DRI / DIRECTORY / SPENCER STALEY
Spencer Staley Profile Photo
Dr. Spencer Staley
Assistant Research Professor
Phone 
(775) 673-7321
E-Mail 
Spencer.Staley@dri.edu
Campus 
Reno Campus
Division 
Earth and Ecosystem Sciences

Education

Year

Degree

Concentration

Institution
2023 Ph.D. Earth & Planetary Sciences University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
2018 M.S. Earth & Planetary Sciences University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
2013 B.A. Geology Colgate University, Hamilton, NY

Research Areas

  • Quaternary Period surface processes in the Southwestern US
  • Eolian Processes
  • Paleoclimate
  • Paleo-geomorphology
  • Paleoecology
  • Weathering and Erosion rates
  • Watershed Processes
  • Limnology

Keywords

Quaternary geology, geomorphology, paleoclimate, dust, weathering, erosion

 

Publications
2025
Staley, S. E., Fawcett, P. J., Anderson, R. S., & Kirby, M. E. (2025). Higher interglacial dust fluxes relative to glacial periods in southwestern North American deserts. Nature Communications, 16(10718), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-65744-6

Bacon, S. N., Staley, S. E., Doane, T. H., Saftner, D. M., & Sion, B. (2025). Technical Report (YR2): Conceptual Framework of Soil-Landform Relations in Fluvial-Geomorphic Settings to Support Military Gap Crossing Operations. Report prepared for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers under contract W912-HZ-23-C-0008.

Hartshorn, E. J., Page, D. J., Langston, A., Soldano, V. A., Feldman, A. D., Staley, S. E., Wriston, T. A., Uka, N., Korotkin, M., Briem, C. M., Kielhofer, J., Hancock, D. J., & Sion, B. (2025). 5.6. YPG 3-Dimensional (3D) Point Cloud Modeling [PRS #6], 37. U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground PWS: Environmental Characterization for Test Operations, YPG

Staley, S. E., Korotkin, M., Harsha, G. L., Briem, C. M., Houseman, S. M., Hibbard, S., & Sion, B. (2025). TASK DELIVERABLE REPORT: Rapid measurements of mobility-related soil properties at gap crossing locations at Fort Riley, Kansas and Camp Ripley, Minnesota. Report prepared for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory under contract W912HZ23C0008. 31 pp.

Kielhofer, J., Staley, S. E., Korotkin, M., Feldman, A. D., Houseman, S. M., Lu, K., Harsha, G. L., Page, D. J., & Sion, B. (2025). Environmental analysis of the Arctic Regions Test Center (ARTC), Alaska as an analog site for northern Europe, Report prepared for the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground under contract W912R23C0002. 47 pp.

Kielhofer, J., Staley, S. E., Korotkin, M., Feldman, A. D., Houseman, S. M., Lu, K., Harsha, G. L., Page, D. J., & Sion, B. (2025). Environmental analysis of the Tropic Regions Test Center (TRTC), Panama as an analog site for southeast Asia, Report prepared for the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground under contract W912R23C0002. 66 pp.

2024
Staley, S. E., Briem, C. M., Harsha, G. L., Hartshorn, E. J., Hibbard, S., Korotkin, M., Houseman, S. M., Lu, K., & Sion, B. (2024). Task Deliverable Report: Evaluation of field procedures for rapid measurement of mobility related soil properties at Fort Hunter Liggett. Report prepared for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center Coastal Hydraulics Laboratory under contract W912HZ23C0008.

Staley, S. E., Baish, C. J., Kielhofer, J., Korotkin, M., Sabol, D. E., Harsha, G. L., & Sion, B. (2024). TECHNICAL REPORT: Evaluating three U.S. military installations as analogs for upper mid- to high-latitude environments across Europe using climate, terrain, landforms, and soil characteristics. Report prepared for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineer Research and Development Center Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory under contract W913E520C0021.

Kielhofer, J., Staley, S. E., Sabol, D. E., & Sion, B. (2024). Synoptic Report: A synopsis of achievements towards the enhancement of military planning and operations in cold regions and dust-affected environments., 27 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
Staley, S. E., Fawcett, P. J., Jiménez-Moreno, G., Anderson, R., & Markgraf, V. (2023). Long-Term Landscape Evolution in Response to Climate Change, Ecosystem Dynamics, and Fire in a Basaltic Catchment on the Colorado Plateau. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 128(e2023JF007266), 1-19. American Geophysical Union. https://doi.org/10.1029/2023JF007266

Jiménez-Moreno, G., Anderson, R., Markgraf, V., Staley, S. E., & Fawcett, P. J. (2023). Environmental and climate evolution in the Southwest USA since the last interglacial deduced from the pollen record from Stoneman lake, Arizona. Quaternary Science Reviews, 300(107883), 1-15. Pergamon. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2022.107883

2022
Staley, S. E., Fawcett, P. J., Anderson, R., & Jiménez-Moreno, G. (2022). Early Pleistocene–to–present paleoclimate archive for the American Southwest from Stoneman Lake, Arizona, USA. GSA Bulletin, 134(3/4), 791-814. Geological Society of America. https://doi.org/10.1130/B36038.1