DRI / DIRECTORY / KEN ADAMS
Ken Adams Profile Photo
Dr. Ken Adams
Research Professor Emeritus
Phone 
775-673-7345
E-Mail 
Ken.Adams@dri.edu
Campus 
Reno Campus
Division 
Earth and Ecosystem Sciences

Professional Interests

Dr. Adams’ research interests lie in the fields of Quaternary geology, geomorphology, and landscape dynamics. More specifically, he is interested in how different geomorphic systems, including fluvial, lacustrine, and alluvial, respond to changes in climate and active tectonic deformation. Research has focused on the geologic, geomorphic, and hydrologic histories of pluvial lake basins in the western United States and South America. The sediments and landforms in these basins archive detailed records of active faulting, isostatic rebound, the response of rivers to base-level changes, and rapidly changing hydrologic and environmental conditions. The tools used in this work include geologic mapping, geomorphic and stratigraphic analysis, geochronology, remote sensing and spatial analysis, and paleohydrologic modeling. This research has important implications concerning the rates and magnitudes of hydrologic and landscape responses to climatic perturbations that have occurred in the past and that may occur in the future. The results of this work also provide important contextual details about the changing environmental conditions and distribution of resources that confronted the first Americans and their descendents.

Research Areas

  • Quaternary geology
  • Quaternary geochronology
  • Geomorphology
  • Paleoenvironmental reconstruction
  • Geoarchaeology
  • Active tectonics
  • River and stream assessment
  • Remote sensing
  • Spatial analysis

Research Projects

Education

Degree Year Institution Area
Ph.D. 1997 University of Nevada, Reno Geological Sciences
M.S. 1990 Montana State University Earth Sciences
B.S. 1987 Humboldt State University Geology

Keywords

Quaternary geology, geomorphology, pluvial lakes, paleohydrology, paleoenvironments, geoarchaeology, Great Basin

 

Publications
2024
Hartshorn, E. J., Harsha, G. L., Korotkin, M., Kielhofer, J., Soldano, V. A., Feldman, A. D., Houseman, S. M., Lu, K., Sabol, D. E., Adams, K. D., Sion, B. (2024). Technical Report: Evaluating spatial variability of dust emissions and testing techniques to examine how spatial scale influences emissivity., 89 pp.. Report prepared for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center, Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory under contract W913E520C0021.

2023
Adams, K. D. (2023). Wind, waves, sediment transport, and potential for shoreline development on Earth and on Mars, Icarus, 405, 1-9

Wriston, T. A., Adams, K. D., Rhode, D. E., Estes, M. (2023). LCAI Meadow Valley Wash: Our current understanding of its alluvial and wetland history and its effect on archaeological site distribution, Lincoln County, Nevada, II, 167 pp., Report No. 8111 NV04-19-2230 (Volume II of II). Report on file at BLM Ely, NV District Office.

2021
Baish, C. J., Sion, B., Adams, K. D., Sabol, D. E., McDonald, E. V. (2021). A landform-based predictive mapping approach to estimating soil properties in Estonia and Lithuania, 29. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: , Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory

Redwine, J. R., Adams, K. D. (2021). A 740 ky-long Mohawk Lake record, Mohawk Valley, northeastern California, USA: in Starratt, S.W., and Rosen, M.R., eds., From Saline to Freshwater: The Diversity of Western Lakes in Space and Time, Geological Society of America Special Paper 536, 447-506

Smith, G. M., Sturtz, S., Camp, A. J., Adams, K. D., Kallenbach, E. (2021). Leonard Rockshelter revisited: Evaluating a 70-year old claim of a Late Pleistocene human occupation in the western Great Basin, American Antiquity, 87 (4), 776-793

2020
Miller, J. J., Etyemezian, V. R., Adams, K. D., Berli, M., Kruger, B. R., Stillman, S., Cablk, M. E., Heintz, K. M., Nikolich, G., Moser, D. P. (2020). Lakebed Health and Feasibility of Use Study, including Inundation Frequency Analysis of Rogers and Rosamond Dry Lakes, Edwards Air Force Base, California, Paginated by section, DRI Publication #41279

Adams, K. D., Sabol, D. E., Sion, B., McDonald, E. V. (2020). Mapping methods used to predict soil textural properties in Estonia, 16. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center: Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory

Adams, K. D., Page, D. J., Hartshorn, E. J., Sabol, D. E., Wriston, T. A., McDonald, E. V. (2020). Summary of the Development of a Landform Map for the Western U.S. for Areas Prone to Dust, 16. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center: Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory

Adams, K. D., Sabol, D. E., Sion, B. (2020). Milestone Update: Tasks 3A-02 (Lithuania AOI map) and 3B-01 (Estonia-analog AOI map) progress, 2. U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center: Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory

Wriston, T. A., Adams, K. D. (2020). LCAI Coal Valley Archaeological and Geomorphological Research: Pluvial Lake Coal and Paleoindians, 1,341 pp., BLM Report No. 8111 NV-04-17-2170. Report on file BLM Ely, NV District Office.

2019
Sion, B., Adams, K. D., McDonald, E. V. (2019). Soil-Landform Relationships at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and Camp Ripley, Minnesota, 23 pp., Report prepared for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory

Adams, K. D., Rhodes, E. J. (2019). Late Pleistocene to present lake-level fluctuations at Pyramid and Winnemucca lakes, Nevada, USA, Quaternary Research, 92, 146-164

Adams, K. D., Rhodes, E. J. (2019). Late Holocene paleohydrology of Walker Lake and the Carson Sink in the western Great Basin, Nevada, USA, Quaternary Research, 92, 165-182

2018
Reaux, D. J., Smith, G. M., Adams, K. D., Jamaldin, S., George, N. D., Mohr, K., Rosencrance, R. L. (2018). A First Look at the Terminal Pleistocene/Early Holocene Record of Guano Valley, Oregon, USA, PaleoAmerica, 4 (2), 162-176

2016
Barth, C., Boyle, D. P., Hatchett, B. J., Bassett, S., Garner, C. B., Adams, K. D. (2016). Late Pleistocene Climate Inferences from a Water Balance Model of Jakes Valley, Nevada (USA), Journal of Paleolimnology, 568 (2), 109-122, 10.1007/s10933-016-9897-z

Rhode, D. E., Adams, K. D. (2016). Landscapes in transition: A paleoenvironmental Context for Lincoln County, Nevada, 152, Report no, 8111 CRR NV 040-16-2140

Adams, K. D., Bills, B. G. (2016). Isostatic Rebound and Palinspastic Restoration of the Bonneville and Provo Shorelines in the Bonneville Basin, UTChapter : . In Oviatt, C. G., Shroder, J. F. (Eds.), Lake Bonneville: A Scientific Update, Developments in Earth Surface Processes, Vol. 20, 145-164. Elsevier: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Noble, P. J., Ball, G. I., Zimmerman, S. H., Maloney, J., Smoth, S. B., Kent, G., Adams, K. D., Karlin, R., Driscoll, N. (2016). Holocene Paleoclimate History of Fallen Leaf Lake, CA, from Geochemistry and Sedimentology of Unusually Well-Dated Sediment Cores, Quaternary Science Reviews, 131 (Part A), 193-210

2015
Adams, K. D., Negrini, R. (2015). Using Tree-Ring Records to Simulate Annual Lake-Level Fluctuations at Tulare Lake, California, Over the Last 2,000 YearsChapter : . In Rosen, M. R., Cohen, A., Kirby, M., Gierlowski-Kordesch, E., Starratt, S., Valero Garcés, B. L., Varekamp, J. (Eds.), Sixth International Limnogeology Congress-Abstract Volume, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report, 2015-1092, 16-17. U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, June 15, 2015-June 19, 2015, 10.3133/ofr20151092
https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151092

Noble, P. J., Zimmerman, S. H., Ball, G. I., Adams, K. D., Maloney, J., Smith, S. B. (2015). Late Holocene (3.65 ka) Transition from Neopluvial Period to Increased Aridity in the Lake Tahoe-Pyramid Lake Watershed, CaliforniaChapter : . In Rosen, M. R., Cohen, A., Kirby, M., Gierlowski-Kordesch, E., Starratt, S., Valero Garcés, B. L., Varekamp, J. (Eds.), Sixth International Limnogeology Congress-Abstract Volume, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report, 2015-1092, 160-161. U.S. Geological Survey: Reston, VA, June 15, 2015-June 19, 2015, 10.3133/ofr20151092
https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151092

Keen-Zebert, A. K., Baker, S. E., Adams, K. D., Bacon, S. N. (2015). Luminescence dating of sediment from beach deposits of the Pleistocene highstand of Owens Lake: DRI

Adams, K. D., Negrini, R. M., Cook, E. R., Rajagopal, S. (2015). Annually Resolved Late Holocene Paleohydrology of the Southern Sierra Nevada and Tulare Lake, California, Water Resources Research, 51, 1-17, 10.1002/2015WR017850

2014
Adams, K. D., Sada, D. W. (2014). Surface water hydrology and geomorphic characterization of a playa lake system: Implications for monitoring the effects of climate change, Journal of Hydrology, 510, 92-101

Reheis, M., Adams, K. D., Oviatt, C., Bacon, S. N. (2014). Pluvial lakes in the Great Basin of the western United States: A view from the outcrop, Quaternary Science Reviews, 97, 33-57

2013
Sada, D. W., Rosamond, C. L., Adams, K. D. (2013). Effects of recreational use on branchiopod egg and ephippia density, Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area, Nevada, USA, Journal of Crustacean Biology, 33, 286-292

2012
Adams, K. D. (2012). Response of the Truckee River to lowering base level at Pyramid Lake, Nevada, based on historical air photos and LiDAR data, Geosphere, 8, 607-627. Geosphere

2011
Cartwright, A., Quade, J., Stine, S., Adams, K. D., Broecker, W., Cheng, H. (2011). Chronstratigraphy and lake-level changes of Laguna Cari-Laufquen, Rio Negro, Argentina, Quaternary Research, 76, 430-440

Goebel, T., Hockett, B., Adams, K. D., Rhode, D. E., Graf, K. (2011). Climate, environment, and humans in North America’s Great Basin during the Younger Dryas, 12,900-11,600 calendar years ago, Quaternary International, 242, 479-501

2010
Adams, K. D. (2010). Lake levels and sedimentary environments during deposition of the Trego Hot Springs and Wono tephras in the Lake Lahontan basin, Nevada, USA, Quaternary Research, 73, 118-129

House, P. K., Adams, K. D. (2010). Preliminary geologic map of the northern part of the lower Walker River area, Mineral County, NV, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Open-File Report 10-12, 1:24,000-scale.

2009
Broecker, W., McGee, D., Adams, K. D., Cheng, H., Edwards, L., Oviatt, C., Quade, J. (2009). A Great Basin-wide dry episode during the first half of the Mystery Interval?, Quaternary Science Reviews, 28 (25-26), 2557-2563

House, P. K., Adams, K. D. (2009). Preliminary geologic map of the southern part of the lower Walker River area, Mineral County, NV, Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology Open File Report 09-13, 1:24,000-scale.

2008
Adams, K. D., Goebel, T., Graf, K., Smith, G., Camp, A. J., Briggs, R., Rhode, D. E. (2008). Late Pleistocene and early Holocene lake-level fluctuations in the Lahontan basin, Nevada: Implications for the distribution of archaeological sites, Geoarchaeology, 23 (5), 608-643
www.interscience.wiley.com

2007
Adams, K. D. (2007). Late Holocene sedimentary environments and lake-level fluctuations at Walker Lake, Nevada, USA, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 119 (1/2), 126-139

Bills, B., Adams, K. D., Wesnousky, S. (2007). Viscosity structure of the crust and upper mantle in western Nevada from isostatic rebound patterns of Lake Lahontan shorelines, Journal of Geophysical Research, 112 (B6, B06405), 10.1029/2005JB003941, 10.1029/2005JB003941

2005
Young, M. H., Adams, K. D., Mizell, S. A., Chen, L., Bullard, T. F., Grant, S. (2005). Technical Report: Assessment and Improvement of Hydraulic Characterization of Alluvial Fans to Support Estimates of Recharge and Initial Abstraction, DRI Report No. 41218

Briggs, R. W., Wesnousky, S. G., Adams, K. D. (2005). , Late Pleistocene and late Holocene lake highstands in the Pyramid Lake subbasin of Lake Lahontan, Nevada, USA, 64, 257-263

2004
Adams, K. D. (2004). Estimating palaeowind strength from beach deposits-Reply, Sedimentology, 51, 671-673

2003
Adams, K. D. (2003). Age and paleoclimatic significance of late Holocene lakes in the Carson Sink, NV, USA, Quaternary Research, 60, 294-306

Adams, K. D. (2003). Estimating paleowind strength from beach deposits, Sedimentology, 50 (3), 565-577

Reheis, M. C., Redwine, J., Adams, K. D., Stine, S., Parker, K., Negrini, R., Burke, R., Kurth, G., McGeehin, J., Paces, J., Phillips, F., Sarna-Wojcicki, A., Smoot, J. (2003). Pliocene to Holocene Lakes in the Western Great Basin: New Perspectives on Paleoclimate, Landscape Dynamics, Tectonics, and Paleodistribution of Aquatic Species, in Easterbrook, D.J., ed., Quaternary Geology of the United States, INQUA 2003 Field Guide Volume, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV, 155-194

2002
Adams, K. D., Minor, T. B. (2002). Historic shoreline change at Lake Tahoe from 1938 to 1998 and its impact on sediment and nutrient loading, Journal of Coastal Research, 18 (4), 637-651

2001
Forney, W., Richards, L. R., Adams, K. D., Smith, J. R., Rowe, T. G., Minor, T. B. (2001). Assessment of Land Use Change on Water Quality and Ecosystem Health in the Lake Tahoe Basin, Nevada and California, U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 01-418, 57 p.

2000
Rhode, D. E., Adams, K. D., Elston, R. G. (2000). Geoarchaeology and Holocene Landscape History of the Carson Desert, Western NevadaChapter : . In Lageson, D. R., Peters, S. G., Lahren, M. M. (Eds.), Great Basin and Sierra Nevada, 45-74. Geological Society of America: Boulder, CO, Geological Society of America Field Guide 2

1999
Adams, K. D., Wesnousky, S. (1999). The Lake Lahontan highstand: Age, surficial characteristics, soil development, and regional shoreline correlation, Geomorphology, 30 (4), 357-392

Adams, K. D., Wesnousky, S., Bills, B. (1999). Isostatic rebound, active faulting, and potential geomorphic effects in the Lake Lahontan basin, Nevada and California, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 111 (12), 1739-1756

1998
Adams, K. D., Wesnousky, S. (1998). Shoreline processes and the age of the Lake Lahontan highstand in the Jessup embayment, Nevada, Geological Society of America Bulletin, 110 (10), 1318-1332

1992
Adams, K. D., Locke, W. W., Rossi, R. (1992). Obsidian hydration dating of fluvially reworked sediments in the West Yellowstone region, Montana, Quaternary Research, 38, 180-195

1991
Pierce, K. L., Adams, K. D., Sturchio, N. C. (1991). Geologic setting of the Corwin Springs Known Geothermal Resources Area in and adjacent to Yellowstone National Park, in Sorey, M.S., ed., Effects of potential geothermal development in the Corwin Springs Known Geothermal Resources Area, Montana, on the thermal features of Yellowstone National Park, U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigations Report 91-4052, p. C1-C37.

Conference Proceedings
2023
Rodrigues, K. D., Adams, K. D. (2023). Multi-millenial timescales of distal tephra reworking in the western Great Basin identified using luminescence dating. GSA Annual Meeting: Pittsburgh, October 14, 2023-October 18, 2023

Wriston, T. A., Adams, K. D., Rhode, D. E., Estes, M. (2023). Landforms matter: A geoarchaeological approach to Meadow Valley Wash archaeology. The 38th Great Basin Anthropological Conference: Bend, OR, October 18, 2023-October 21, 2023

Wriston, T. A., Adams, K. D., Rhode, D. E., Estes, M. (2023). The Aerial Perspective: Using sUAS-mounted sensors to analyze known archaeological sites in Lincoln County, Nevada. The 38th Great Basin Anthropological Conference: Bend, OR, October 18, 2023-October 21, 2023

2018
Wriston, T. A., Adams, K. D. (2018). Preliminary Results of Terminal Pleistocene to early Holocene Archaeological and Lake History Research in Coal Valley, Basin and Range National Monument, Lincoln County, NV. Great Basin Anthropological Conference: Salt Lake City, UT

2017
Rodrigues, K. D., Keen-Zebert, A. K., Huot, S., Adams, K. D. (2017). Testing the suitability of the TL signal for dating volcanic glass. Luminescence and Electron Spin Dating Conference (LED 2017): Cape Town, South Africa, September 11, 2017-September 15, 2017

Rodrigues, K. D., Keen-Zebert, A. K., Huot, S., Adams, K. D. (2017). Testing the potential of thermoluminescence dating of volcanic glass with known-age samples. Geological Society of America: Seattle, October 22, 2017

2016
Adams, K. D. (2016). Lake-level, lake-surface area, and lake volume changes at Pyramid Lake, NV over the last 16 cal ka, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 48 (7), 10.1130/abs/2016AM-281049

2015
Zimmerman, S., Adams, K. D., Rosen, M. (2015). Trip 3-Modern, Holocene, and Pleistocene lake locales in the western Great Basin, Nevada and California, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report, 2015-1108, 89-100. Sixth International Limnogeology Congress-Field Trip Guidebook: Reno, NV, June 15, 2015-June 19, 2015
https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151108

Noble, P. J., Zimmerman, S. H., Ball, G. I., Adams, K. D., Maloney, J., Smith, S. B. (2015). Late Holocene (3.65 ka) Multi-Proxy Shift in Fallen Leaf Lake, CA Marks the Transition from a Millennial-Scale Neopluvial Interval to Increased Aridity, 38. Pacific Climate Workshop: Pacific Grove, CA, March 8, 2015-March 11, 2015

Adams, K. D., Negrini, R. M., Rajagopal, S., Cook, E. R. (2015). Timing, Duration, and Effects of Droughts in the Southern Sierra Nevada and San Joaquin Valley, CA Over the Last 2000 Years. AGU 2015 Fall Meeting: San Francisco, CA, December 14, 2015-December 18, 2015, Abstract GC41E-1131

2014
Bacon, S. N., Adams, K. D., Bullard, T. F., Keen-Zebert, A. K., Decker, D. L. (2014). Sill Failure and Catastrophic Outburst Floods from Owens Lake, CA: Implications for Latest Pleistocene and Holocene Paleohydrology of the Owens River Drainage Basin, Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, 46 (6). Geological Society of America Annual Meeting: Vancouver British Columbia, October 19, 2014-October 22, 2014, Paper No. 310-7

Adams, K. D., Bacon, S. N., Lancaster, N., Rhodes, E., Negrini, R. (2014). How wet can it get? Defining future climate extremes based on late Holocene lake-level records [abstract], Geological Society of America, Abstracts with Programs, 46 (6). Geological Society of America Annual Meeting: Vancouver, British Columbia, October 19, 2014-October 22, 2014, Paper No. 310-5.

2013
Adams, K. D. (2013). Hydrologic fluctuations at Pyramid Lake, Walker Lake, and the Carson Sink, Nevada during the Medieval Climate Anomaly, Quaternary International, 310, 227

Adams, K. D. (2013). Israel C. Russell and the dawn of Quaternary geology and geomorphology, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 45 (7), 711

2012
Adams, K. D. (2012). Late Holocene paleohydrology of the western Great Basin, American Quaternary Association Conference, 22, 8-9

2011
Adams, K. D. (2011). Hydrologic fluctuations at Pyramid Lake, Walker Lake, and the Carson Sink, Nevada during the Medieval Climate Anomaly, Pacific Climate Workshop, 1: Pacific Grove, CA

Adams, K. D. (2011). The history of Lake Lahontan viewed through the prism of its research history, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 43 (5), 179

2010
Adams, K. D. (2010). Stream terrace profiles are steeper than their formative channel profiles: results from a historic suite of terraces along the lower Truckee River, NV, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 42 (5), 154-155

2009
Adams, K. D. (2009). Fluvial responses to base-level lowering: Examples from the Truckee and Walker rivers, western Nevada, USA, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 41 (7), 135

Adams, K. D. (2009). Response of the lower Walker River to base-level lowering and minimizing erosion under increased flows, International Symposium an Terminus Lakes: Reno, NV

2008
Adams, K. D. (2008). Lake-level fluctuations in the western Great Basin during the Medieval Climate Anomaly: Episodes of both drier and wetter periods than modern, : Geological Society of America abstracts with Programs, 40 (6), 227-228

2005
Adams, K. D. (2005). Sedimentary record of late Holocene lake-level fluctuations at Walker Lake, Nevada, USA, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 37 (7), 225

2004
Adams, K. D. (2004). Late Holocene Changes in Lakes and Rivers of the Western Great Basin, Great Basin Anthropological Conference

Adams, K. D. (2004). Late Holocene diversion history of the Walker River: The tale of a river with a split personality, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 36 (5), 499

2003
Adams, K. D. (2003). Lake-level responses to late Holocene changes in effective wetness in the western Great Basin, 3rd International Limnogeology Congress Abstracts, 3: Tucson, AZ

Adams, K. D. (2003). Lake levels and sedimentary environments during deposition of the Wono and Trego Hot Springs tephras in the Lake Lahontan basin, Nevada and California, USA, XVI INQUA Congress Programs with Abstracts, 182

2001
Adams, K. D. (2001). Estimating paleowind conditions from late Pleistocene beach deposits in the western Great Basin, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 33 (6), 21

2000
Adams, K. D. (2000). Historic rates of shoreline change at Lake Tahoe from 1939 to 1998; implications for water clarity, Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs, 32 (7), 332