Becky Brice is an earth systems geographer using tree rings and lake sediments to study paleoclimate, hydroclimatic processes, and the interaction between the climate and human systems. She specializes in dendrochronological reconstructions over the Common Era and her research aims to understand the role of climate variability in changing water resources.
Professional Experience
2020-present, Geographer, U.S. Geological Survey, Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, Denver, CO, USA
2019-2020, Post-Doctoral Researcher, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV, USA
Education and Certifications
PhD, School of Geography and Development, University of Arizona, 2020
MA, Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Denver, 2013
BS, Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Metropolitan State University Denver, 2011
BA, Department of Modern Languages, Metropolitan State University Denver, 1998
Science and Products
Hydroclimate, fire, and human interactions in southwestern US tree ring records
We have identified areas of the southwestern US that do not contain paleorecords of precipitation, fire, and/or human activity. These records may be missing because, for example, lakes and forests are few and far between in much of the southwestern US. However, other sites exist that do not yet have paleorecords, but do have potential for providing lake cores and tree ring records.
Did we start the fire? Climate, Fire and Humans
The past decade encompasses some of the most extensive fire activity in recorded history. An area the size of Vermont (~24,000 km2) burned in a single Siberian fire in the summer of 2019 (Kehrwald et al., 2020 and references therein) while Australia, Indonesia and the Amazon have all experienced their most intense fires in recorded history (van Wees et al, 2021 and references therein). As more...
Past Perspectives of Water in the West
In the intermountain west, seasonal precipitation extremes, combined with population growth, are creating new challenges for the management of water resources, ecosystems, and geologic hazards. This research contributes a comprehensive long-term context for a deeper understanding of past hydrologic variability, including the magnitude and frequency of drought and flood extremes and ecosystem...
Terrestrial Records of Holocene Climate Change: Fire, climate and humans
Large wildfires have raged across the western Americas in the past decade including the Las Conchas, New Mexico fire that burned 44,000 acres in a single day in 2011 (Orem and Pelletier, 2015, Geomorphology 232: 224-238, and references therein), the 2016 Fort McMurray, Alberta fire that required evacuating an entire city, and the 2015 Alaskan fire season that burned more than 5 million acres...
Science and Products
- Science
Hydroclimate, fire, and human interactions in southwestern US tree ring records
We have identified areas of the southwestern US that do not contain paleorecords of precipitation, fire, and/or human activity. These records may be missing because, for example, lakes and forests are few and far between in much of the southwestern US. However, other sites exist that do not yet have paleorecords, but do have potential for providing lake cores and tree ring records.Did we start the fire? Climate, Fire and Humans
The past decade encompasses some of the most extensive fire activity in recorded history. An area the size of Vermont (~24,000 km2) burned in a single Siberian fire in the summer of 2019 (Kehrwald et al., 2020 and references therein) while Australia, Indonesia and the Amazon have all experienced their most intense fires in recorded history (van Wees et al, 2021 and references therein). As more...Past Perspectives of Water in the West
In the intermountain west, seasonal precipitation extremes, combined with population growth, are creating new challenges for the management of water resources, ecosystems, and geologic hazards. This research contributes a comprehensive long-term context for a deeper understanding of past hydrologic variability, including the magnitude and frequency of drought and flood extremes and ecosystem...Terrestrial Records of Holocene Climate Change: Fire, climate and humans
Large wildfires have raged across the western Americas in the past decade including the Las Conchas, New Mexico fire that burned 44,000 acres in a single day in 2011 (Orem and Pelletier, 2015, Geomorphology 232: 224-238, and references therein), the 2016 Fort McMurray, Alberta fire that required evacuating an entire city, and the 2015 Alaskan fire season that burned more than 5 million acres... - Publications
- News