Richard L Reynolds
I investigate how climatic variability, weather, and land uses affect surfaces and ecosystems of deserts, with emphasis on sediment eroded, transported, and deposited by wind, mostly as atmospheric dust.
My studies probe the geologic, biologic, and human controls on dust generation as well as the mineralogic and geochemical properties of dust that in turn affect climate, weather, ecosystem health, water resources (effects of dust on melting of snow and ice), ocean fertility, and the health of a large proportion of earth’s people. I have also conducted research on:
- Hawaiian coral-reef health in settings of coastal erosion
- Quaternary climate and responses of landscapes to climatic change and human activities
- Iron-sulfur diagenesis and its effects on lake-sediment paleoenvironmental records
- Magnetic and chemical records of airborne pollution and environmental change
- Paleomagnetism of Tertiary and Quaternary sedimentary and igneous rocks
- Sources of magnetic anomalies in the shallow crust
- Field geology, Antarctica (1970-1971; 1978-1979)
Professional Experience
Research Geologist, USGS (periodic supervisory positions) 1975-2012
Acting Program Manager, Global Change Program USGS 2002
Senior Scientist, USGS 2012-2013 Emeritus since 2013
Adjunct Research Professor, Univ. of Minnesota
Affiliate, Institute for Arctic and Alpine Research Univ. of Colorado
Education and Certifications
Ph.D., Univ. of Colorado, 1975
M.S., Univ. of Colorado, 1970
A.B., Princeton University, 1968
Affiliations and Memberships*
Geological Society of America; Fellow
American Geophysical Union. Assoc. Editor, Jour. Geophysical Res. 1992-1995
Yellowstone-Bighorn Research Assoc.
American Quaternary Assoc.
International Medical Geology Assoc.
International Society for Aeolian Research (guest editor, 2013-14; Board of Directors, 2014-2016)
Honors and Awards
2012 Elected Senior Scientist, USGS
2012-2014 Distinguished Visiting Scholar, School of Geography and the Environment, Univ. of Oxford
2011 Astor Visiting Lecturer for the Humanities, Univ. of Oxford
2007 Co-recipient, Kirk Bryan Award; best publication in Quaternary Geology and Geomorphology, Geological Society of America
Meritorious Service Award, Dept. of the Interior (1995)
1995 Best Paper Award, Jour. Great Lakes Res.
1994 Elected Fellow, Geological Society of America
1993 Visiting Fellow, Institute for Rock Magnetism, Univ. Minnesota
1992 Best Paper Award, Geophysics
Science and Products
Chemical and textural controls on phosphorus mobility in drylands of southeastern Utah
Atmospheric mineral dust in dryland ecosystems: Applications of environmental magnetism
Diatom changes in two Uinta mountain lakes, Utah, USA: Responses to anthropogenic and natural atmospheric inputs
Compositional changes in sediments of subalpine lakes, Uinta Mountains (Utah): Evidence for the effects of human activity on atmospheric dust inputs
Distribution of major anions and trace elements in the unsaturated zone at Franklin Lake Playa, California, USA
Physical, Chemical, Ecological, and Age Data and Trench Logs from Surficial Deposits at Hatch Point, Southeastern Utah
The ecology of dust
The dynamic interaction of climate, vegetation, and dust emission, Mojave Desert, USA
Sediment losses and gains across a gradient of livestock grazing and plant invasion in a cool, semi-arid grassland, Colorado Plateau, USA
Dust emission at Franklin Lake Playa, Mojave Desert (USA): Response to meteorological and hydrologic changes 2005-2008
Paleomagnetism and environmental magnetism of GLAD800 sediment cores from Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho
Allogenic sedimentary components of Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho
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
- Data
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 114
Chemical and textural controls on phosphorus mobility in drylands of southeastern Utah
We investigated several forms of phosphorus (P) in dryland soils to examine the chemical and textural controls on P stabilization on a diverse set of substrates. We examined three P fractions including labile, moderately labile, and occluded as determined by a modified Hedley fractionation technique. The P fractions were compared to texture measurements and total elemental concentrations determineAuthorsSusan E. Buckingham, Jason Neff, Behan Titiz-Maybach, Richard L. ReynoldsAtmospheric mineral dust in dryland ecosystems: Applications of environmental magnetism
Magnetic properties of shallow (<10‐cm depth), fine‐grained surficial sediments contrast greatly with those of immediately underlying bedrock across much of the dry American Southwest. At 26 study sites in fine‐grained (<63 μm) surficial sediments isolated from alluvial inputs, isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM; mean of 67 samples = 6.72 × 10−3 Am2 kg−1) is more than two orders of magnitude gAuthorsRichard L. Reynolds, Harland L. Goldstein, Mark E. MillerDiatom changes in two Uinta mountain lakes, Utah, USA: Responses to anthropogenic and natural atmospheric inputs
Diatom assemblages in sediments from two subalpine lakes in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, show asynchronous changes that are related to both anthropogenic and natural inputs of dust. These lakes are downwind of sources of atmospheric inputs originating from mining, industrial, urban, agricultural and natural sources that are distributed within tens to hundreds of kilometers west and south of the UintAuthorsKatrina Moser, Jessica S. Mordecai, Richard L. Reynolds, Joseph G. Rosenbaum, Michael E. KettererCompositional changes in sediments of subalpine lakes, Uinta Mountains (Utah): Evidence for the effects of human activity on atmospheric dust inputs
Sediments in Marshall and Hidden Lakes in the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah contain records of atmospheric mineral-dust deposition as revealed by differences in mineralogy and geochemistry of lake sediments relative to Precambrian clastic rocks in the watersheds. In cores spanning more than a thousand years, the largest changes in composition occurred within the past approximately 140 yearsAuthorsRichard L. Reynolds, Jessica S. Mordecai, Joseph G. Rosenbaum, Michael E. Ketterer, Megan K. Walsh, Katrina MoserDistribution of major anions and trace elements in the unsaturated zone at Franklin Lake Playa, California, USA
The composition of surficial salts formed near dry and drying saline lakes are partly the product of processes active in the unsaturated zone between the ground surface and the water table. These processes were investigated by determining the abundance of water-extractable solutes in sediment from the ground surface to the water table (~2.8 m) beneath Franklin Lake playa, California. AccumulationAuthorsGeorge N. Breit, Harland L. Goldstein, Richard L. Reynolds, James C. YountPhysical, Chemical, Ecological, and Age Data and Trench Logs from Surficial Deposits at Hatch Point, Southeastern Utah
This report presents data and describes the methodology for physical, chemical and ecological measurements of sediment, soil, and vegetation, as well as age determinations of surficial deposits at Hatch Point, Canyon Rims area, Colorado Plateau, southeastern Utah. The results presented in this report support a study that examines geomorphic and soil factors that may influence boundaries between shAuthorsHarland L. Goldstein, Mark E. Miller, James C. Yount, Marith C. Reheis, Richard L. Reynolds, Jayne Belnap, Paul J. Lamothe, John P. McGeehanThe ecology of dust
Wind erosion and associated dust emissions play a fundamental role in many ecological processes and provide important biogeochemical connectivity at scales ranging from individual plants up to the entire globe. Yet, most ecological studies do not explicitly consider dust‐driven processes, perhaps because most relevant research on aeolian (wind‐driven) processes has been presented in a geosciencesAuthorsJason P. Field, Jayne Belnap, David D. Breshears, Jason C. Neff, Gregory S Okin, J.J. Whicker, Thomas H. Painter, Sujith Ravi, Marith C. Reheis, Richard L. ReynoldsThe dynamic interaction of climate, vegetation, and dust emission, Mojave Desert, USA
No abstract available.AuthorsFrank Urban, Richard L. Reynolds, R. FultonSediment losses and gains across a gradient of livestock grazing and plant invasion in a cool, semi-arid grassland, Colorado Plateau, USA
Large sediment fluxes can have significant impacts on ecosystems. We measured incoming and outgoing sediment across a gradient of soil disturbance (livestock grazing, plowing) and annual plant invasion for 9 years. Our sites included two currently ungrazed sites: one never grazed by livestock and dominated by perennial grasses/well-developed biocrusts and one not grazed since 1974 and dominated byAuthorsJayne Belnap, Richard L. Reynolds, Marith C. Reheis, Susan L. Phillips, Frank Urban, Harland L. GoldsteinDust emission at Franklin Lake Playa, Mojave Desert (USA): Response to meteorological and hydrologic changes 2005-2008
Playa type, size, and setting; playa hydrology; and surface-sediment characteristics are important controls on the type and amount of atmospheric dust emitted from playas. Soft, evaporite-rich sediment develops on the surfaces of some Mojave Desert (USA) playas (wet playas), where the water table is shallow (< 4 m). These areas are sources of atmospheric dust because of continuous or episodic replAuthorsRichard L. Reynolds, Rian Bogle, John Vogel, Harland L. Goldstein, James YountPaleomagnetism and environmental magnetism of GLAD800 sediment cores from Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho
A ???220,000-year record recovered in a 120-m-long sediment core from Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho, provides an opportunity to reconstruct climate change in the Great Basin and compare it with global climate records. Paleomagnetic data exhibit a geomagnetic feature that possibly occurred during the Laschamp excursion (ca. 40 ka). Although the feature does not exhibit excursional behavior (???40?? depAuthorsC.W. Heil, J.W. King, J. G. Rosenbaum, R. L. Reynolds, Steven M. ColmanAllogenic sedimentary components of Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho
Bear Lake is a long-lived lake filling a tectonic depression between the Bear River Range to the west and the Bear River Plateau to the east, and straddling the border between Utah and Idaho. Mineralogy, elemental geochemistry, and magnetic properties provide information about variations in provenance of allogenic lithic material in last-glacial-age, quartz-rich sediment in Bear Lake. Grain-size dAuthorsJ. G. Rosenbaum, W.E. Dean, R. L. Reynolds, M. C. ReheisNon-USGS Publications**
Larson, E.E., Reynolds, R.L., and others, 1975, Major element petrochemistry of some extrusive rocks from the volcanically active Mariana Islands: Bulletin Volcanologique, v. 39, p. 361-377.Larson, E.E., Reynolds, R.L., and others, 1975, Paleomagnetism of Miocene volcanics of Guam and the curvature of the southern Mariana Island Arc: Geological Society America Bulletin, v. 86, p. 346‑350.Levi, S., Merrill, R.T., Larson, E.E., Reynolds, R.L., and others, 1975, Paleosecular variation of lavas from the Marianas in the Western Pacific Ocean: Journal Geomagnetism and Geoelectricity, v. 27, p. 57-66.Rowley, P.D., Williams, P.L., Schmidt, D.L., Reynolds, R.L., and others, 1975, Copper mineralization along the Lassiter Coast of the Antarctic Peninsula: Economic Geology, v. 70, p. 982‑992.**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.
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government