David Wahl, PhD
David is a research scientist at the Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. He received a PhD in Geography from UC Berkeley in 2005. Since joining the USGS in 2004, his research has focused on understanding drivers and impacts of Quaternary environmental change, specifically droughts, floods, and wildfire, in North America and the Pacific Islands.
Professional Experience
2004 - Present, Research Geographer, US Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA
2011 - Present, Assistant Adjunct Professor, Geography Department, UC Berkeley
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Geography, University of California, Berkeley, 2005
M.A., Geography, University of California, Berkeley, 2000
B.A., History, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, 1996
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 38
Holocene paleoclimate change in the western US: The importance of chronology in discerning patterns and drivers
Sediment in lakes and meadows forms a powerful archive that can be used to reconstruct environmental change through time. Reconstructions of lake level, of chemical, biological, and hydrological conditions, and of surrounding vegetation provide detailed information about past climate conditions, both locally and regionally. Indeed, most of our current knowledge of centennial- to...
Authors
Susan Zimmerman, David B. Wahl
Radiocarbon and geologic evidence reveal Ilopango volcano as source of the colossal 'mystery' eruption of 539/40 CE
Ilopango volcano (El Salvador) erupted violently during the Maya Classic Period (250–900 CE) in a densely-populated and intensively-cultivated region of the southern Maya realm, causing regional abandonment of an area covering more than 20,000 km2. However, neither the regional nor global impacts of the Tierra Blanca Joven (TBJ) eruption in Mesoamerica have been well appraised due to...
Authors
Robert A. Dull, John R. Southon, Steffen Kutterolf, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, Armin Freundt, David B. Wahl, Payson Sheets, Paul Amaroli, Walter Hernandez, Micheal C. Weimann, Clive Oppenheimer
Paleoenvironmental, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence of total warfare among the Classic Maya
Despite over a century of archaeological research, the nature and broader consequences of Classic Maya warfare remain poorly understood. Based on frequent epigraphic references and iconographic themes, Classic period (250-950 CE) Maya warfare has largely been viewed as ritualized and limited in scope. Evidence of warfare in the Terminal Classic period (TCP, 800-950 CE) is interpreted as...
Authors
David B. Wahl, Lysanna Anderson, Francisco Estrada-Belli, Alexandre Tokovinine
Development of a quantitative PCR method for screening ichthyoplankton samples for bigheaded carps
Monitoring ichthyoplankton is useful for identifying reproductive fronts and spawning locations of bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.). Unfortunately, sorting and identifying ichthyoplankton to monitor for bigheaded carp reproduction is time consuming and expensive. Traditional methods require frequent egg-larvae sampling, sorting of all samples to obtain presumptively identified...
Authors
Andrea K. Fritts, Brent C. Knights, James H. Larson, Jon Amberg, Christopher M. Merkes, Tariq Tajjioui, Steven E. Butler, Matthew J. Diana, David B. Wahl, Michael J. Weber, John D. Waters
Using reverse-time egg transport analysis for predicting Asian Carp spawning grounds in the Illinois River
Identifying spawning grounds of Asian carp is important for determining the reproductive front of invasive populations. Ichthyoplankton monitoring along the Illinois Waterway (IWW) has provided information on abundances of Asian carp eggs in the IWW's navigation pools. Post-fertilization times derived from egg development stages and water temperatures can be used to estimate spawning...
Authors
Zhenduo Zhu, David T. Soong, Tatiana Garcia, Mina Shahed Behrouz, Steven E. Butler, Elizabeth A. Murphy, Matthew J. Diana, James J. Duncker, David B. Wahl
Factors regulating year‐class strength of Silver Carp throughout the Mississippi River basin
Recruitment of many fish populations is inherently highly variable inter‐annually. However, this variability can be synchronous at broad geographic scales due to fish dispersal and climatic conditions. Herein, we investigated recruitment synchrony of Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix across the Mississippi River basin. Year‐class strength (YCS) and synchrony of nine populations...
Authors
Christopher J. Sullivan, Michael J. Weber, Clay Pierce, David B. Wahl, Quinton E. Phelps, Carlos A. Camacho, Robert E. Colombo
A North American Hydroclimate Synthesis (NAHS) of the Common Era
This study presents a synthesis of century-scale hydroclimate variations in North America for the Common Era (last 2000 years) using new age models of previously published multiple proxy-based paleoclimate data. This North American Hydroclimate Synthesis (NAHS) examines regional hydroclimate patterns and related environmental indicators, including vegetation, lake water elevation, stream...
Authors
Jessica R. Rodysill, Lesleigh Anderson, Thomas M. Cronin, Miriam C. Jones, Robert S. Thompson, David B. Wahl, Debra A. Willard, Jason A. Addison, Jay R. Alder, Katherine H. Anderson, Lysanna Anderson, John A. Barron, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Steven W. Hostetler, Natalie M. Kehrwald, Nicole Khan, Julie N. Richey, Scott W. Starratt, Laura E. Strickland, Michael Toomey, Claire C. Treat, G. Lynn Wingard
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Energy Resources Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Late Neogene–Quaternary tephrochronology, stratigraphy, and paleoclimate of Death Valley, California, USA
Sedimentary deposits in midlatitude continental basins often preserve a paleoclimate record complementary to marine-based records. However, deriving that paleoclimate record depends on having well-exposed deposits and establishing a sufficiently robust geochronology. After decades of research, we have been able to correlate 77 tephra beds exposed in multiple stratigraphic sections in the...
Authors
Jeffrey R. Knott, Michael N Machette, Elmira Wan, Ralph E. Klinger, Joseph C. Liddicoat, Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki, Robert J. Fleck, Alan L. Deino, John W Geissman, Janet L. Slate, David B. Wahl, Brian P. Wernicke, Stephen G. Wells, John C. Tinsley, Jeffrey C Hathaway, Veva M. Weamer
Holocene climate variability and anthropogenic impacts from Lago Paixban, a perennial wetland in Peten, Guatemala
Analyses of an ~ 6 m sediment core from Lago Paixban in Peten, Guatemala, document the complex evolution of a perennial wetland over the last 10,300 years. The basal sediment is comprised of alluvial/colluvial fill deposited in the early Holocene. The absence of pollen and gastropods in the basal sediments suggests intermittently dry conditions until ~ 9000 cal yr. BP (henceforth BP)...
Authors
David B. Wahl, Richard M. Hansen, Roger Byrne, Lysanna Anderson, T. Schreiner
By
Energy and Mineral Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Energy Resources Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Holocene environmental changes inferred from biological and sedimentological proxies in a high elevation Great Basin lake in the northern Ruby Mountains, Nevada, USA
Multi-proxy analyses were conducted on a sediment core from Favre Lake, a high elevation cirque lake in the northern Ruby Mountains, Nevada, and provide a ca. 7600 year record of local and regional environmental change. Data indicate that lake levels were lower from 7600-5750 cal yr BP, when local climate was warmer and/or drier than today. Effective moisture increased after 5750 cal yr...
Authors
David B. Wahl, Scott W. Starratt, Lysanna Anderson, Jennifer E. Kusler, Christopher C. Fuller, Jason A. Addison, Elmira Wan
By
Energy and Mineral Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Energy Resources Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Limiting age for the Provo shoreline of Lake Bonneville
Pluvial Lake Bonneville features a prominent shoreline at the Provo level, which has been interpreted as having formed during a period of threshold-stabilized overflow. The timing of Provo shoreline development is important for paleoclimate interpretations and for inferences on geomorphic process rates. Estimates for the timing of the shoreline formation, based on radiocarbon...
Authors
David Miller, David B. Wahl, John P. McGeehin, Jose J. Rosario, Charles Gifford Oviatt, Lysanna Anderson, Liubov S. Presnetsova
Two Holocene paleofire records from Peten, Guatemala: Implications for natural fire regime and prehispanic Maya land use
Although fire was arguably the primary tool used by the Maya to alter the landscape and extract resources, little attention has been paid to biomass burning in paleoenvironmental reconstructions from the Maya lowlands. Here we report two new well-dated, high-resolution records of biomass burning based on analysis of macroscopic fossil charcoal recovered from lacustrine sediment cores...
Authors
Lysanna Anderson, David B. Wahl
By
Energy and Mineral Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Energy Resources Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Non-USGS Publications**
Hansen, R., S. Bozarth, J. Jacob, Wahl D. and T. Schreiner (2002) “Climatic and Environmental Variability in the Rise of Maya Civilization.” Ancient Mesoamerica 13: 273-295.
Wahl, D., R. Byrne, T. Schreiner and R. Hansen (2006) “Holocene Vegetation Change in the Northern Peten and its Implications for Maya Prehistory.” Quaternary Research 65:380-389.
**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: 38
Holocene paleoclimate change in the western US: The importance of chronology in discerning patterns and drivers
Sediment in lakes and meadows forms a powerful archive that can be used to reconstruct environmental change through time. Reconstructions of lake level, of chemical, biological, and hydrological conditions, and of surrounding vegetation provide detailed information about past climate conditions, both locally and regionally. Indeed, most of our current knowledge of centennial- to...
Authors
Susan Zimmerman, David B. Wahl
Radiocarbon and geologic evidence reveal Ilopango volcano as source of the colossal 'mystery' eruption of 539/40 CE
Ilopango volcano (El Salvador) erupted violently during the Maya Classic Period (250–900 CE) in a densely-populated and intensively-cultivated region of the southern Maya realm, causing regional abandonment of an area covering more than 20,000 km2. However, neither the regional nor global impacts of the Tierra Blanca Joven (TBJ) eruption in Mesoamerica have been well appraised due to...
Authors
Robert A. Dull, John R. Southon, Steffen Kutterolf, Kevin J. Anchukaitis, Armin Freundt, David B. Wahl, Payson Sheets, Paul Amaroli, Walter Hernandez, Micheal C. Weimann, Clive Oppenheimer
Paleoenvironmental, epigraphic, and archaeological evidence of total warfare among the Classic Maya
Despite over a century of archaeological research, the nature and broader consequences of Classic Maya warfare remain poorly understood. Based on frequent epigraphic references and iconographic themes, Classic period (250-950 CE) Maya warfare has largely been viewed as ritualized and limited in scope. Evidence of warfare in the Terminal Classic period (TCP, 800-950 CE) is interpreted as...
Authors
David B. Wahl, Lysanna Anderson, Francisco Estrada-Belli, Alexandre Tokovinine
Development of a quantitative PCR method for screening ichthyoplankton samples for bigheaded carps
Monitoring ichthyoplankton is useful for identifying reproductive fronts and spawning locations of bigheaded carps (Hypophthalmichthys spp.). Unfortunately, sorting and identifying ichthyoplankton to monitor for bigheaded carp reproduction is time consuming and expensive. Traditional methods require frequent egg-larvae sampling, sorting of all samples to obtain presumptively identified...
Authors
Andrea K. Fritts, Brent C. Knights, James H. Larson, Jon Amberg, Christopher M. Merkes, Tariq Tajjioui, Steven E. Butler, Matthew J. Diana, David B. Wahl, Michael J. Weber, John D. Waters
Using reverse-time egg transport analysis for predicting Asian Carp spawning grounds in the Illinois River
Identifying spawning grounds of Asian carp is important for determining the reproductive front of invasive populations. Ichthyoplankton monitoring along the Illinois Waterway (IWW) has provided information on abundances of Asian carp eggs in the IWW's navigation pools. Post-fertilization times derived from egg development stages and water temperatures can be used to estimate spawning...
Authors
Zhenduo Zhu, David T. Soong, Tatiana Garcia, Mina Shahed Behrouz, Steven E. Butler, Elizabeth A. Murphy, Matthew J. Diana, James J. Duncker, David B. Wahl
Factors regulating year‐class strength of Silver Carp throughout the Mississippi River basin
Recruitment of many fish populations is inherently highly variable inter‐annually. However, this variability can be synchronous at broad geographic scales due to fish dispersal and climatic conditions. Herein, we investigated recruitment synchrony of Silver Carp Hypophthalmichthys molitrix across the Mississippi River basin. Year‐class strength (YCS) and synchrony of nine populations...
Authors
Christopher J. Sullivan, Michael J. Weber, Clay Pierce, David B. Wahl, Quinton E. Phelps, Carlos A. Camacho, Robert E. Colombo
A North American Hydroclimate Synthesis (NAHS) of the Common Era
This study presents a synthesis of century-scale hydroclimate variations in North America for the Common Era (last 2000 years) using new age models of previously published multiple proxy-based paleoclimate data. This North American Hydroclimate Synthesis (NAHS) examines regional hydroclimate patterns and related environmental indicators, including vegetation, lake water elevation, stream...
Authors
Jessica R. Rodysill, Lesleigh Anderson, Thomas M. Cronin, Miriam C. Jones, Robert S. Thompson, David B. Wahl, Debra A. Willard, Jason A. Addison, Jay R. Alder, Katherine H. Anderson, Lysanna Anderson, John A. Barron, Christopher E. Bernhardt, Steven W. Hostetler, Natalie M. Kehrwald, Nicole Khan, Julie N. Richey, Scott W. Starratt, Laura E. Strickland, Michael Toomey, Claire C. Treat, G. Lynn Wingard
By
Water Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Energy Resources Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Late Neogene–Quaternary tephrochronology, stratigraphy, and paleoclimate of Death Valley, California, USA
Sedimentary deposits in midlatitude continental basins often preserve a paleoclimate record complementary to marine-based records. However, deriving that paleoclimate record depends on having well-exposed deposits and establishing a sufficiently robust geochronology. After decades of research, we have been able to correlate 77 tephra beds exposed in multiple stratigraphic sections in the...
Authors
Jeffrey R. Knott, Michael N Machette, Elmira Wan, Ralph E. Klinger, Joseph C. Liddicoat, Andrei M. Sarna-Wojcicki, Robert J. Fleck, Alan L. Deino, John W Geissman, Janet L. Slate, David B. Wahl, Brian P. Wernicke, Stephen G. Wells, John C. Tinsley, Jeffrey C Hathaway, Veva M. Weamer
Holocene climate variability and anthropogenic impacts from Lago Paixban, a perennial wetland in Peten, Guatemala
Analyses of an ~ 6 m sediment core from Lago Paixban in Peten, Guatemala, document the complex evolution of a perennial wetland over the last 10,300 years. The basal sediment is comprised of alluvial/colluvial fill deposited in the early Holocene. The absence of pollen and gastropods in the basal sediments suggests intermittently dry conditions until ~ 9000 cal yr. BP (henceforth BP)...
Authors
David B. Wahl, Richard M. Hansen, Roger Byrne, Lysanna Anderson, T. Schreiner
By
Energy and Mineral Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Energy Resources Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Holocene environmental changes inferred from biological and sedimentological proxies in a high elevation Great Basin lake in the northern Ruby Mountains, Nevada, USA
Multi-proxy analyses were conducted on a sediment core from Favre Lake, a high elevation cirque lake in the northern Ruby Mountains, Nevada, and provide a ca. 7600 year record of local and regional environmental change. Data indicate that lake levels were lower from 7600-5750 cal yr BP, when local climate was warmer and/or drier than today. Effective moisture increased after 5750 cal yr...
Authors
David B. Wahl, Scott W. Starratt, Lysanna Anderson, Jennifer E. Kusler, Christopher C. Fuller, Jason A. Addison, Elmira Wan
By
Energy and Mineral Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Energy Resources Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Limiting age for the Provo shoreline of Lake Bonneville
Pluvial Lake Bonneville features a prominent shoreline at the Provo level, which has been interpreted as having formed during a period of threshold-stabilized overflow. The timing of Provo shoreline development is important for paleoclimate interpretations and for inferences on geomorphic process rates. Estimates for the timing of the shoreline formation, based on radiocarbon...
Authors
David Miller, David B. Wahl, John P. McGeehin, Jose J. Rosario, Charles Gifford Oviatt, Lysanna Anderson, Liubov S. Presnetsova
Two Holocene paleofire records from Peten, Guatemala: Implications for natural fire regime and prehispanic Maya land use
Although fire was arguably the primary tool used by the Maya to alter the landscape and extract resources, little attention has been paid to biomass burning in paleoenvironmental reconstructions from the Maya lowlands. Here we report two new well-dated, high-resolution records of biomass burning based on analysis of macroscopic fossil charcoal recovered from lacustrine sediment cores...
Authors
Lysanna Anderson, David B. Wahl
By
Energy and Mineral Resources Mission Area, Ecosystems Land Change Science Program, Energy Resources Program, Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program, Mineral Resources Program, National Laboratories Program, Science and Decisions Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center
Non-USGS Publications**
Hansen, R., S. Bozarth, J. Jacob, Wahl D. and T. Schreiner (2002) “Climatic and Environmental Variability in the Rise of Maya Civilization.” Ancient Mesoamerica 13: 273-295.
Wahl, D., R. Byrne, T. Schreiner and R. Hansen (2006) “Holocene Vegetation Change in the Northern Peten and its Implications for Maya Prehistory.” Quaternary Research 65:380-389.
**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.