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
Climatically driven displacement on the Eglington fault, Las Vegas, Nevada
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 Las Vegas Formation
The geology and paleontology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada
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)
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
Climatically driven displacement on the Eglington fault, Las Vegas, Nevada
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 Las Vegas Formation
The geology and paleontology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada
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)
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.