I study Quaternary soils and geomorphology primarily in the western United States. My interest is in the timing and depositional history of geologic units controlled by climate change and tectonism. In addition to creating Quaternary geologic maps, I build 3D geologic models to better reconstruct the long term history of an area.
Education and Certifications
University of Colorado, Boulder, M.S. Quaternary Geology, 1985 (Thesis: Impact of time and climate on Quaternary soils in the Yucca Mountain area of the Nevada Test Site)
University of California, Berkeley, B.S., 1980
Punahou School, Honolulu, High School Diploma, 1971
Science and Products
Data Release of Geologic Map of the Weldona 7.5' Quadrangle, Morgan County, Colorado
The Weldona 7.5' quadrangle is located on the semiarid plains of northeastern Colorado, along the South Platte River corridor where the river has incised into Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale. The Pierre Shale is largely covered by surficial deposits that formed from alluvial, eolian, and hillslope processes operating in concert with environmental changes from the Pleistocene to the present. The Sout
Data Release of OSL, 14C, and U-series age data supporting geologic mapping along the South Platte River corridor in northeastern Colorado
In conjunction with geologic mapping of four 7.5′ quadrangles along the South Platte River corridor in northeastern Colorado (Masters, Orchard, Weldona, and Fort Morgan), geochronology samples were collected and analyzed using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), radiocarbon (14C), or U-series methods to provide age control for mapping units. This section of river corridor is largely covered b
Geologic map of the Fort Morgan 7.5' quadrangle, Morgan County, Colorado
The Fort Morgan 7.5′ quadrangle is located on the semiarid plains of northeastern Colorado, along the South Platte River corridor where the river has incised into Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale. The Pierre Shale is largely covered by surficial deposits that formed from alluvial, eolian, and hillslope processes operating in concert with environmental changes from the late Pliocene to the present. Th
Geologic map of the Weldona 7.5' quadrangle, Morgan County, Colorado
The Weldona 7.5′ quadrangle is located on the semiarid plains of northeastern Colorado, along the South Platte River corridor where the river has incised into Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale. The Pierre Shale is largely covered by surficial deposits that formed from alluvial, eolian, and hillslope processes operating in concert with environmental changes from the Pleistocene to the present. The Sout
Quaternary geologic map of the north-central part of the Salinas River Valley and Arroyo Seco, Monterey County, California
Arroyo Seco, a perennial drainage in the central Coast Range of California, records a sequence of strath terraces. These terraces preserve an erosional and depositional history, controlled by both climate change and regional tectonics. These deposits have been mapped and correlated on the basis of field investigations, digital terrain analysis, stream gradient profiles, evaluation of published reg
Surficial Geologic Map of the Evansville, Indiana, and Henderson, Kentucky, Area
The geologic map of the Evansville, Indiana, and Henderson, Kentucky, area depicts and describes surficial deposits according to their origin and age. Unconsolidated alluvium and outwash fill the Ohio River bedrock valley and attain maximum thickness of 33-39 m under Diamond Island, Kentucky, and Griffith Slough, south of Newburgh, Indiana. The fill is chiefly unconsolidated, fine- to medium-grain
Surficial geologic map of the Evansville, Indiana, and Henderson, Kentucky, area
The geologic map of the Evansville, Indiana, and Henderson, Kentucky, area depicts and describes surficial deposits according to their origin and age. Unconsolidated alluvium and outwash fill the Ohio River bedrock valley and attain maximum thickness of 33-39 m under Diamond Island, Kentucky, and Griffith Slough, south of Newburgh, Indiana. The fill is chiefly unconsolidated, fine- to medium-grain
Geologic map of the Death Valley ground-water model area, Nevada and California
No abstract available.
Geologic map of the Yucca Mountain region, Nye County, Nevada
Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nev., has been identified as a potential site for underground storage of high-level radioactive waste. This geologic map compilation, including all of Yucca Mountain and Crater Flat, most of the Calico Hills, western Jackass Flats, Little Skull Mountain, the Striped Hills, the Skeleton Hills, and the northeastern Amargosa Desert, portrays the geologic framework for a s
Filter Total Items: 24
A 4000-year history of debris flows in north-central Washington State, U.S.A.: Preliminary results from trenching and surficial geologic mapping at the Pope Creek fan
Long-term records of the magnitude and frequency of debris flows on fans are rare, but such records provide critical information needed for debris-flow hazard and risk assessments. This study explores the history of debris flows on a fan with seasonally inhabited cabins at Pope Creek along the Entiat River about 48 km upstream from the town of Entiat, Washington. Motivation for this study was prov
Authors
Jeffrey A. Coe, Erin Bessette-Kirton, Stephen Slaughter, Francis K. Rengers, Trevor A. Contreras, Katherin A Michelson, Emily Taylor, Jason W. Kean, Kara Jacobacci, Molly A Hanson
Pleistocene and Holocene landscape development of the South Platte River Corridor, Northeastern Colorado
This report provides a synthesis of geologic mapping and geochronologic research along the South Platte River between the town of Masters and the city of Fort Morgan, northeastern Colorado. This work was undertaken to better understand landscape development along this part of the river corridor. The focus is on times of rapid change within the fluvial system that had a marked effect on the landsca
Authors
Margaret E. Berry, Janet L. Slate, Emily M. Taylor
Investigating the landscape of Arroyo Seco—Decoding the past—A teaching guide to climate-controlled landscape evolution in a tectonically active region
IntroductionArroyo Seco is a river that flows eastward out of the Santa Lucia Range in Monterey County, California. The Santa Lucia Range is considered part of the central California Coast Range. Arroyo Seco flows out of the Santa Lucia Range into the Salinas River valley, near the town of Greenfield, where it joins the Salinas River. The Salinas River flows north into Monterey Bay about 40 miles
Authors
Emily M. Taylor, Donald S. Sweetkind, Jeremy C. Havens
Three-dimensional geologic mapping of the Cenozoic basin fill, Amargosa Desert basin, Nevada and California
Understanding the subsurface geologic framework of the Cenozoic basin fill that underlies the Amargosa Desert in southern Nevada and southeastern California has been improved by using borehole data to construct three-dimensional lithologic and interpreted facies models. Lithologic data from 210 boreholes from a 20-kilometer (km) by 90-km area were reduced to a limited suite of descriptors based on
Authors
Emily M. Taylor, Donald S. Sweetkind
Characterization of geologic deposits in the vicinity of US Ecology, Amargosa Basin, southern Nevada
Multiple approaches have been applied to better understand the characteristics of geologic units exposed at the surface and buried at depth in the vicinity of US Ecology (USE), a low-level commercial waste site in the northern Amargosa Desert, Nevada. Techniques include surficial geologic mapping and interpretation of the subsurface using borehole data. Dated deposits at depth were used to estimat
Authors
Emily M. Taylor
Three-dimensional geologic modeling of the Santa Rosa Plain, California
New three-dimensional (3D) lithologic and stratigraphic models of the Santa Rosa Plain (California, USA) delineate the thickness, extent, and distribution of subsurface geologic units and allow integration of diverse data sets to produce a lithologic, stratigraphic, and structural architecture for the region. This framework can be used to predict pathways of groundwater flow beneath the Santa Rosa
Authors
Donald S. Sweetkind, Emily M. Taylor, Craig A. McCabe, Victoria E. Langenheim, Robert J. McLaughlin
Digital tabulation of geologic and hydrologic data from wells in the northern San Francisco Bay region, northern California
Downhole lithologic information and aquifer pumping test data are reported from 464 wells from a broad area of the northern part of the Coast Ranges in California. These data were originally published in paper form as numerous tables within three USGS Water-Supply Papers describing geology and groundwater conditions in Napa and Sonoma Valleys, the Santa Rosa and Petaluma Valley areas, and in the R
Authors
D. S. Sweetkind, E. M. Taylor
Quaternary paleoseismology and stratigraphy of the Yucca Mountain area, Nevada
No abstract available.
Authors
John W. Whitney, Emily M. Taylor
Stratigraphic inferences derived from borehole data of Tertiary basin-filling rocks of the Pahrump Valley basin, Nevada and California
This report summarizes the results from the compilation and interpretation of lithologic information from 266 driller?s logs from the Pahrump Valley, NV-CA. Borehole records for the Pahrump Valley were selected from a total of several thousand available well logs as those having lithologic data and high confidence in the well locations. Driller?s descriptions were reduced into one of 14 lithologic
Authors
Donald S. Sweetkind, Emily Taylor, Heather Putnam
Facies analysis of Tertiary basin-filling rocks of the Death Valley regional ground-water system and surrounding areas, Nevada and California
Existing hydrologic models of the Death Valley region typically have defined the Cenozoic basins as those areas that are covered by recent surficial deposits, and have treated the basin-fill deposits that are concealed under alluvium as a single unit with uniform hydrologic properties throughout the region, and with depth. Although this latter generalization was known to be flawed, it evidently wa
Authors
Donald S. Sweetkind, Christopher J. Fridrich, Emily Taylor
Surficial geologic map of Berrien County, Michigan
Authors
Byron D. Stone
"Overview of calcite/opal deposits at or near the proposed high-level nuclear waste site, Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA: pedogenic, hypogene, or both" by C.A. Hill, Y.V. Dublyansky, R.S. Harmon, C.M. Schluter
No abstract available.
Authors
John S. Stuckless, Brian D. Marshall, D. T. Vaniman, W. W. Dudley, Zell E. Peterman, James B. Paces, J. F. Whelan, Emily M. Taylor, Richard M. Forester, D. W. O'Leary
Science and Products
- Data
Data Release of Geologic Map of the Weldona 7.5' Quadrangle, Morgan County, Colorado
The Weldona 7.5' quadrangle is located on the semiarid plains of northeastern Colorado, along the South Platte River corridor where the river has incised into Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale. The Pierre Shale is largely covered by surficial deposits that formed from alluvial, eolian, and hillslope processes operating in concert with environmental changes from the Pleistocene to the present. The SoutData Release of OSL, 14C, and U-series age data supporting geologic mapping along the South Platte River corridor in northeastern Colorado
In conjunction with geologic mapping of four 7.5′ quadrangles along the South Platte River corridor in northeastern Colorado (Masters, Orchard, Weldona, and Fort Morgan), geochronology samples were collected and analyzed using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), radiocarbon (14C), or U-series methods to provide age control for mapping units. This section of river corridor is largely covered b - Maps
Geologic map of the Fort Morgan 7.5' quadrangle, Morgan County, Colorado
The Fort Morgan 7.5′ quadrangle is located on the semiarid plains of northeastern Colorado, along the South Platte River corridor where the river has incised into Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale. The Pierre Shale is largely covered by surficial deposits that formed from alluvial, eolian, and hillslope processes operating in concert with environmental changes from the late Pliocene to the present. ThGeologic map of the Weldona 7.5' quadrangle, Morgan County, Colorado
The Weldona 7.5′ quadrangle is located on the semiarid plains of northeastern Colorado, along the South Platte River corridor where the river has incised into Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale. The Pierre Shale is largely covered by surficial deposits that formed from alluvial, eolian, and hillslope processes operating in concert with environmental changes from the Pleistocene to the present. The SoutQuaternary geologic map of the north-central part of the Salinas River Valley and Arroyo Seco, Monterey County, California
Arroyo Seco, a perennial drainage in the central Coast Range of California, records a sequence of strath terraces. These terraces preserve an erosional and depositional history, controlled by both climate change and regional tectonics. These deposits have been mapped and correlated on the basis of field investigations, digital terrain analysis, stream gradient profiles, evaluation of published regSurficial Geologic Map of the Evansville, Indiana, and Henderson, Kentucky, Area
The geologic map of the Evansville, Indiana, and Henderson, Kentucky, area depicts and describes surficial deposits according to their origin and age. Unconsolidated alluvium and outwash fill the Ohio River bedrock valley and attain maximum thickness of 33-39 m under Diamond Island, Kentucky, and Griffith Slough, south of Newburgh, Indiana. The fill is chiefly unconsolidated, fine- to medium-grainSurficial geologic map of the Evansville, Indiana, and Henderson, Kentucky, area
The geologic map of the Evansville, Indiana, and Henderson, Kentucky, area depicts and describes surficial deposits according to their origin and age. Unconsolidated alluvium and outwash fill the Ohio River bedrock valley and attain maximum thickness of 33-39 m under Diamond Island, Kentucky, and Griffith Slough, south of Newburgh, Indiana. The fill is chiefly unconsolidated, fine- to medium-grainGeologic map of the Death Valley ground-water model area, Nevada and California
No abstract available.Geologic map of the Yucca Mountain region, Nye County, Nevada
Yucca Mountain, Nye County, Nev., has been identified as a potential site for underground storage of high-level radioactive waste. This geologic map compilation, including all of Yucca Mountain and Crater Flat, most of the Calico Hills, western Jackass Flats, Little Skull Mountain, the Striped Hills, the Skeleton Hills, and the northeastern Amargosa Desert, portrays the geologic framework for a s - Publications
Filter Total Items: 24
A 4000-year history of debris flows in north-central Washington State, U.S.A.: Preliminary results from trenching and surficial geologic mapping at the Pope Creek fan
Long-term records of the magnitude and frequency of debris flows on fans are rare, but such records provide critical information needed for debris-flow hazard and risk assessments. This study explores the history of debris flows on a fan with seasonally inhabited cabins at Pope Creek along the Entiat River about 48 km upstream from the town of Entiat, Washington. Motivation for this study was provAuthorsJeffrey A. Coe, Erin Bessette-Kirton, Stephen Slaughter, Francis K. Rengers, Trevor A. Contreras, Katherin A Michelson, Emily Taylor, Jason W. Kean, Kara Jacobacci, Molly A HansonPleistocene and Holocene landscape development of the South Platte River Corridor, Northeastern Colorado
This report provides a synthesis of geologic mapping and geochronologic research along the South Platte River between the town of Masters and the city of Fort Morgan, northeastern Colorado. This work was undertaken to better understand landscape development along this part of the river corridor. The focus is on times of rapid change within the fluvial system that had a marked effect on the landscaAuthorsMargaret E. Berry, Janet L. Slate, Emily M. TaylorInvestigating the landscape of Arroyo Seco—Decoding the past—A teaching guide to climate-controlled landscape evolution in a tectonically active region
IntroductionArroyo Seco is a river that flows eastward out of the Santa Lucia Range in Monterey County, California. The Santa Lucia Range is considered part of the central California Coast Range. Arroyo Seco flows out of the Santa Lucia Range into the Salinas River valley, near the town of Greenfield, where it joins the Salinas River. The Salinas River flows north into Monterey Bay about 40 milesAuthorsEmily M. Taylor, Donald S. Sweetkind, Jeremy C. HavensThree-dimensional geologic mapping of the Cenozoic basin fill, Amargosa Desert basin, Nevada and California
Understanding the subsurface geologic framework of the Cenozoic basin fill that underlies the Amargosa Desert in southern Nevada and southeastern California has been improved by using borehole data to construct three-dimensional lithologic and interpreted facies models. Lithologic data from 210 boreholes from a 20-kilometer (km) by 90-km area were reduced to a limited suite of descriptors based onAuthorsEmily M. Taylor, Donald S. SweetkindCharacterization of geologic deposits in the vicinity of US Ecology, Amargosa Basin, southern Nevada
Multiple approaches have been applied to better understand the characteristics of geologic units exposed at the surface and buried at depth in the vicinity of US Ecology (USE), a low-level commercial waste site in the northern Amargosa Desert, Nevada. Techniques include surficial geologic mapping and interpretation of the subsurface using borehole data. Dated deposits at depth were used to estimatAuthorsEmily M. TaylorThree-dimensional geologic modeling of the Santa Rosa Plain, California
New three-dimensional (3D) lithologic and stratigraphic models of the Santa Rosa Plain (California, USA) delineate the thickness, extent, and distribution of subsurface geologic units and allow integration of diverse data sets to produce a lithologic, stratigraphic, and structural architecture for the region. This framework can be used to predict pathways of groundwater flow beneath the Santa RosaAuthorsDonald S. Sweetkind, Emily M. Taylor, Craig A. McCabe, Victoria E. Langenheim, Robert J. McLaughlinDigital tabulation of geologic and hydrologic data from wells in the northern San Francisco Bay region, northern California
Downhole lithologic information and aquifer pumping test data are reported from 464 wells from a broad area of the northern part of the Coast Ranges in California. These data were originally published in paper form as numerous tables within three USGS Water-Supply Papers describing geology and groundwater conditions in Napa and Sonoma Valleys, the Santa Rosa and Petaluma Valley areas, and in the RAuthorsD. S. Sweetkind, E. M. TaylorQuaternary paleoseismology and stratigraphy of the Yucca Mountain area, Nevada
No abstract available.AuthorsJohn W. Whitney, Emily M. TaylorStratigraphic inferences derived from borehole data of Tertiary basin-filling rocks of the Pahrump Valley basin, Nevada and California
This report summarizes the results from the compilation and interpretation of lithologic information from 266 driller?s logs from the Pahrump Valley, NV-CA. Borehole records for the Pahrump Valley were selected from a total of several thousand available well logs as those having lithologic data and high confidence in the well locations. Driller?s descriptions were reduced into one of 14 lithologicAuthorsDonald S. Sweetkind, Emily Taylor, Heather PutnamFacies analysis of Tertiary basin-filling rocks of the Death Valley regional ground-water system and surrounding areas, Nevada and California
Existing hydrologic models of the Death Valley region typically have defined the Cenozoic basins as those areas that are covered by recent surficial deposits, and have treated the basin-fill deposits that are concealed under alluvium as a single unit with uniform hydrologic properties throughout the region, and with depth. Although this latter generalization was known to be flawed, it evidently waAuthorsDonald S. Sweetkind, Christopher J. Fridrich, Emily TaylorSurficial geologic map of Berrien County, Michigan
AuthorsByron D. Stone"Overview of calcite/opal deposits at or near the proposed high-level nuclear waste site, Yucca Mountain, Nevada, USA: pedogenic, hypogene, or both" by C.A. Hill, Y.V. Dublyansky, R.S. Harmon, C.M. Schluter
No abstract available.AuthorsJohn S. Stuckless, Brian D. Marshall, D. T. Vaniman, W. W. Dudley, Zell E. Peterman, James B. Paces, J. F. Whelan, Emily M. Taylor, Richard M. Forester, D. W. O'Leary