.J. Kukla, M.L. Bender, J. -L. de Beaulieu, G. C. Bond, Wallace S. Broecker, P. Cleveringa, J.E. Gavin, T.D. Herbert, J. Imbrie, J. Jouzel, L.D. Keigwin, Kathy L. Knudsen, J.F. McManus, J. Merkt, Daniel R. Muhs, H. Muller, R.Z. Poore, S.C. Porter, G. Seret, N. J. Shackleton, C. Turner, P.C. Tzedakis, Isaac J. Winograd
Evidence for the timing and duration of the last interglacial period from high-precision uranium-series ages of corals on tectonically stable coastlines
The last interglacial period has a timing and duration that can be estimated from U-series dating of emergent, coral-bearing deposits on tectonically stable coastlines. High-precision dating from Bermuda, the Bahamas, Hawaii, and Australia suggests that the last interglacial period had a sea level at least as high as present from ???128,000 to 116,000 yr B.P. Sea level reached a near...
Authors
D.R. Muhs
The last interglacial period on the Pacific Coast of North America: Timing and paleoclimate
New, high-precision U-series ages of solitary corals (Balanophyllia elegans) coupled with molluscan faunal data from marine terraces on the Pacific Coast of North America yield information about the timing and warmth of the last interglacial sea-level highstand. Balanophyllia elegans takes up U in isotopic equilibrium with seawater during growth and shortly after death. Corals from the...
Authors
Daniel R. Muhs, K. Rogers Simmons, G. L. Kennedy, T. K. Rockwell
Timing and warmth of the Last Interglacial period: New U-series evidence from Hawaii and Bermuda and a new fossil compilation for North America
The timing and duration of the Last Interglacial period have been controversial, with some studies suggesting a relatively short duration that is orbitally forced and others suggesting a long duration that is at most only partly related to orbital forcing. New, high-precison thermal ionization mass spectrometric (TIMS) U-series ages of Last Interglacial corals from Hawaii and Bermuda...
Authors
D.R. Muhs, K. R. Simmons, B. Steinke
Non-USGS Publications**
Crittenden, R.C. and Muhs, D.R., 1986, Cliff-height and slope-angle relationships in a chronosequence of marine terraces, San Clemente Island, California: Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, v. 30, p. 291-301.
Muhs, D.R., 1985, Age and paleoclimatic significance of Holocene sand dunes in northeastern Colorado: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, v. 75, p. 566-582.
Muhs, D.R., 1985, Amino acid age estimates of marine terraces and sea levels, San Nicolas Island, California: Geology, v. 13, p. 58-61.
Muhs, D.R., Kautz, R., and MacKinnon, J.J., 1985, Soils and the location of cacao orchards at a Maya site in western Belize: Journal of Archaeological Science, v. 12, p. 121-137.
Muhs, D.R., 1984, Intrinsic thresholds in soil systems: Physical Geography, v. 5, p. 99-110.
Muhs, D.R., 1983, Airborne dust fall on the California Channel Islands, U.S.A.: Journal of Arid Environments, v. 6, p. 223-238.
Muhs, D.R., 1983, Quaternary sea-level events on northern San Clemente Island, California: Quaternary Research, v. 20, p. 322-341.
Gillette, D.A., Adams, J., Muhs, D.R., and Kihl, R., 1982, Threshold friction velocities and rupture moduli for crusted desert soils for the input of soil particles into the air: Journal of Geophysical Research, v. 87, p. 9003-9015.
Muhs, D.R., 1982, A soil chronosequence on Quaternary marine terraces, San Clemente Island, California: Geoderma, v. 28, p. 257-283.
Muhs, D.R. and Szabo, B.J., 1982, Uranium-series age of the Eel Point terrace, San Clemente Island, California: Geology, v. 10, p. 23-26.
Muhs, D.R., 1982, The influence of topography on the spatial variability of soils in Mediterranean climates, in Thorn, C.E., ed., Space and Time in Geomorphology: London, George Allen and Unwin, p. 269-284.
Johnson, D.L., Muhs, D.R., and Barnhardt, M.L., 1977, The effects of frost heaving on objects in soils, II: Laboratory experiments: Plains Anthropologist, v. 22, p. 133-147.
**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.