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
New geochemical evidence for the origin of North America's largest dune field, the Nebraska Sand Hills, central Great Plains, USA
Little islands recording global events: Late Quaternary sea level history and paleozoogeography of Santa Barbara and Anacapa Islands, Channel Islands National Park, California
International Society for Aeolian Research Distinguished Career Award, 2018 Joseph M. Prospero, Dr. Professor Emeritus, University of Miami
Origin of last-glacial loess in the western Yukon-Tanana Upland, central Alaska, USA
Geochemistry and mineralogy of late Quaternary loess in the upper Mississippi River valley, USA: Provenance and correlation with Laurentide Ice Sheet history
T.D.A. Cockerell (1866–1948) of the University of Colorado: His contributions to the natural history of the California islands and the establishment of Channel Islands National Monument
Landscapes from the waves—Marine terraces of California
The geochemistry of loess: Asian and North American deposits compared
Quaternary sea-level history and the origin of the northernmost coastal aeolianites in the Americas: Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
Late Quaternary uplift along the North America-Caribbean plate boundary: Evidence from the sea level record of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Taphonomic problems in reconstructing sea-level history from the late Quaternary marine terraces of Barbados
Evaluation of simple geochemical indicators of aeolian sand provenance: Late Quaternary dune fields of North America revisited
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
New geochemical evidence for the origin of North America's largest dune field, the Nebraska Sand Hills, central Great Plains, USA
Little islands recording global events: Late Quaternary sea level history and paleozoogeography of Santa Barbara and Anacapa Islands, Channel Islands National Park, California
International Society for Aeolian Research Distinguished Career Award, 2018 Joseph M. Prospero, Dr. Professor Emeritus, University of Miami
Origin of last-glacial loess in the western Yukon-Tanana Upland, central Alaska, USA
Geochemistry and mineralogy of late Quaternary loess in the upper Mississippi River valley, USA: Provenance and correlation with Laurentide Ice Sheet history
T.D.A. Cockerell (1866–1948) of the University of Colorado: His contributions to the natural history of the California islands and the establishment of Channel Islands National Monument
Landscapes from the waves—Marine terraces of California
The geochemistry of loess: Asian and North American deposits compared
Quaternary sea-level history and the origin of the northernmost coastal aeolianites in the Americas: Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
Late Quaternary uplift along the North America-Caribbean plate boundary: Evidence from the sea level record of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Taphonomic problems in reconstructing sea-level history from the late Quaternary marine terraces of Barbados
Evaluation of simple geochemical indicators of aeolian sand provenance: Late Quaternary dune fields of North America revisited
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.