Kathleen Springer
I study geologic deposits associated with springs and desert wetlands and pluvial lakes to develop paleoclimate records for the American Southwest.
I specialize in deciphering complex stratigraphic sequences, reconstructing paleoenvironmental conditions, and studying how springs and other groundwater dependent ecosystems responded to climate change in the recent geologic past. My research takes me all over the deserts of the southwest to places like Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Death Valley National Park, White Sands National Park, Joshua Tree National Park, and Channel Islands National Park.
Professional Experience
Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center
Education and Certifications
1989: M.S., Geological Sciences, University of California, Riverside
1985: B.S., Geological Sciences, University of California, Riverside
Honors and Awards
2024: USGS Eugene M. Shoemaker Award for Lifetime Achievement in Communications
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 24
Mammut pacificus sp. nov., a newly recognized species of mastodon from the Pleistocene of western North America Mammut pacificus sp. nov., a newly recognized species of mastodon from the Pleistocene of western North America
A new species of mastodon from the Pleistocene of western North America, Mammut pacificus sp. nov. is herein recognized, with specimens identified throughout California and from two localities in southern Idaho. This new taxon differs from the contemporaneous M. americanum in having narrower teeth, most prominently in M3/m3, as well as six sacral vertebrae, femur with a proportionally...
Authors
Alton C Dooley, Eric Scott, Jeremy Green, Kathleen B. Springer, Brett Dooley, Gregory J. Smith
The Las Vegas Formation The 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...
Authors
Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Craig R. Manker, Shannon A. Mahan
The geology and paleontology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada The 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...
Authors
Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Eric Scott
Examining the relationship between portable luminescence reader measurements and depositional ages of paleowetland sediments, Las Vegas Valley, Nevada Examining 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...
Authors
Harrison J. Gray, Shannon A. Mahan, Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati
Desert wetlands record hydrologic variability within the Younger Dryas chronozone, Mojave Desert, USA Desert 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...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Honke
The Great Acceleration and the disappearing surficial geologic record The Great Acceleration and the disappearing surficial geologic record
The surficial geologic record is the relatively thin veneer of young (
Authors
Jason A. Rech, Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati
The Tule Springs local fauna: Rancholabrean vertebrates from the Las Vegas Formation, Nevada The Tule Springs local fauna: Rancholabrean vertebrates from the Las Vegas Formation, Nevada
A middle to late Pleistocene sedimentary sequence in the upper Las Vegas Wash, north of Las Vegas, Nevada, has yielded the largest open-site Rancholabrean vertebrate fossil assemblage in the southern Great Basin and Mojave Deserts. Recent paleontologic field studies have led to the discovery of hundreds of fossil localities and specimens, greatly extending the geographic and temporal...
Authors
Eric Scott, Kathleen B. Springer, James C. Sagebiel
Vertebrate paleontology, stratigraphy, and paleohydrology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada (USA) Vertebrate paleontology, stratigraphy, and paleohydrology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada (USA)
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK) preserves 22,650 acres of the upper Las Vegas Wash in the northern Las Vegas Valley (Nevada, USA). TUSK is home to extensive and stratigraphically complex groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits, called the Las Vegas Formation, which represent springs and desert wetlands that covered much of the valley during the late Quaternary. The GWD...
Authors
Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffery S. Pigati, Eric Scott
Geology and vertebrate paleontology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada, USA Geology and vertebrate paleontology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada, USA
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK) preserves 22,650 acres of the upper Las Vegas Wash in the northern Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, USA. TUSK is home to extensive and stratigraphically complex groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits, called the Las Vegas Formation, which represent springs and desert wetlands that covered much of the valley during the late Quaternary. The GWD...
Authors
Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Eric Scott
First records of Canis dirus and Smilodon fatalis from the late Pleistocene Tule Springs local fauna, upper Las Vegas Wash, Nevada First records of Canis dirus and Smilodon fatalis from the late Pleistocene Tule Springs local fauna, upper Las Vegas Wash, Nevada
Late Pleistocene groundwater discharge deposits (paleowetlands) in the upper Las Vegas Wash north of Las Vegas, Nevada, have yielded an abundant and diverse vertebrate fossil assemblage, the Tule Springs local fauna (TSLF). The TSLF is the largest open-site vertebrate fossil assemblage dating to the Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age in the southern Great Basin and Mojave...
Authors
Eric Scott, Kathleen B. Springer
Desert wetlands—Archives of a wetter past Desert wetlands—Archives of a wetter past
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are finding evidence of a much wetter past in the deserts of the American Southwest using a most unlikely source—wetlands. Wetlands form in arid environments where water tables approach or breach the ground surface. Often thought of as stagnant and unchanging, new evidence suggests that springs and wetlands responded dynamically to past...
Authors
Jeffery S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Craig R. Manker
Dynamic response of desert wetlands to abrupt climate change Dynamic response of desert wetlands to abrupt climate change
Desert wetlands are keystone ecosystems in arid environments and are preserved in the geologic record as groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits. GWD deposits are inherently discontinuous and stratigraphically complex, which has limited our understanding of how desert wetlands responded to past episodes of rapid climate change. Previous studies have shown that wetlands responded to climate...
Authors
Kathleen B. Springer, Craig R. Manker, Jeffrey S. Pigati
Non-USGS Publications**
Ramelli, R.A., Page, R.W., Manker, C.R., Springer, K.B., 2012, Preliminary geologic map of the Corn Creek Springs, NW quadrangle, Clark County, Nevada: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Map 175, scale 1:24,000.
Ramelli, Alan R.; Page, William R.; Manker, Craig R.; Springer, Kathleen B., 2011, Geologic map of the Gass Peak SW quadrangle, Clark County, Nevada; 2011; Other Government Series; 175.
Springer, K.B., Scott, E., Manker C.R., Rowland, S., 2011, Vertebrate paleontology of Pleistocene lakes and groundwater discharge deposits of the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin: Nevada State Museum Paleontological Papers no. 1, 168-243.
Springer, K.B., Scott, Eric, Sagabiel, J.C., and Murray, L.K., 2010, Late Pleistocene large mammal faunal dynamics from inland southern California: The Diamond Valley Lake local fauna: Quaternary International, v. 217, iss. 1-2, p. 256-265.
Springer, K.B., Scott, E., Sagebiel, J.C., Murray, L.K., 2009, The Diamond Valley Lake local fauna: late Pleistocene vertebrates from inland southern California: Papers on Geology, Vertebrate Paleontology and Biostratigraphy in Honor of Michael O. Woodburne (L.B. Albright III, ed). Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 65, 217-235.
Scott, E., Springer, K.B., Sagebiel, J.C., Manker, C.R., 2006, Planning for the future: preserving and interpreting paleontology and geology in Joshua Tree National Park. America’s Antiquities: 100 Years of Managing Fossils on Federal Lands (Lucas, S.G., Spielmann, J.A., Hester, P.M., Kenworthy, J.P., Santucci, V.L., eds). New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 34, 159-164.
Scott, E., Springer, K.B., and Sagebiel, J.C., 2004, Vertebrate paleontology in the Mojave Desert: the continuing importance of “follow-through” in preserving paleontologic resources. The Human Journey and Ancient Life in California’s Deserts: Proceedings from the 2001 Millennium Conference (Allen, M.W., Reed, J., eds.). Maturango Museum Publication no. 15, 65-70.
Scott, E., and Springer, K.B., 2003, CEQA and fossil preservation in southern California: The Environmental Monitor 17, 4-10.
Anderson, R., Power, M., Smith, S., Springer, K., and Scott, E., 2002, Paleoecology of a Middle Wisconsin Deposit from Southern California: Quaternary Research, 58(3), 310-317. doi:10.1006/qres.2002.2388
Campbell, Kenneth, Scott, Eric, and Springer, Kathleen, 1999, A New Genus for the Incredible Teratorn (Aves: Teratornithidae): Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. 89.
Springer, K.B. and Murphy, Michael, 1994, Punctuated stasis and collateral evolution in the Devonian lineage of Monograptus hercynicus: Lethaia. 27. 119-128.
Woodburne, M.O., Case, J.A., Springer, M.S., Woodburne, J., Springer, K.B., and Power, J.D., 1993, Biostratigraphy and paleontology of the Etadunna Formation, South Australia: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 13(4), 483-515.
Murphy, M., & Springer, K., 1989, Morphometric study of the platform elements of Amydrotaxis praejohnsoni n. sp. (Lower Devonian, conodonts, Nevada): Journal of Paleontology, 63(3), 349-355. doi:10.1017/S002233600001951X
**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: 24
Mammut pacificus sp. nov., a newly recognized species of mastodon from the Pleistocene of western North America Mammut pacificus sp. nov., a newly recognized species of mastodon from the Pleistocene of western North America
A new species of mastodon from the Pleistocene of western North America, Mammut pacificus sp. nov. is herein recognized, with specimens identified throughout California and from two localities in southern Idaho. This new taxon differs from the contemporaneous M. americanum in having narrower teeth, most prominently in M3/m3, as well as six sacral vertebrae, femur with a proportionally...
Authors
Alton C Dooley, Eric Scott, Jeremy Green, Kathleen B. Springer, Brett Dooley, Gregory J. Smith
The Las Vegas Formation The 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...
Authors
Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Craig R. Manker, Shannon A. Mahan
The geology and paleontology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada The 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...
Authors
Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Eric Scott
Examining the relationship between portable luminescence reader measurements and depositional ages of paleowetland sediments, Las Vegas Valley, Nevada Examining 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...
Authors
Harrison J. Gray, Shannon A. Mahan, Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati
Desert wetlands record hydrologic variability within the Younger Dryas chronozone, Mojave Desert, USA Desert 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...
Authors
Jeffrey S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Honke
The Great Acceleration and the disappearing surficial geologic record The Great Acceleration and the disappearing surficial geologic record
The surficial geologic record is the relatively thin veneer of young (
Authors
Jason A. Rech, Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati
The Tule Springs local fauna: Rancholabrean vertebrates from the Las Vegas Formation, Nevada The Tule Springs local fauna: Rancholabrean vertebrates from the Las Vegas Formation, Nevada
A middle to late Pleistocene sedimentary sequence in the upper Las Vegas Wash, north of Las Vegas, Nevada, has yielded the largest open-site Rancholabrean vertebrate fossil assemblage in the southern Great Basin and Mojave Deserts. Recent paleontologic field studies have led to the discovery of hundreds of fossil localities and specimens, greatly extending the geographic and temporal...
Authors
Eric Scott, Kathleen B. Springer, James C. Sagebiel
Vertebrate paleontology, stratigraphy, and paleohydrology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada (USA) Vertebrate paleontology, stratigraphy, and paleohydrology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada (USA)
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK) preserves 22,650 acres of the upper Las Vegas Wash in the northern Las Vegas Valley (Nevada, USA). TUSK is home to extensive and stratigraphically complex groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits, called the Las Vegas Formation, which represent springs and desert wetlands that covered much of the valley during the late Quaternary. The GWD...
Authors
Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffery S. Pigati, Eric Scott
Geology and vertebrate paleontology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada, USA Geology and vertebrate paleontology of Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, Nevada, USA
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument (TUSK) preserves 22,650 acres of the upper Las Vegas Wash in the northern Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, USA. TUSK is home to extensive and stratigraphically complex groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits, called the Las Vegas Formation, which represent springs and desert wetlands that covered much of the valley during the late Quaternary. The GWD...
Authors
Kathleen B. Springer, Jeffrey S. Pigati, Eric Scott
First records of Canis dirus and Smilodon fatalis from the late Pleistocene Tule Springs local fauna, upper Las Vegas Wash, Nevada First records of Canis dirus and Smilodon fatalis from the late Pleistocene Tule Springs local fauna, upper Las Vegas Wash, Nevada
Late Pleistocene groundwater discharge deposits (paleowetlands) in the upper Las Vegas Wash north of Las Vegas, Nevada, have yielded an abundant and diverse vertebrate fossil assemblage, the Tule Springs local fauna (TSLF). The TSLF is the largest open-site vertebrate fossil assemblage dating to the Rancholabrean North American Land Mammal Age in the southern Great Basin and Mojave...
Authors
Eric Scott, Kathleen B. Springer
Desert wetlands—Archives of a wetter past Desert wetlands—Archives of a wetter past
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) are finding evidence of a much wetter past in the deserts of the American Southwest using a most unlikely source—wetlands. Wetlands form in arid environments where water tables approach or breach the ground surface. Often thought of as stagnant and unchanging, new evidence suggests that springs and wetlands responded dynamically to past...
Authors
Jeffery S. Pigati, Kathleen B. Springer, Craig R. Manker
Dynamic response of desert wetlands to abrupt climate change Dynamic response of desert wetlands to abrupt climate change
Desert wetlands are keystone ecosystems in arid environments and are preserved in the geologic record as groundwater discharge (GWD) deposits. GWD deposits are inherently discontinuous and stratigraphically complex, which has limited our understanding of how desert wetlands responded to past episodes of rapid climate change. Previous studies have shown that wetlands responded to climate...
Authors
Kathleen B. Springer, Craig R. Manker, Jeffrey S. Pigati
Non-USGS Publications**
Ramelli, R.A., Page, R.W., Manker, C.R., Springer, K.B., 2012, Preliminary geologic map of the Corn Creek Springs, NW quadrangle, Clark County, Nevada: Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Map 175, scale 1:24,000.
Ramelli, Alan R.; Page, William R.; Manker, Craig R.; Springer, Kathleen B., 2011, Geologic map of the Gass Peak SW quadrangle, Clark County, Nevada; 2011; Other Government Series; 175.
Springer, K.B., Scott, E., Manker C.R., Rowland, S., 2011, Vertebrate paleontology of Pleistocene lakes and groundwater discharge deposits of the Mojave Desert and southern Great Basin: Nevada State Museum Paleontological Papers no. 1, 168-243.
Springer, K.B., Scott, Eric, Sagabiel, J.C., and Murray, L.K., 2010, Late Pleistocene large mammal faunal dynamics from inland southern California: The Diamond Valley Lake local fauna: Quaternary International, v. 217, iss. 1-2, p. 256-265.
Springer, K.B., Scott, E., Sagebiel, J.C., Murray, L.K., 2009, The Diamond Valley Lake local fauna: late Pleistocene vertebrates from inland southern California: Papers on Geology, Vertebrate Paleontology and Biostratigraphy in Honor of Michael O. Woodburne (L.B. Albright III, ed). Museum of Northern Arizona Bulletin 65, 217-235.
Scott, E., Springer, K.B., Sagebiel, J.C., Manker, C.R., 2006, Planning for the future: preserving and interpreting paleontology and geology in Joshua Tree National Park. America’s Antiquities: 100 Years of Managing Fossils on Federal Lands (Lucas, S.G., Spielmann, J.A., Hester, P.M., Kenworthy, J.P., Santucci, V.L., eds). New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 34, 159-164.
Scott, E., Springer, K.B., and Sagebiel, J.C., 2004, Vertebrate paleontology in the Mojave Desert: the continuing importance of “follow-through” in preserving paleontologic resources. The Human Journey and Ancient Life in California’s Deserts: Proceedings from the 2001 Millennium Conference (Allen, M.W., Reed, J., eds.). Maturango Museum Publication no. 15, 65-70.
Scott, E., and Springer, K.B., 2003, CEQA and fossil preservation in southern California: The Environmental Monitor 17, 4-10.
Anderson, R., Power, M., Smith, S., Springer, K., and Scott, E., 2002, Paleoecology of a Middle Wisconsin Deposit from Southern California: Quaternary Research, 58(3), 310-317. doi:10.1006/qres.2002.2388
Campbell, Kenneth, Scott, Eric, and Springer, Kathleen, 1999, A New Genus for the Incredible Teratorn (Aves: Teratornithidae): Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. 89.
Springer, K.B. and Murphy, Michael, 1994, Punctuated stasis and collateral evolution in the Devonian lineage of Monograptus hercynicus: Lethaia. 27. 119-128.
Woodburne, M.O., Case, J.A., Springer, M.S., Woodburne, J., Springer, K.B., and Power, J.D., 1993, Biostratigraphy and paleontology of the Etadunna Formation, South Australia: Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 13(4), 483-515.
Murphy, M., & Springer, K., 1989, Morphometric study of the platform elements of Amydrotaxis praejohnsoni n. sp. (Lower Devonian, conodonts, Nevada): Journal of Paleontology, 63(3), 349-355. doi:10.1017/S002233600001951X
**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.