Jeff Pigati
I study geologic deposits associated with springs and desert wetlands to understand how hydrologic systems in arid environments responded to past episodes of abrupt climate change. I also develop and test innovative methods and materials for radiocarbon dating.
I am also part of an international team of researchers studying ancient human footprints in White Sands National Park. The results of our investigations have shown that humans were in continental North America during the Last Glacial Maximum, between 23,000 and 21,000 years ago, which fundamentally changes our understanding of the peopling of the Americas.
Professional Experience
Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, 2007-present
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., University of Arizona. 2004
M.S., University of Arizona. 1996
B.S., Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. 1992
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 14
Data release for Seasonality of precipitation in the southwestern United States during the late Pleistocene inferred from stable isotopes in herbivore tooth enamel Data release for Seasonality of precipitation in the southwestern United States during the late Pleistocene inferred from stable isotopes in herbivore tooth enamel
The late Pleistocene was a climatically dynamic period, with abrupt shifts between cool-wet and warm-dry conditions. Increased effective precipitation supported large pluvial lakes and long-lived spring ecosystems in valleys and basins throughout the western and southwestern U.S., but the source and seasonality of the precipitation are debated. Here we present stable carbon and oxygen...
Data release for Hydroclimate response of spring ecosystems to a two-stage Younger Dryas event in western North America Data release for Hydroclimate response of spring ecosystems to a two-stage Younger Dryas event in western North America
The Younger Dryas (YD) climate event is the preeminent example of abrupt climate change in the recent geologic past. Climate conditions during the YD were spatially complex, and high-resolution sediment cores in the North Atlantic, western Europe, and East Asia have revealed it unfolded in two distinct stages, including an initial stable climatic period between ~12.9 and 12.2 ka...
Data release for Oxygen isotopes of land snail shells in high latitude regions Data release for Oxygen isotopes of land snail shells in high latitude regions
The present study investigates the environmental significance of the oxygen isotopic composition of several modern land snail species collected along two north-to-south transects in Alaska and Scandinavia at latitudes between 60 and 70 degrees N. We tested the hypothesis that land snail shell Delta18O values primarily track precipitation Delta18O. The results show that shell Delta18O...
Data release for Evidence of glacial activity during MIS 4 in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA Data release for Evidence of glacial activity during MIS 4 in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA
The Ziegler Reservoir fossil site near Snowmass Village, Colorado (USA) provides a rare opportunity to examine environmental conditions in the Rocky Mountains during marine isotope stage (MIS) 4 (71-57 ka). Although recognized as a global-scale cold event, MIS 4 is typically absent from Rocky Mountain glacial chronologies because the geologic evidence was either covered or destroyed...
Data release for Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum Data release for Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum
Archaeologists and researchers in allied fields have long sought to understand human colonization of North America. Questions remain about when and how people migrated, where they originated, and how their arrival affected the established fauna and landscape. Here, we present evidence from excavated surfaces in White Sands National Park (New Mexico, United States), where multiple in situ...
Radiocarbon dating of an alluvial deposit with associated faunal remains Radiocarbon dating of an alluvial deposit with associated faunal remains
We assessed a construction site in the northern Las Vegas Valley that was initially reported as an "ice age" deposit. Alluvial deposits exposed at the site were inset into the Las Vegas Formation and contained semi-articulated Equus remains. Calibrated radiocarbon dates on two different materials associated with the remains centered on 1957, thus rendering the horse bones as modern.
Filter Total Items: 64
Seasonality of precipitation in the southwestern United States during the late Pleistocene inferred from stable isotopes in herbivore tooth enamel Seasonality of precipitation in the southwestern United States during the late Pleistocene inferred from stable isotopes in herbivore tooth enamel
The late Pleistocene was a climatically dynamic period, with abrupt shifts between cool-wet and warm-dry conditions. Increased effective precipitation supported large pluvial lakes and long-lived spring ecosystems in valleys and basins throughout the western and southwestern U.S., but the source and seasonality of the increased precipitation are debated. Increases in the proportions of...
Authors
Matthew J. Kohn, Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Linda Reynard, Amanda E. Drewicz, Justin Crevier, Eric Scott
Hydroclimate response of spring ecosystems to a two-stage Younger Dryas event in western North America Hydroclimate response of spring ecosystems to a two-stage Younger Dryas event in western North America
The Younger Dryas (YD) climate event is the preeminent example of abrupt climate change in the recent geologic past. Climate conditions during the YD were spatially complex, and high-resolution sediment cores in the North Atlantic, western Europe, and East Asia have revealed it unfolded in two distinct stages, including an initial stable climatic period between ~ 12.9 and 12.2 ka...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer
Reply to “Evidence for humans at White Sands National Park during the Last Glacial Maximum could actually be for Clovis people ~13,000 years ago” by C. Vance Haynes, Jr. Reply to “Evidence for humans at White Sands National Park during the Last Glacial Maximum could actually be for Clovis people ~13,000 years ago” by C. Vance Haynes, Jr.
Bennett et al. (2021, Science 373, 1528–1531) reported that ancient human footprints discovered in White Sands National Park, New Mexico date to between ∼23,000 and 21,000 years ago. Haynes (2022, PaleoAmerica, this issue) proposes two alternate hypotheses to explain the antiquity of the footprints. One is that they were made by humans crossing over older sediments sometime during the...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Vance T. Holliday, Matthew R. Bennett, David Bustos, Thomas M. Urban, Sally C. Reynolds, Daniel Odess
Oxygen isotopes of land snail shells in high latitude regions Oxygen isotopes of land snail shells in high latitude regions
The present study investigates the environmental significance of the oxygen isotopic composition of several modern land snail species collected along two north-to-south transects in Alaska and Scandinavia at latitudes between 60 and 70 °N. We tested the hypothesis that land snail shell δ18O values primarily track precipitation δ18O. The results show that shell δ18O values from...
Authors
Catherine Nield, Yurena Yanes, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Jason A. Rech, Ted von Proschwitz, Jeffrey C. Nekola
Response to comment on “Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum” Response to comment on “Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum”
Madsen et al. question the reliability of calibrated radiocarbon ages associated with human footprints discovered recently in White Sands National Park, New Mexico, USA. On the basis of the geologic, hydrologic, stratigraphic, and chronologic evidence, we maintain that the ages are robust and conclude that the footprints date to between ~23,000 and 21,000 years ago.Madsen et al. (1)...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Matthew R. Bennett, David Bustos, Thomas M. Urban, Vance T. Holliday, Sally C. Reynolds, Daniel Odess
Evidence of glacial activity during MIS 4 in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA Evidence of glacial activity during MIS 4 in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA
The Ziegler Reservoir fossil site near Snowmass Village, Colorado, provides a rare opportunity to examine environmental conditions in the Rocky Mountains during marine isotope stage (MIS) 4 (71–57 ka). Although recognized as a global-scale cold event, MIS 4 is typically absent from Rocky Mountain glacial chronologies because the geologic evidence was covered or destroyed during the...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Honke, Jeffrey S. Pigati, J. Michael Daniels
Non-USGS Publications**
Pigati, J.S. Miller, D.M., 2008, Late Pleistocene wetland deposits at Valley Wells, eastern Mojave Desert, California: initial results. In Trough to trough: the Colorado River and the Salton Sea - 2008 Desert Symposium Field Guide and Proceedings, R.E. Reynolds (Ed.), California State University, Desert Studies Consortium, and LSA Associates, Inc., 138-142.
Pigati, J.S., Quade, J., Wilson, J., Jull, A.J.T., Lifton, N.A., 2007, Development of low-background vacuum extraction and graphitization systems for 14C dating of old (40-60 ka) samples. Quaternary International 166, 4-14.
Felton, A.A., Russell, J.M., Cohen, A.S., Baker, M.E., Chesley, J., Lezzar, K.E., McGlue, M.M., Pigati, J.S., Quade, J., Stager, J.C., 2007, Paleolimnological evidence for the onset and termination of glacial aridity from Lake Tanganyika, East Tropical Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 252, 405-423.
Shanahan, T.S., Overpeck, J.T., Beck, J.W., Wheeler, C.W., Pigati, J.S., Talbot, M.R., Scholz, C.A., Peck, J., King, J.W., 2006, Paleoclimatic variations in West Africa from a record of late Pleistocene and Holocene lake level stands of Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 242 (3-4), 287-302.
Shanahan, T.M., Pigati, J.S., Dettman, D.L., Quade, J., 2005, Isotopic variability in the aragonite shells of freshwater gastropods living in springs with nearly constant temperature and isotopic composition. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 69 (16), 3949-3966.
Pigati, J.S., Lifton, N.A., 2004, Geomagnetic effects on time-integrated cosmogenic nuclide production with emphasis on in-situ 14C and 10Be. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 226, 193-205. (Elsevier Top 50 Most Cited Papers 2004-2007 Award).
Pigati, J.S., Quade, J., Shanahan, T.M., Haynes, C.V. Jr., 2004, Radiocarbon dating of minute gastropods and new constraints on the timing of late Quaternary spring-discharge deposits in southern Arizona, USA. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 204 (1-2), 33-45.
Rech, J.A., Pigati, J.S., Quade, J., Betancourt, J.L., 2003, Re-evaluation of mid-Holocene wetland deposits at Quebrada Puripica, northern Chile. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 194, 207-222.
Pigati, J.S., 2002, On correcting 14C ages of gastropod shell carbonate for fractionation. Radiocarbon 44(3), 755-760.
Stiner, M.C., Achyuthan, H., Arsebuk, G., Howell, F.C., Josephson, S.C., Juell, K.E., Pigati, J.S., Quade, J., 1998, Reconstructing cave bear paleoecology from skeletons: A cross-disciplinary study of middle-Pleistocene bears from Yarimburgaz Cave, Turkey. Paleobiology 24, 74-96.
**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: 14
Data release for Seasonality of precipitation in the southwestern United States during the late Pleistocene inferred from stable isotopes in herbivore tooth enamel Data release for Seasonality of precipitation in the southwestern United States during the late Pleistocene inferred from stable isotopes in herbivore tooth enamel
The late Pleistocene was a climatically dynamic period, with abrupt shifts between cool-wet and warm-dry conditions. Increased effective precipitation supported large pluvial lakes and long-lived spring ecosystems in valleys and basins throughout the western and southwestern U.S., but the source and seasonality of the precipitation are debated. Here we present stable carbon and oxygen...
Data release for Hydroclimate response of spring ecosystems to a two-stage Younger Dryas event in western North America Data release for Hydroclimate response of spring ecosystems to a two-stage Younger Dryas event in western North America
The Younger Dryas (YD) climate event is the preeminent example of abrupt climate change in the recent geologic past. Climate conditions during the YD were spatially complex, and high-resolution sediment cores in the North Atlantic, western Europe, and East Asia have revealed it unfolded in two distinct stages, including an initial stable climatic period between ~12.9 and 12.2 ka...
Data release for Oxygen isotopes of land snail shells in high latitude regions Data release for Oxygen isotopes of land snail shells in high latitude regions
The present study investigates the environmental significance of the oxygen isotopic composition of several modern land snail species collected along two north-to-south transects in Alaska and Scandinavia at latitudes between 60 and 70 degrees N. We tested the hypothesis that land snail shell Delta18O values primarily track precipitation Delta18O. The results show that shell Delta18O...
Data release for Evidence of glacial activity during MIS 4 in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA Data release for Evidence of glacial activity during MIS 4 in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA
The Ziegler Reservoir fossil site near Snowmass Village, Colorado (USA) provides a rare opportunity to examine environmental conditions in the Rocky Mountains during marine isotope stage (MIS) 4 (71-57 ka). Although recognized as a global-scale cold event, MIS 4 is typically absent from Rocky Mountain glacial chronologies because the geologic evidence was either covered or destroyed...
Data release for Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum Data release for Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum
Archaeologists and researchers in allied fields have long sought to understand human colonization of North America. Questions remain about when and how people migrated, where they originated, and how their arrival affected the established fauna and landscape. Here, we present evidence from excavated surfaces in White Sands National Park (New Mexico, United States), where multiple in situ...
Radiocarbon dating of an alluvial deposit with associated faunal remains Radiocarbon dating of an alluvial deposit with associated faunal remains
We assessed a construction site in the northern Las Vegas Valley that was initially reported as an "ice age" deposit. Alluvial deposits exposed at the site were inset into the Las Vegas Formation and contained semi-articulated Equus remains. Calibrated radiocarbon dates on two different materials associated with the remains centered on 1957, thus rendering the horse bones as modern.
Filter Total Items: 64
Seasonality of precipitation in the southwestern United States during the late Pleistocene inferred from stable isotopes in herbivore tooth enamel Seasonality of precipitation in the southwestern United States during the late Pleistocene inferred from stable isotopes in herbivore tooth enamel
The late Pleistocene was a climatically dynamic period, with abrupt shifts between cool-wet and warm-dry conditions. Increased effective precipitation supported large pluvial lakes and long-lived spring ecosystems in valleys and basins throughout the western and southwestern U.S., but the source and seasonality of the increased precipitation are debated. Increases in the proportions of...
Authors
Matthew J. Kohn, Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Linda Reynard, Amanda E. Drewicz, Justin Crevier, Eric Scott
Hydroclimate response of spring ecosystems to a two-stage Younger Dryas event in western North America Hydroclimate response of spring ecosystems to a two-stage Younger Dryas event in western North America
The Younger Dryas (YD) climate event is the preeminent example of abrupt climate change in the recent geologic past. Climate conditions during the YD were spatially complex, and high-resolution sediment cores in the North Atlantic, western Europe, and East Asia have revealed it unfolded in two distinct stages, including an initial stable climatic period between ~ 12.9 and 12.2 ka...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer
Reply to “Evidence for humans at White Sands National Park during the Last Glacial Maximum could actually be for Clovis people ~13,000 years ago” by C. Vance Haynes, Jr. Reply to “Evidence for humans at White Sands National Park during the Last Glacial Maximum could actually be for Clovis people ~13,000 years ago” by C. Vance Haynes, Jr.
Bennett et al. (2021, Science 373, 1528–1531) reported that ancient human footprints discovered in White Sands National Park, New Mexico date to between ∼23,000 and 21,000 years ago. Haynes (2022, PaleoAmerica, this issue) proposes two alternate hypotheses to explain the antiquity of the footprints. One is that they were made by humans crossing over older sediments sometime during the...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Vance T. Holliday, Matthew R. Bennett, David Bustos, Thomas M. Urban, Sally C. Reynolds, Daniel Odess
Oxygen isotopes of land snail shells in high latitude regions Oxygen isotopes of land snail shells in high latitude regions
The present study investigates the environmental significance of the oxygen isotopic composition of several modern land snail species collected along two north-to-south transects in Alaska and Scandinavia at latitudes between 60 and 70 °N. We tested the hypothesis that land snail shell δ18O values primarily track precipitation δ18O. The results show that shell δ18O values from...
Authors
Catherine Nield, Yurena Yanes, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Jason A. Rech, Ted von Proschwitz, Jeffrey C. Nekola
Response to comment on “Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum” Response to comment on “Evidence of humans in North America during the Last Glacial Maximum”
Madsen et al. question the reliability of calibrated radiocarbon ages associated with human footprints discovered recently in White Sands National Park, New Mexico, USA. On the basis of the geologic, hydrologic, stratigraphic, and chronologic evidence, we maintain that the ages are robust and conclude that the footprints date to between ~23,000 and 21,000 years ago.Madsen et al. (1)...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Matthew R. Bennett, David Bustos, Thomas M. Urban, Vance T. Holliday, Sally C. Reynolds, Daniel Odess
Evidence of glacial activity during MIS 4 in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA Evidence of glacial activity during MIS 4 in the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA
The Ziegler Reservoir fossil site near Snowmass Village, Colorado, provides a rare opportunity to examine environmental conditions in the Rocky Mountains during marine isotope stage (MIS) 4 (71–57 ka). Although recognized as a global-scale cold event, MIS 4 is typically absent from Rocky Mountain glacial chronologies because the geologic evidence was covered or destroyed during the...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Honke, Jeffrey S. Pigati, J. Michael Daniels
Non-USGS Publications**
Pigati, J.S. Miller, D.M., 2008, Late Pleistocene wetland deposits at Valley Wells, eastern Mojave Desert, California: initial results. In Trough to trough: the Colorado River and the Salton Sea - 2008 Desert Symposium Field Guide and Proceedings, R.E. Reynolds (Ed.), California State University, Desert Studies Consortium, and LSA Associates, Inc., 138-142.
Pigati, J.S., Quade, J., Wilson, J., Jull, A.J.T., Lifton, N.A., 2007, Development of low-background vacuum extraction and graphitization systems for 14C dating of old (40-60 ka) samples. Quaternary International 166, 4-14.
Felton, A.A., Russell, J.M., Cohen, A.S., Baker, M.E., Chesley, J., Lezzar, K.E., McGlue, M.M., Pigati, J.S., Quade, J., Stager, J.C., 2007, Paleolimnological evidence for the onset and termination of glacial aridity from Lake Tanganyika, East Tropical Africa. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 252, 405-423.
Shanahan, T.S., Overpeck, J.T., Beck, J.W., Wheeler, C.W., Pigati, J.S., Talbot, M.R., Scholz, C.A., Peck, J., King, J.W., 2006, Paleoclimatic variations in West Africa from a record of late Pleistocene and Holocene lake level stands of Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 242 (3-4), 287-302.
Shanahan, T.M., Pigati, J.S., Dettman, D.L., Quade, J., 2005, Isotopic variability in the aragonite shells of freshwater gastropods living in springs with nearly constant temperature and isotopic composition. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 69 (16), 3949-3966.
Pigati, J.S., Lifton, N.A., 2004, Geomagnetic effects on time-integrated cosmogenic nuclide production with emphasis on in-situ 14C and 10Be. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 226, 193-205. (Elsevier Top 50 Most Cited Papers 2004-2007 Award).
Pigati, J.S., Quade, J., Shanahan, T.M., Haynes, C.V. Jr., 2004, Radiocarbon dating of minute gastropods and new constraints on the timing of late Quaternary spring-discharge deposits in southern Arizona, USA. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 204 (1-2), 33-45.
Rech, J.A., Pigati, J.S., Quade, J., Betancourt, J.L., 2003, Re-evaluation of mid-Holocene wetland deposits at Quebrada Puripica, northern Chile. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 194, 207-222.
Pigati, J.S., 2002, On correcting 14C ages of gastropod shell carbonate for fractionation. Radiocarbon 44(3), 755-760.
Stiner, M.C., Achyuthan, H., Arsebuk, G., Howell, F.C., Josephson, S.C., Juell, K.E., Pigati, J.S., Quade, J., 1998, Reconstructing cave bear paleoecology from skeletons: A cross-disciplinary study of middle-Pleistocene bears from Yarimburgaz Cave, Turkey. Paleobiology 24, 74-96.
**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.