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
Fluvial sedimentary history of Arlington Canyon, Channel Islands National Park, California
Late Quaternary paleohydrology of desert wetlands and pluvial lakes in the Soda Lake basin, central Mojave Desert, California (USA)
The geology and paleontology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada
The Las Vegas Formation
Overview of the oxygen isotope systematics of land snails from North America
Examining the relationship between portable luminescence reader measurements and depositional ages of paleowetland sediments, Las Vegas Valley, Nevada
Juke Box trench: A valuable archive of late Pleistocene and Holocene stratigraphy in the Bonneville basin, Utah
Origin of last-glacial loess in the western Yukon-Tanana Upland, central Alaska, USA
Desert wetlands record hydrologic variability within the Younger Dryas chronozone, Mojave Desert, USA
Quaternary sea-level history and the origin of the northernmost coastal aeolianites in the Americas: Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
Reply to the discussion of Pinter et al. on ‘Fluvial system response to late Pleistocene-Holocene sea-level change on Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California’ by Schumann et al. (2016)
Late Quaternary fluvial history of Santa Cruz Island, California, USA
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: 61
Fluvial sedimentary history of Arlington Canyon, Channel Islands National Park, California
Arlington Canyon, in the northwest part of Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California, has been the setting for important scientific discoveries over the past half century, including the oldest human remains in North America, several vertebrate fossil sites, and purported evidence of a catastrophic extinction event at the end of the Pleistocene. The canyon is filled with alluvialAuthorsR. Randall Schumann, Jeffrey S. PigatiLate Quaternary paleohydrology of desert wetlands and pluvial lakes in the Soda Lake basin, central Mojave Desert, California (USA)
Sediment cores taken near extant springs along the western margin of Soda Lake playa, as well as from the playa center, reveal dramatic hydrologic changes that occurred in the central Mojave Desert during the late Quaternary. Results of stratigraphic, chronologic, physical, chemical, and microfossil analyses of seven cores, ranging in length from 5 to 23 m, help refine the timing and character ofAuthorsJeffrey S. Honke, Jeffrey S. Pigati, J. Wilson, J. Bright, H.L. Goldstein, Gary L. Skipp, M. C. Reheis, J. C. HavensThe geology and paleontology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada
On December 19, 2014, Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, located in the Las Vegas Valley of southern Nevada, was established by Congress as the 405th unit of the National Park Service to “conserve, protect, interpret, and enhance for the benefit of present and future generations the unique and nationally important paleontological, scientific, educational, and recreational resources and vaAuthorsKathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Eric ScottThe Las Vegas Formation
The Las Vegas Formation was established in 1965 to designate the distinctive light-colored, fine-grained, fossil-bearing sedimentary deposits exposed in and around the Las Vegas Valley, Nevada. In a coeval designation, the sediments were subdivided into informal units with stratigraphic and chronologic frameworks that have persisted in the literature. Use of the Las Vegas Formation name over the pAuthorsKathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Craig R. Manker, Shannon A. MahanOverview of the oxygen isotope systematics of land snails from North America
Continental paleoclimate proxies with near-global coverage are rare. Land snail δ18O is one of the few proxies abundant in Quaternary sediments ranging from the tropics to the high Arctic tundra. However, its application in paleoclimatology remains difficult, attributable in part to limitations in published calibration studies. Here we present shell δ18O of modern small (<10 mm) snails across NortAuthorsYurena Yanes, Nasser M. Al-Qattan, Jason A. Rech, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Justin P. Dodd, Jeffrey C. NekolaExamining the relationship between portable luminescence reader measurements and depositional ages of paleowetland sediments, Las Vegas Valley, Nevada
Portable luminescence readers are exciting new tools that have the potential to rapidly determine the age structure of late Quaternary stratigraphic columns. This is important because high-resolution age profiling can reveal details about the temporal dynamics of climate cause and ecosystem effect, often while researchers are still in the field. In this paper, we compare new portable luminescenceAuthorsHarrison J. Gray, Shannon A. Mahan, Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. PigatiJuke Box trench: A valuable archive of late Pleistocene and Holocene stratigraphy in the Bonneville basin, Utah
A backhoe trench in deposits of Pleistocene Lake Bonneville and Holocene wetlands below the mouth of Juke Box Cave, near Wendover, Utah, provides an excellent view of the late Pleistocene and Holocene geologic history of the area. The following stratigraphic units are exposed (ascending): preBonneville gravel (fluvial or lacustrine) and oolitic sand (ages greater than 30,000 yr B.P.); Lake BonneviAuthorsCharles G. Oviatt, Jeffrey S. Pigati, David B. Madsen, David E. Rhode, Jordon BrightOrigin of last-glacial loess in the western Yukon-Tanana Upland, central Alaska, USA
Loess is widespread over Alaska, and its accumulation has traditionally been associated with glacial periods. Surprisingly, loess deposits securely dated to the last glacial period are rare in Alaska, and paleowind reconstructions for this time period are limited to inferences from dune orientations. We report a rare occurrence of loess deposits dating to the last glacial period, ~19 ka to ~12 ka,AuthorsDaniel R. Muhs, Jeffrey S. Pigati, James R. Budahn, Gary L. Skipp, E. Arthur Bettis, Britta JensenDesert wetlands record hydrologic variability within the Younger Dryas chronozone, Mojave Desert, USA
One of the enduring questions in the field of paleohydrology is how quickly desert wetland ecosystems responded to past episodes of abrupt climate change. Recent investigations in the Las Vegas Valley of southern Nevada have revealed that wetlands expanded and contracted on millennial and sub-millennial timescales in response to changes in climate during the late Quaternary. Here, we evaluate geolAuthorsJeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. HonkeQuaternary sea-level history and the origin of the northernmost coastal aeolianites in the Americas: Channel Islands National Park, California, USA
Along most of the Pacific Coast of North America, sand dunes are dominantly silicate-rich. On the California Channel Islands, however, dunes are carbonate-rich, due to high productivity offshore and a lack of dilution by silicate minerals. Older sands on the Channel Islands contain enough carbonate to be cemented into aeolianite. Several generations of carbonate aeolianites are present on the CaliAuthorsDaniel R. Muhs, Jeffrey S. Pigati, R. Randall Schumann, Gary L. Skipp, Naomi Porat, Stephen B. DeVogelReply to the discussion of Pinter et al. on ‘Fluvial system response to late Pleistocene-Holocene sea-level change on Santa Rosa Island, Channel Islands National Park, California’ by Schumann et al. (2016)
We appreciate the thoughtful discussion offered by Pinter et al. (2017) because it gives us an opportunity to elucidate some of the main points of our study, address some apparent misinterpretations, and recapitulate one of our conclusions. Pinter et al.’s discussion emphasizes and reinforces some of the important concepts we presented but also raises questions regarding specific aspects of our stAuthorsR. Randall Schumann, Jeffrey S. PigatiLate Quaternary fluvial history of Santa Cruz Island, California, USA
The geologic history of fluvial systems on Santa Cruz Island (SCI) is complex, involving responses to both allogenic and autogenic forcings. During periods of low or lowering sea level, canyons on the island were eroded and sediment was transported off the island onto the exposed marine shelf. When sea level rose, streams aggraded, building a sedimentary wedge that progressed from the shelf upstreAuthorsR. Randall Schumann, Jeffrey S. PigatiNon-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.
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