Scott Starratt, Ph.D.
Scott is a Research Geologist who uses diatoms, chrysophytes, testate amoebae, and foraminifera to reconstruct the past environments of lakes, estuaries, and the ocean. In addition to these biological proxies, he uses sediment geochemistry (biogenic silica, inorganic geochemistry, grain size) data to provide a more complete picture of paleoenvironmental conditions.
Professional Experience
2009-Present, Research Geologist
2002-2009, Geologist
1996-2010, Adjunct Professor, University of California, San Francisco State University, Berkeley City College, College of San Mateo, and Canada College
1996-2002, Physical Science Technician
1990-1995, Geologist, Technical Reports Unit
1989-1990, Field Technician, Utah Geological and Mineral Survey
1983-1987, Senior Museum Preparator, University of California Museum of Paleontology
1981-1983, Geologist, Bechtel Civil and Minerals
Education and Certifications
2004-Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley-Geography
1989-M.A. University of California, Berkeley-Paleontology
1981-B.A. Whitman College-Geology/Chemistry
1981-B.A. Whitman College-Biology
Science and Products
Evidence for coseismic subsidence events in a southern California coastal saltmarsh
Use of mussel casts from archaeological sites as paleoecological indicators: An example from CA-MRN-254, Marin County, Alta California
Holocene environmental changes inferred from biological and sedimentological proxies in a high elevation Great Basin lake in the northern Ruby Mountains, Nevada, USA
Holocene diatom-derived climate history of Medicine Lake, northern California, USA
Sixth International Limnogeology Congress: abstract volume, Reno, Nevada, June 15-19, 2015
Quaternary tephrochronology and deposition in the subsurface Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, U.S.A.
Preliminary analysis of the role of lake basin morphology on the modern diatom flora in the Ruby Mountains and East Humboldt Range, Nevada, USA
Bouse Formation in the Bristol basin near Amboy, California, USA
The late Holocene dry period: multiproxy evidence for an extended drought between 2800 and 1850 cal yr BP across the central Great Basin, USA
Preliminary report on the Late Pleistocene and Holocene diatoms of Swamp Lake, Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Holocene diatom flora and climate history of Medicine Lake, Northern California, USA
Proceedings of the 24th Pacific climate workshop (PACLIM): Introduction
Science and Products
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Filter Total Items: 39
Evidence for coseismic subsidence events in a southern California coastal saltmarsh
Paleoenvironmental records from a southern California coastal saltmarsh reveal evidence for repeated late Holocene coseismic subsidence events. Field analysis of sediment gouge cores established discrete lithostratigraphic units extend across the wetland. Detailed sediment analyses reveal abrupt changes in lithology, percent total organic matter, grain size, and magnetic susceptibility. MicrofossiAuthorsRobert Leeper, Brady P. Rhodes, Matthew E. Kirby, Katherine M. Scharer, Joseph A. Carlin, Eileen Hemphill-Haley, Simona Avnaim-Katav, Glen M. MacDonald, Scott W. Starratt, Angela ArandaUse of mussel casts from archaeological sites as paleoecological indicators: An example from CA-MRN-254, Marin County, Alta California
Archaeological investigations at prehistoric site CA-MRN-254 at the Dominican University of California in Marin County, California, revealed evidence of Native American occupation spanning the past 1,800 years. A dominant source of food for the inhabitants in the San Francisco Bay area was the intertidal, quiet-water dwelling blue mussel (Mytilus trossulus), although rare occurrences of the open cAuthorsMary McGann, Scott W. Starratt, Charles L. Powell, David G BielingHolocene environmental changes inferred from biological and sedimentological proxies in a high elevation Great Basin lake in the northern Ruby Mountains, Nevada, USA
Multi-proxy analyses were conducted on a sediment core from Favre Lake, a high elevation cirque lake in the northern Ruby Mountains, Nevada, and provide a ca. 7600 year record of local and regional environmental change. Data indicate that lake levels were lower from 7600-5750 cal yr BP, when local climate was warmer and/or drier than today. Effective moisture increased after 5750 cal yr BP and remAuthorsDavid B. Wahl, Scott W. Starratt, Lysanna Anderson, Jennifer E. Kusler, Christopher C. Fuller, Jason A. Addison, Elmira WanHolocene diatom-derived climate history of Medicine Lake, northern California, USA
The Medicine Lake record is unusual because it responds not only to local and regional climate signals, but changes in conditions on Medicine Lake volcano during the Holocene. Ice retreated within the Medicine Lake volcano occurred around 11,400 years ago, followed by filling of two sub-basins. The absence of Cyclotella indicates that the early lake was probably less than 5 m deep. The low Abies/AAuthorsScott W. StarrattSixth International Limnogeology Congress: abstract volume, Reno, Nevada, June 15-19, 2015
Limnogeology is the study of modern lakes and lake deposits in the geologic record. Limnogeologists have been active since the 1800s, but interest in limnogeology became prevalent in the early 1990s when it became clear that lake deposits contain continental environmental and climate records. A society that is focused on limnogeology would allow greater communication and access to research on thesQuaternary tephrochronology and deposition in the subsurface Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California, U.S.A.
We document characteristics of tephra, including facies and geochemistry, from 27 subsurface sites in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California, to obtain stratigraphic constraints in a complex setting. Analyzed discrete tephra deposits are correlative with: 1) an unnamed tephra from the Carlotta Formation near Ferndale, California, herein informally named the ash of Wildcat Grade (<~1.450 - >~AuthorsKatherine L. Maier, Emma Gatti, Elmira Wan, Daniel J. Ponti, Mark Pagenkopp, Scott W. Starratt, Holly A. Olson, John TinsleyPreliminary analysis of the role of lake basin morphology on the modern diatom flora in the Ruby Mountains and East Humboldt Range, Nevada, USA
As paleolimnologists, we often look at the world through a 5-cm-diameter hole in the bottom of a lake, and although a number of studies have shown that a single core in the deepest part of a lake does not necessarily reflect the entire diatom flora, time and money often limit our ability to collect more than one core from a given site. This preliminary study is part of a multidisciplinary researchAuthorsScott W. StarrattBouse Formation in the Bristol basin near Amboy, California, USA
Limestone beds underlain and overlain by alluvial fan conglomerate near Amboy, California, are very similar in many respects to parts of the Bouse Formation, suggesting that an arm of the Pliocene Bouse water body extended across a wide part of the southern Mojave Desert. The deposits are north of the town of Amboy at and below an elevation of 290 m, along the northern piedmont of the Bristol “dryAuthorsDavid M. Miller, Robert E. Reynolds, Jordan E. Bright, Scott W. StarrattThe late Holocene dry period: multiproxy evidence for an extended drought between 2800 and 1850 cal yr BP across the central Great Basin, USA
Evidence of a multi-centennial scale dry period between ∼2800 and 1850 cal yr BP is documented by pollen, mollusks, diatoms, and sediment in spring sediments from Stonehouse Meadow in Spring Valley, eastern central Nevada, U.S. We refer to this period as the Late Holocene Dry Period. Based on sediment recovered, Stonehouse Meadow was either absent or severely restricted in size at ∼8000 cal yr BP.AuthorsScott A. Mensing, Saxon E. Sharpe, Irene Tunno, Don W. Sada, Jim M. Thomas, Scott W. Starratt, Jeremy SmithPreliminary report on the Late Pleistocene and Holocene diatoms of Swamp Lake, Yosemite National Park, California, USA
Swamp Lake, Yosemite National Park, is the only known lake in California containing long sequences of varved sediments and thus has the potential to provide a high-resolution record of climate variability. This preliminary analysis of the diatom assemblages from a 947-cm-long composite sediment core (freeze core FZ02–05; 0–67 cm, Livingstone core 02–05; 53–947 cm) shows that the lake has been fresAuthorsScott W. Starratt, R. Scott AndersonHolocene diatom flora and climate history of Medicine Lake, Northern California, USA
A 226-cm-long sediment core spanning the past ~ 11,400 years was recovered from Medicine Lake, on the Modoc Plateau in northeastern California. Diatom assemblages provide a record of lake level that is driven by local and regional climate changes and changes in basin morphology due to the activity of Medicine Lake volcano. The diatom record indicates that throughout its history, Medicine Lake wasAuthorsScott W. StarrattProceedings of the 24th Pacific climate workshop (PACLIM): Introduction
No abstract available.AuthorsScott W. Starratt - News