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
Uranium-series dating of secondary carbonates near Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Applications to tectonic, paleoclimatic, and paleohydrologic problems
The Uranium-trend dating method: Principles and application for southern California marine terrace deposits
Uranium-series ages, faunal correlations and tectonic deformation of marine terraces within the Agua Blanca fault zone at Punta Banda, northern Baja California, Mexico
Borax in the supraglacial moraine of the Lewis Cliff, Buckley Island quadrangle--first Antarctic occurrence
Genesis of marine terrace soils, Barbados, West Indies: evidence from mineralogy and geochemistry
Stable isotope compositions of fossil mollusks from southern California: Evidence for a cool last interglacial ocean.
An evaluation of uranium-series dating of fossil echinoids from southern California Pleistocene marine terraces
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.
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Uranium-series dating of secondary carbonates near Yucca Mountain, Nevada. Applications to tectonic, paleoclimatic, and paleohydrologic problems
Near-surface accumulations of secondary carbonates are common in the soils and sediments of the Yucca Mountain area. These carbonates contain small amounts of uranium that allow dating by the uranium-series disequilibrium method. Preliminary results from the Yucca Mountain area indicate that the U-series methods can (1) identify multiple episodes of tectonic fracturing, (2) provide a chronologic fAuthorsD.R. Muhs, J. W. Whitney, R. R. Shroba, E. M. Taylor, C. A. BushThe Uranium-trend dating method: Principles and application for southern California marine terrace deposits
Uranium-trend dating is an open-system method for age estimation of Quaternary sediments, using disequilibrium in the 238U234U230Th decay series. The technique has been applied to alluvium, colluvium, loess, till, and marine sediments. In this study we tested the U-trend dating method on calcareous marine terrace deposits from the Palos Verdes Hills and San Nicolas Island, California. IndependentAuthorsD.R. Muhs, J.N. Rosholt, C. A. BushUranium-series ages, faunal correlations and tectonic deformation of marine terraces within the Agua Blanca fault zone at Punta Banda, northern Baja California, Mexico
No abstract available.AuthorsT. K. Rockwell, D.R. Muhs, G. L. Kennedy, M.E. Hatch, S.M. Wilson, R.E. KlingerBorax in the supraglacial moraine of the Lewis Cliff, Buckley Island quadrangle--first Antarctic occurrence
During the 1987-1988 austral summer field season, membersof the south party of the antarctic search for meteorites south-ern team* working in the Lewis Cliff/Colbert Hills region dis-covered several areas of unusual mineralization within theLewis Cliff ice tongue and its associated moraine field (figure1). The Lewis Cliff ice tongue (84°15'S 161°25'E) is a meteorite-stranding surface of ablating bAuthorsJ. J. Fitzpatrick, D.R. MuhsGenesis of marine terrace soils, Barbados, West Indies: evidence from mineralogy and geochemistry
Well-developed, clay-rich soils dominated by interstratified kaolinite-smectite are found on the uplifted coral reef terraces on the island of Barbados. The reef limestone is unlikely to have been the soil parent material however, because it is 98% CaCO 3 and geomorphic evidence argues against the 20 m of reef solution required to produce the soils by this process. The mineralogy of the sand, siltAuthorsD.R. Muhs, R.C. Crittenden, J.N. Rosholt, C. A. Bush, K. C. StewartStable isotope compositions of fossil mollusks from southern California: Evidence for a cool last interglacial ocean.
Stable isotope compositions have been determined for modern mullusks and fossil mollusks collected from uplifted marine terraces at three localities in southern California. By using a paleoclimatic model that decouples the temperature and ice-volume signals in ocean water, ocean-water temperatures off southern California are estimated to have been −3.8 °C at ∼85 ka, −3.0 °C at ∼107 ka, and −2.2 °CAuthorsD.R. Muhs, T.K. KyserAn evaluation of uranium-series dating of fossil echinoids from southern California Pleistocene marine terraces
Fossil sea urchins (Strongylocentrotus) from Pleistocene marine terraces on the southern California Channel Islands have been dated by the uranium-series method in order to test the suitability of echinoids for dating marine terraces. Results indicate that urchin plates and spines do not behave as closed systems with respect to both uranium and thorium. Calculated ages based on these data do not aAuthorsD.R. Muhs, G. L. KennedyNon-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.
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