Richard L Reynolds
I investigate how climatic variability, weather, and land uses affect surfaces and ecosystems of deserts, with emphasis on sediment eroded, transported, and deposited by wind, mostly as atmospheric dust.
My studies probe the geologic, biologic, and human controls on dust generation as well as the mineralogic and geochemical properties of dust that in turn affect climate, weather, ecosystem health, water resources (effects of dust on melting of snow and ice), ocean fertility, and the health of a large proportion of earth’s people. I have also conducted research on:
- Hawaiian coral-reef health in settings of coastal erosion
- Quaternary climate and responses of landscapes to climatic change and human activities
- Iron-sulfur diagenesis and its effects on lake-sediment paleoenvironmental records
- Magnetic and chemical records of airborne pollution and environmental change
- Paleomagnetism of Tertiary and Quaternary sedimentary and igneous rocks
- Sources of magnetic anomalies in the shallow crust
- Field geology, Antarctica (1970-1971; 1978-1979)
Professional Experience
Research Geologist, USGS (periodic supervisory positions) 1975-2012
Acting Program Manager, Global Change Program USGS 2002
Senior Scientist, USGS 2012-2013 Emeritus since 2013
Adjunct Research Professor, Univ. of Minnesota
Affiliate, Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research Univ. of Colorado
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Univ. of Colorado, 1975
M.S., Univ. of Colorado, 1970
A.B., Princeton University, 1968
Affiliations and Memberships*
Geological Society of America; Fellow
American Geophysical Union. Assoc. Editor, Jour. Geophysical Res. 1992-1995
Yellowstone-Bighorn Research Assoc.
American Quaternary Assoc.
International Medical Geology Assoc.
International Society for Aeolian Research (guest editor, 2013-14; Board of Directors, 2014-2016)
Honors and Awards
2012 Elected Senior Scientist, USGS
2012-2014 Distinguished Visiting Scholar, School of Geography and the Environment, Univ. of Oxford
2011 Astor Visiting Lecturer for the Humanities, Univ. of Oxford
2007 Co-recipient, Kirk Bryan Award; best publication in Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology, Geological Society of America
Meritorious Service Award, Dept. of the Interior (1995)
1995 Best Paper Award, Jour. Great Lakes Res.
1994 Elected Fellow, Geological Society of America
1993 Visiting Fellow, Institute for Rock Magnetism, Univ. Minnesota
1992 Best Paper Award, Geophysics
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 116
Physical, chemical, and mineralogical data from surficial deposits, groundwater levels, and water composition in the area of Franklin Lake playa and Ash Meadows, California and Nevada
This report presents data and describes the methods used to determine the physical attributes, as well as the chemical and mineralogical composition of surficial deposits; groundwater levels; and water composition in the area of Franklin Lake playa and Ash Meadows, California and Nevada.
The results support studies that examine (1) the interaction between groundwater and the ground surface, and t
Authors
Harland L. Goldstein, George N. Breit, James C. Yount, Richard L. Reynolds, Marith C. Reheis, Gary L. Skipp, Eric M. Fisher, Paul J. Lamothe
Dust: Small-scale processes with global consequences
Desert dust, both modern and ancient, is a critical component of the Earth system. Atmospheric dust has important effects on climate by changing the atmospheric radiation budget, while deposited dust influences biogeochemical cycles in the oceans and on land. Dust deposited on snow and ice decreases its albedo, allowing more light to be trapped at the surface, thus increasing the rate of melt and
Authors
G. S. Okin, J. E. Bullard, Richard L. Reynolds, J. -A. C. Ballantine, K. Schepanski, M. C. Todd, Jayne Belnap, M. C. Baddock, T. E. Gill, M. E. Miller
Chemical and textural controls on phosphorus mobility in drylands of southeastern Utah
We investigated several forms of phosphorus (P) in dryland soils to examine the chemical and textural controls on P stabilization on a diverse set of substrates. We examined three P fractions including labile, moderately labile, and occluded as determined by a modified Hedley fractionation technique. The P fractions were compared to texture measurements and total elemental concentrations determine
Authors
Susan E. Buckingham, Jason Neff, Behan Titiz-Maybach, Richard L. Reynolds
Atmospheric mineral dust in dryland ecosystems: Applications of environmental magnetism
Magnetic properties of shallow (<10‐cm depth), fine‐grained surficial sediments contrast greatly with those of immediately underlying bedrock across much of the dry American Southwest. At 26 study sites in fine‐grained (<63 μm) surficial sediments isolated from alluvial inputs, isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM; mean of 67 samples = 6.72 × 10−3 Am2 kg−1) is more than two orders of magnitude g
Authors
Richard L. Reynolds, Harland L. Goldstein, Mark E. Miller
Diatom changes in two Uinta mountain lakes, Utah, USA: Responses to anthropogenic and natural atmospheric inputs
Diatom assemblages in sediments from two subalpine lakes in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, show asynchronous changes that are related to both anthropogenic and natural inputs of dust. These lakes are downwind of sources of atmospheric inputs originating from mining, industrial, urban, agricultural and natural sources that are distributed within tens to hundreds of kilometers west and south of the Uint
Authors
Katrina Moser, Jessica S. Mordecai, Richard L. Reynolds, Joseph G. Rosenbaum, Michael E. Ketterer
Compositional changes in sediments of subalpine lakes, Uinta Mountains (Utah): Evidence for the effects of human activity on atmospheric dust inputs
Sediments in Marshall and Hidden Lakes in the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah contain records of atmospheric mineral-dust deposition as revealed by differences in mineralogy and geochemistry of lake sediments relative to Precambrian clastic rocks in the watersheds. In cores spanning more than a thousand years, the largest changes in composition occurred within the past approximately 140 years
Authors
Richard L. Reynolds, Jessica S. Mordecai, Joseph G. Rosenbaum, Michael E. Ketterer, Megan K. Walsh, Katrina Moser
Distribution of major anions and trace elements in the unsaturated zone at Franklin Lake Playa, California, USA
The composition of surficial salts formed near dry and drying saline lakes are partly the product of processes active in the unsaturated zone between the ground surface and the water table. These processes were investigated by determining the abundance of water-extractable solutes in sediment from the ground surface to the water table (~2.8 m) beneath Franklin Lake playa, California. Accumulation
Authors
George N. Breit, Harland L. Goldstein, Richard L. Reynolds, James C. Yount
Physical, Chemical, Ecological, and Age Data and Trench Logs from Surficial Deposits at Hatch Point, Southeastern Utah
This report presents data and describes the methodology for physical, chemical and ecological measurements of sediment, soil, and vegetation, as well as age determinations of surficial deposits at Hatch Point, Canyon Rims area, Colorado Plateau, southeastern Utah. The results presented in this report support a study that examines geomorphic and soil factors that may influence boundaries between sh
Authors
Harland L. Goldstein, Mark E. Miller, James C. Yount, Marith C. Reheis, Richard L. Reynolds, Jayne Belnap, Paul J. Lamothe, John P. McGeehan
The ecology of dust
Wind erosion and associated dust emissions play a fundamental role in many ecological processes and provide important biogeochemical connectivity at scales ranging from individual plants up to the entire globe. Yet, most ecological studies do not explicitly consider dust‐driven processes, perhaps because most relevant research on aeolian (wind‐driven) processes has been presented in a geosciences
Authors
Jason P. Field, Jayne Belnap, David D. Breshears, Jason C. Neff, Gregory S Okin, J.J. Whicker, Thomas H. Painter, Sujith Ravi, Marith C. Reheis, Richard L. Reynolds
The dynamic interaction of climate, vegetation, and dust emission, Mojave Desert, USA
No abstract available.
Authors
Frank Urban, Richard L. Reynolds, R. Fulton
Sediment losses and gains across a gradient of livestock grazing and plant invasion in a cool, semi-arid grassland, Colorado Plateau, USA
Large sediment fluxes can have significant impacts on ecosystems. We measured incoming and outgoing sediment across a gradient of soil disturbance (livestock grazing, plowing) and annual plant invasion for 9 years. Our sites included two currently ungrazed sites: one never grazed by livestock and dominated by perennial grasses/well-developed biocrusts and one not grazed since 1974 and dominated by
Authors
Jayne Belnap, Richard L. Reynolds, Marith C. Reheis, Susan L. Phillips, Frank Urban, Harland L. Goldstein
Paleomagnetism and environmental magnetism of GLAD800 sediment cores from Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho
A ???220,000-year record recovered in a 120-m-long sediment core from Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho, provides an opportunity to reconstruct climate change in the Great Basin and compare it with global climate records. Paleomagnetic data exhibit a geomagnetic feature that possibly occurred during the Laschamp excursion (ca. 40 ka). Although the feature does not exhibit excursional behavior (???40?? dep
Authors
C.W. Heil, J.W. King, J. G. Rosenbaum, R. L. Reynolds, Steven M. Colman
Non-USGS Publications**
Larson, E.E., Reynolds, R.L., and others, 1975, Major element petrochemistry of some extrusive rocks from the volcanically active Mariana Islands: Bulletin Volcanologique, v. 39, p. 361-377.
Larson, E.E., Reynolds, R.L., and others, 1975, Paleomagnetism of Miocene volcanics of Guam and the curvature of the southern Mariana Island Arc: Geological Society America Bulletin, v. 86, p. 346‑350.
Levi, S., Merrill, R.T., Larson, E.E., Reynolds, R.L., and others, 1975, Paleosecular variation of lavas from the Marianas in the Western Pacific Ocean: Journal Geomagnetism and Geoelectricity, v. 27, p. 57-66.
Rowley, P.D., Williams, P.L., Schmidt, D.L., Reynolds, R.L., and others, 1975, Copper mineralization along the Lassiter Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula: Economic Geology, v. 70, p. 982‑992.
**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: 116
Physical, chemical, and mineralogical data from surficial deposits, groundwater levels, and water composition in the area of Franklin Lake playa and Ash Meadows, California and Nevada
This report presents data and describes the methods used to determine the physical attributes, as well as the chemical and mineralogical composition of surficial deposits; groundwater levels; and water composition in the area of Franklin Lake playa and Ash Meadows, California and Nevada.
The results support studies that examine (1) the interaction between groundwater and the ground surface, and t
Authors
Harland L. Goldstein, George N. Breit, James C. Yount, Richard L. Reynolds, Marith C. Reheis, Gary L. Skipp, Eric M. Fisher, Paul J. Lamothe
Dust: Small-scale processes with global consequences
Desert dust, both modern and ancient, is a critical component of the Earth system. Atmospheric dust has important effects on climate by changing the atmospheric radiation budget, while deposited dust influences biogeochemical cycles in the oceans and on land. Dust deposited on snow and ice decreases its albedo, allowing more light to be trapped at the surface, thus increasing the rate of melt and
Authors
G. S. Okin, J. E. Bullard, Richard L. Reynolds, J. -A. C. Ballantine, K. Schepanski, M. C. Todd, Jayne Belnap, M. C. Baddock, T. E. Gill, M. E. Miller
Chemical and textural controls on phosphorus mobility in drylands of southeastern Utah
We investigated several forms of phosphorus (P) in dryland soils to examine the chemical and textural controls on P stabilization on a diverse set of substrates. We examined three P fractions including labile, moderately labile, and occluded as determined by a modified Hedley fractionation technique. The P fractions were compared to texture measurements and total elemental concentrations determine
Authors
Susan E. Buckingham, Jason Neff, Behan Titiz-Maybach, Richard L. Reynolds
Atmospheric mineral dust in dryland ecosystems: Applications of environmental magnetism
Magnetic properties of shallow (<10‐cm depth), fine‐grained surficial sediments contrast greatly with those of immediately underlying bedrock across much of the dry American Southwest. At 26 study sites in fine‐grained (<63 μm) surficial sediments isolated from alluvial inputs, isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM; mean of 67 samples = 6.72 × 10−3 Am2 kg−1) is more than two orders of magnitude g
Authors
Richard L. Reynolds, Harland L. Goldstein, Mark E. Miller
Diatom changes in two Uinta mountain lakes, Utah, USA: Responses to anthropogenic and natural atmospheric inputs
Diatom assemblages in sediments from two subalpine lakes in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, show asynchronous changes that are related to both anthropogenic and natural inputs of dust. These lakes are downwind of sources of atmospheric inputs originating from mining, industrial, urban, agricultural and natural sources that are distributed within tens to hundreds of kilometers west and south of the Uint
Authors
Katrina Moser, Jessica S. Mordecai, Richard L. Reynolds, Joseph G. Rosenbaum, Michael E. Ketterer
Compositional changes in sediments of subalpine lakes, Uinta Mountains (Utah): Evidence for the effects of human activity on atmospheric dust inputs
Sediments in Marshall and Hidden Lakes in the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah contain records of atmospheric mineral-dust deposition as revealed by differences in mineralogy and geochemistry of lake sediments relative to Precambrian clastic rocks in the watersheds. In cores spanning more than a thousand years, the largest changes in composition occurred within the past approximately 140 years
Authors
Richard L. Reynolds, Jessica S. Mordecai, Joseph G. Rosenbaum, Michael E. Ketterer, Megan K. Walsh, Katrina Moser
Distribution of major anions and trace elements in the unsaturated zone at Franklin Lake Playa, California, USA
The composition of surficial salts formed near dry and drying saline lakes are partly the product of processes active in the unsaturated zone between the ground surface and the water table. These processes were investigated by determining the abundance of water-extractable solutes in sediment from the ground surface to the water table (~2.8 m) beneath Franklin Lake playa, California. Accumulation
Authors
George N. Breit, Harland L. Goldstein, Richard L. Reynolds, James C. Yount
Physical, Chemical, Ecological, and Age Data and Trench Logs from Surficial Deposits at Hatch Point, Southeastern Utah
This report presents data and describes the methodology for physical, chemical and ecological measurements of sediment, soil, and vegetation, as well as age determinations of surficial deposits at Hatch Point, Canyon Rims area, Colorado Plateau, southeastern Utah. The results presented in this report support a study that examines geomorphic and soil factors that may influence boundaries between sh
Authors
Harland L. Goldstein, Mark E. Miller, James C. Yount, Marith C. Reheis, Richard L. Reynolds, Jayne Belnap, Paul J. Lamothe, John P. McGeehan
The ecology of dust
Wind erosion and associated dust emissions play a fundamental role in many ecological processes and provide important biogeochemical connectivity at scales ranging from individual plants up to the entire globe. Yet, most ecological studies do not explicitly consider dust‐driven processes, perhaps because most relevant research on aeolian (wind‐driven) processes has been presented in a geosciences
Authors
Jason P. Field, Jayne Belnap, David D. Breshears, Jason C. Neff, Gregory S Okin, J.J. Whicker, Thomas H. Painter, Sujith Ravi, Marith C. Reheis, Richard L. Reynolds
The dynamic interaction of climate, vegetation, and dust emission, Mojave Desert, USA
No abstract available.
Authors
Frank Urban, Richard L. Reynolds, R. Fulton
Sediment losses and gains across a gradient of livestock grazing and plant invasion in a cool, semi-arid grassland, Colorado Plateau, USA
Large sediment fluxes can have significant impacts on ecosystems. We measured incoming and outgoing sediment across a gradient of soil disturbance (livestock grazing, plowing) and annual plant invasion for 9 years. Our sites included two currently ungrazed sites: one never grazed by livestock and dominated by perennial grasses/well-developed biocrusts and one not grazed since 1974 and dominated by
Authors
Jayne Belnap, Richard L. Reynolds, Marith C. Reheis, Susan L. Phillips, Frank Urban, Harland L. Goldstein
Paleomagnetism and environmental magnetism of GLAD800 sediment cores from Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho
A ???220,000-year record recovered in a 120-m-long sediment core from Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho, provides an opportunity to reconstruct climate change in the Great Basin and compare it with global climate records. Paleomagnetic data exhibit a geomagnetic feature that possibly occurred during the Laschamp excursion (ca. 40 ka). Although the feature does not exhibit excursional behavior (???40?? dep
Authors
C.W. Heil, J.W. King, J. G. Rosenbaum, R. L. Reynolds, Steven M. Colman
Non-USGS Publications**
Larson, E.E., Reynolds, R.L., and others, 1975, Major element petrochemistry of some extrusive rocks from the volcanically active Mariana Islands: Bulletin Volcanologique, v. 39, p. 361-377.
Larson, E.E., Reynolds, R.L., and others, 1975, Paleomagnetism of Miocene volcanics of Guam and the curvature of the southern Mariana Island Arc: Geological Society America Bulletin, v. 86, p. 346‑350.
Levi, S., Merrill, R.T., Larson, E.E., Reynolds, R.L., and others, 1975, Paleosecular variation of lavas from the Marianas in the Western Pacific Ocean: Journal Geomagnetism and Geoelectricity, v. 27, p. 57-66.
Rowley, P.D., Williams, P.L., Schmidt, D.L., Reynolds, R.L., and others, 1975, Copper mineralization along the Lassiter Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula: Economic Geology, v. 70, p. 982‑992.
**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.
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government