David M. Miller, Ph.D
David is an Emeritus at Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. He received a Ph.D from UCLA in 1978 and a BS from Binghamton University in 1973 in Geology. He began by studying metamorphic rocks of core complexes in the Intermountain West and is now focusing on evaluating earthquake hazards by studying Cenozoic materials.
David is currently an Emeritus at Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center. He worked on metamorphic rocks of core complexes and Cenozoic igneous and sedimentary rocks of basins in the Intermountain West for two decades, pursuing structural origins of mineral resources and hydrocarbon resources. He shifted to study of late Cenozoic materials, mainly for evaluating earthquake hazards, during the last two decades.
David is now working on the neotectonics of the Northern Mojave Desert. Through surficial geologic mapping and surface process studies, he is improving understanding of earthquake risks by evaluating recently active faults, folds, and warps of tectonic origin. The mapping is focused on several active faults identified by recent regional mapping of the Mojave Desert. A long-term goal is to arrive at a new tectonic synthesis of this part of the eastern California shear zone.
He is also involved with studying the Mojave Desert Ecosystem through surficial geologic mapping and surface process studies. He is developing data for a regional study of biotic and abiotic systems of the Mojave Desert, such as ground-based studies of surficial geology, material properties, eolian transport, overland flow, and Holocene climate history.
Finally, he is working on the Paleoclimatic records of the southwest. He examines spring and marsh records, lake shoreline records, and lake-bottom deposits to detail glacial and post-glacial sediment histories to extract paleo climatic information. These studies range from Mojave Desert to Great Salt Lake and its precursor lake, Lake Bonneville.
Education and Certifications
Ph.D in Geology, University of California, 1978
BS in Geology with "Distinguished Independent Study", Binghamton University, 1973
Science and Products
Controls on alluvial fan long-profiles
Monitoring ecosystem quality and function in arid settings of the Mojave Desert
Geologic Map and Digital Data Base of the Almo Quadrangle and City of Rocks National Reserve, Cassia County, Idaho
Modeling Soil Moisture in the Mojave Desert
Late Cenozoic drainage history of the southwestern Great Basin and lower Colorado River region: Geologic and biotic perspectives
Late Pleistocene Hansel Valley basaltic ash, northern Lake Bonneville, Utah, USA
Quaternary stratigraphy, drainage-basin development, and geomorphology of the Lake Manix basin, Mojave Desert: Guidebook for fall field trip, Friends of the Pleistocene, Pacific Cell, October 4-7, 2007
Preliminary Surficial Geology of the Dove Spring Off-Highway Vehicle Open Area, Mojave Desert, California
Late Quaternary stratigraphy and luminescence geochronology of the northeastern Mojave Desert
Geomorphology and tectonics at the intersection of Silurian and Death Valleys, Southern California - 2005 Guidebook Pacific Cell Friends of the Pleistocene
230Th-U dating of surficial deposits using the ion microprobe (SHRIMP-RG): A microstratigraphic perspective
Surficial geologic map and geodatabase of the Cuddeback Lake 30' x 60' quadrangle, San Bernardino and Kern Counties, California
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
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Filter Total Items: 131
Controls on alluvial fan long-profiles
Water and debris flows exiting confined valleys have a tendency to deposit sediment on steep fans. On alluvial fans where water transport of gravel predominates, channel slopes tend to decrease downfan from ~0.10–0.04 to ~0.01 across wide ranges of climate and tectonism. Some have argued that this pattern reflects grain-size fining downfan such that higher threshold slopes are required just to entAuthorsJ. D. Stock, K. M. Schmidt, D. M. MillerMonitoring ecosystem quality and function in arid settings of the Mojave Desert
Monitoring ecosystem quality and function in the Mojave Desert is both a requirement of state and Federal government agencies and a means for determining potential long-term changes induced by climatic fluctuations and land use. Because it is not feasible to measure every attribute and process in the desert ecosystem, the choice of what to measure and where to measure it is the most important starAuthorsJayne Belnap, Robert H. Webb, Mark E. Miller, David M. Miller, Lesley A. DeFalco, Philip A. Medica, Matthew L. Brooks, Todd C. Esque, Dave BedfordGeologic Map and Digital Data Base of the Almo Quadrangle and City of Rocks National Reserve, Cassia County, Idaho
This geologic map describes the geology of the City of Rocks National Reserve and environs, located in the Albion Mountains of south-central Idaho. The most prominent geologic features of the Reserve are the spectacular rock spires that attracted visitors, beginning with commentary in the journals of travelers to California during the Gold Rush of 1849. The tectonic history is outlined, and descriAuthorsDavid M. Miller, Richard L. Armstrong, David R. Bedford, Marsha DavisModeling Soil Moisture in the Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert is an arid region of southeastern California and parts of Nevada, Arizona, and Utah; the desert occupies more than 25,000 square miles (fig. 1). Ranging from below sea level to over 5,000 feet (1,524 m) in elevation, the Mojave Desert is considered a ?high desert.? On the west and southwest it is bounded by the Sierra Nevada, the San Gabriel, and the San Bernardino Mountains. TheAuthorsDavid M. Miller, Debra Hughson, Kevin M. SchmidtLate Cenozoic drainage history of the southwestern Great Basin and lower Colorado River region: Geologic and biotic perspectives
No abstract available.AuthorsMarith C. Reheis, R. Hershler, David M. MillerLate Pleistocene Hansel Valley basaltic ash, northern Lake Bonneville, Utah, USA
The Hansel Valley ash bed lies within 5 cm of the base of deposits of Lake Bonneville (???28 ka) in the vicinity of Great Salt Lake and provides a useful stratigraphic marker for this area of the lake basin. However, it has not been matched to an eruptive edifice, presumably because such an edifice was eroded by waves of Lake Bonneville. We present data for the chemical composition of the tephra aAuthorsD. M. Miller, Charles G. Oviatt, B.P. NashQuaternary stratigraphy, drainage-basin development, and geomorphology of the Lake Manix basin, Mojave Desert: Guidebook for fall field trip, Friends of the Pleistocene, Pacific Cell, October 4-7, 2007
The 2007 field trip of the Pacific Cell, Friends of the Pleistocene, visited features of the Quaternary geology and geomorphology of the Lake Manix basin in the Mojave Desert. This report is the guidebook for this trip and includes some discussion of relations observable along the road and at various field trip stops. The Mojave River originates in the San Bernardino Mountains and in high-water yeAuthorsMarith C. Reheis, David M. Miller, Joanna L. RedwinePreliminary Surficial Geology of the Dove Spring Off-Highway Vehicle Open Area, Mojave Desert, California
Introduction As part of a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) monitoring plan to evaluate the environmental impact of off-highway vehicle (OHV) use on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land in California, this report presents results of geologic studies in the Dove Spring OHV Open Area. This study produced baseline data, which when combined with historic and current patterns of land use, forms the basiAuthorsDavid M. Miller, Lee AmorosoLate Quaternary stratigraphy and luminescence geochronology of the northeastern Mojave Desert
The chronology of the Holocene and late Pleistocene deposits of the northeastern Mojave Desert have been largely obtained using radiocarbon ages. Our study refines and extends this framework using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to date deposits from Valjean Valley, Silurian Lake Playa, Red Pass, and California Valley. Of particular interest are eolian fine silts incorporated in ground-watAuthorsS. A. Mahan, D. M. Miller, C. M. Menges, J.C. YountGeomorphology and tectonics at the intersection of Silurian and Death Valleys, Southern California - 2005 Guidebook Pacific Cell Friends of the Pleistocene
This publication describes results from new regional and detailed surficial geologic mapping, combined with geomorphologic, geochronologic, and tectonic studies, in Silurian Valley and Death Valley, California. The studies address a long-standing problem, the tectonic and geomorphic evolution of the intersection between three regional tectonic provinces: the eastern California shear zone, the BasiAuthorsDavid M. Miller, Zenon C. Valin230Th-U dating of surficial deposits using the ion microprobe (SHRIMP-RG): A microstratigraphic perspective
We used the sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe reverse-geometry (SHRIMP-RG) to date pedogenic opal using the 230Th–U system. Due to the high-spatial resolution of an ion microprobe (typically 30 μm), regions of pure opal within a sample can be targeted and detrital material can be avoided. In addition, because the technique is non-destructive, the sample can be preserved for other types of aAuthorsK. Maher, J. L. Wooden, J.B. Paces, D. M. MillerSurficial geologic map and geodatabase of the Cuddeback Lake 30' x 60' quadrangle, San Bernardino and Kern Counties, California
A USGS surficial geologic mapping project, focused on the arid Southwest USA, conducted mapping and process studies to investigate landscape development and tectonic evolution. This project included the Cuddeback Lake 1:100,000-scale quadrangle located in the western Mojave Desert north-northeast of Los Angeles, between the southern Sierra Nevada and San Bernardino Mountains, in Kern and San BernaAuthorsLee Amoroso, David M. MillerNon-USGS Publications**
Miller, D. M., 1978, Deformation associated with Big Bertha Dome, Albion Mountains, Idaho. Univ. of Cal. Los Angeles, Ph.D. Dissertation, 255 p.
Miller, D. M., and Oertel, G., 1979, Strain determination from the measurement of pebble shapes: a modification: Tectonophysics, v. 55, p. T11-T13.**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.