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Kerry Riley
PhD Candidate
Utah State University
Phone: 303-921-8241
Email: wvkerry@yahoo.com
Education:
Doctoral Candidate in Geology
Utah State University, Logan UT
Dissertation: Investigation of local (e.g. watershed geometry) and external controls (e.g. climate) on arroyo
systems in the semi-arid Grand Staircase region of southern Utah through the quantification of the source and
rate of sediment supply using innovative dating techniques (e.g. Cosmogenic Radio-Nuclides and Optically
Stimulated Luminescence) and by characterizing the hydrology of the catchments through reconstructing
local stream flow using dendrochronology techniques.
Masters in Hydrologic Science
Boise State University, Boise ID (graduated May 2012)
Thesis: A 14,000-year record of wildfire and erosion reveal relationships among fire, climate, vegetation and
sediment yields in the Middle Fork Salmon River, Idaho.
Bachelor of Arts
University of Colorado, Boulder CO (graduated Dec. 2004)
Major - physical geography and environmental science with a hydrology/climatology tract
School for International Training
Semester of study abroad in New Zealand (2001)
Scope - Natural and cultural ecology
Teaching Experience:
GK-12 National Science Foundation Fellowship - (2010 – 2011) Boise State University, ID
A teaching collaboration between Boise State University and the Foothills Environmental Education Learning
Center integrating scientific research into non-traditional informal education.
Science Teacher – (Sept – Dec 2005) AKA Science - Portland OR
This position included teaching two classes, twice a week, after school, a variety of biological science topics.
One class was 2nd and 3rd graders and the other was 6-8th grade.
Vancouver Outdoor School – (Sept – Dec 2005) Wolf Tree Inc. - Portland OR
A position teaching 6th graders in the Vancouver school district orienteering, native flora and fauna
identification, water sampling, and soil sampling.
Science teacher - (Dec – May 2003) Little Bear Preschool, Nederland CO
Student internship position focused on teaching water-related science topics to preschool students.
Employment:
Research Assistant (May – present) Utah State University, UT
Research Assistant (Jan - 2009 to present) Boise State University, ID
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GK-12 National Science Foundation Fellowship (July 2010 – June 2011) Boise State University ID
AMERICORPS member with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (Jan – Dec 2008) Gainesville FL
A natural resource management position focused on water resources.
Professional Development:
Optically Stimulated Luminescence Short Course (Logan, UT – 2012) – Two week 3 credit course that provided
background on luminescence dating techniques, applications, laboratory processing, field sampling methods,
final data analysis, and age and error calculation.
Friends of the Pleistocene Field Trip (Path of the Bonneville Flood – 2011) – Three-day geologic fieldtrip
GK-12 Presentation Boot Camp (Washington DC - 2011) - This one‐day workshop focused on presenting
scientific topics and research findings effectively to both scientific audiences and to the general public.
Friends of the Pleistocene Field Trip (Henry Mountains Utah - 2010) – Three day geologic fieldtrip
Internship at the University of Arizona Accelerator Mass Spectrometry Lab (Tucson, AZ- 2010) – Two week long
internship 14C-dating alluvial charcoal for Master’s thesis
North American Dendro-ecological Field week (Hampshire College, MA - 2009) – This week long training
focused on fire reconstruction dendrochronology techniques. We submitted fire reconstruction data to the
National Tree Ring Database.
Women’s Leadership Conference (Boise, ID - 2009)
Friends of the Pleistocene Field Trip (Lees Ferry, AZ - 2009) – Three day geologic fieldtrip
National Interpretive Guide Training and Certification (Syringa, ID- 2005) – This was a week long training that
focused on how to communicate and interpret effectively to a wide range of audiences.
Conference Presentations:
2011 American Geophysical Union National Conference (San Francisco, CA) – Oral presentation titled
“Wildfires, debris flows, and climate: Using modern and ancient deposits to reconstruct Holocene sediment
yields in central Idaho”
2011 Geological Society of America National Conference (Minneapolis, MN - 2011) – Poster presentation title
“Debris flows vs. sheetfloods: how fire, vegetation and climate control erosional response in small basins
2011 Geological Society of America Regional Conference (Logan, Utah) – Oral presentation “The role of
Holocene climate change and fire-related debris flows on long-term (103-104) sediment yields in the Middle
Fork Salmon River Watershed, in central Idaho”
2011 GK-12 National Conference (Washington DC) – Presented poster titled “The benefits of outdoor learning
to STEM curriculums”.
2011 EPSCOR Tri-state Consortium Conference (Albuquerque, NM) - Presented Poster and pop-up presentation
titled “A 10,000 year record of fire activity and fire-related sedimentation in the Middle Fork Salmon River,
Idaho”
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2010 American Geophysical Union National Conference (San Francisco, CA) – Poster presentation titled “The
role of episodic fire-related debris flows on long-term (103-104) sediment yields in the Middle Fork Salmon River
Watershed, in central Idaho”.
2010 Geological Society of America National Conference (Denver, CO) – Oral presentation on “Fire frequency
and fire-related deposition during the Holocene: a study of alluvial fans in the Middle Fork Salmon River
watershed, Idaho”.
2010 Idaho EPSCOR Conference (Boise, ID) - Presented Poster: “Fire history reconstruction and sediment yields
in the Middle Fork Salmon River throughout the Holocene”
2009 Boise State Day at the Legislature (Boise, ID) – Presented poster on Salmon River EPSCoR project titled:
“Forests, fire, floods, and fish: nonlinear biophysical responses to changing climate”
2009 Idaho EPSCOR Conference (Moscow, ID) - Presented Poster: “Fire history reconstruction and sediment
yields in the Middle Fork Salmon River throughout the Holocene”
Awards
Outstanding Student Paper Award from the American Geophysical Union (2011) - Wildfires, debris flows, and
climate: Using modern and ancient deposits to reconstruct Holocene sediment yields in central Idaho.
EPSCOR Western Consortium Tri-state Conference Best Student Poster Award (2011)
Science in Minute Finalist (2011) – Contest top four finalists: created 90 second video using new technology
demonstrating an exploding volcano to grade K-12 students.
John Montagne Award (2010) – GSA Student Research Grant recipient and award. This is a monetary award
that supports research in the field of Quaternary geomorphology.
Publications and Reports
2012. Riley, K. and Pierce, J. A. 14,000 yr record of fire reveals spatial and temporal patterns in fire-related
deposition on alluvial fans in the Middle Fork Salmon River, Idaho. Geomorphology. (In preparation)
2012. Riley, K., Pierce, J., and Hopkins, A. Climate, fires, and debris flows control long-term sediment yields in
the Middle Fork Salmon River, Idaho. Geology. (In preparation)
2011. Riley, K., Fire geomorphology: Interactions among climate, fire, and vegetation. Vignette In. Bierman
and Montgomery, Key Concepts in Geomorphology. http://serc.carleton.edu/60019.
2011. Riley, K., Fire geomorphology: Fire-related erosion helps to shape our landscapes. Vignette In. Bierman
and Montgomery, Key Concepts in Geomorphology. http://serc.carleton.edu/60020.
2009. Augembaugh, K., Harvey, B., Hayes, J., Kernan, K., Marion, D. A., Peterson, J, Pipkin, A., Riley, K., and
Kaye, M.. Fire on the Mountain. In. Speer, Jim (Ed.) The 19th annual North American Dendroecological
Fieldweek: Final Report. pp 14-48.
2009. Augembaugh, K., Harvey, B., Hayes, J., Kernan, K., Marion, D. A., Peterson, J, Pipkin, A., Riley, K., and
Kaye, M.. Quercus Rubra Tree Ring Chronology. International Tree-Ring Data Bank.
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/treering.html
Service:
EPSCOR National Conference (Coeur d Alene, ID - 2011) – Student Event Coordinator
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National Geological Society of America Conference volunteer (Portland, OR – 2009, Minneapolis, MN - 2011)
GK-12 National Conference (Washington DC - 2011) – Helped run a session on the benefits of outdoor learning
to STEM curriculums.
Boise Watershed Environmental Education Center volunteer (Boise, ID – 2009 - 2010) – Taught water focused
environmental education to a wide range of audiences, created water related pre-school curriculum,
attended community events, and manned tables educating about Boise watershed and center.
AmeriCorps Member (Gainesville, FL - 2008) - The volunteer position focused on resource management within
the native ecosystems within northern Florida’s State park system.
Research Experience:
Utah State University (2012-present) Started dissertation fieldwork by describing and collecting radiocarbon
and optically stimulated luminance samples in stratigraphic profiles from incised arroyo systems, cored sand
dunes, and cored Pinus edulis (two needle pinyon) in Grand Staircase region of southern Utah.
Boise State University (2009 – 2012) Fire reconstruction and sediment yield reconstruction through radiocarbon
dating of alluvial charcoal macrofossils found in stratigraphic profiles of incised alluvial fans located in the
Middle Fork of the Salmon River watershed within the Frank Church River of No Returns Wilderness, Idaho.
University of Idaho and Rocky Mountain Research Station, Boise Idaho (summer-2011) Surveyed large woody
debris and conducted Wolman pebble counts at 20 tributary junctions of the Middle Fork Salmon River.
School for International Training (Sept. – Dec. 2001) Independent Study Project - “Estuarine population
dynamics of benthic macro-invertebrate assemblages in altered and unaltered estuary’s in New Zealand”.
The research included collection of samples, taxonomic identification of species, and analysis of water
chemistry.
Fieldwork Experience:
Surveying large woody debris and Wolman pebble counts (Middle Fork Salmon River, ID – 2011)
Real Time Kinematic surveys of fire-related debris flows (Middle Fork of the Salmon River, ID - 2010)
Charcoal collection, detailed field descriptions, and interpretation of depositional events within stratigraphic
profiles of incised alluvial fans (Middle Fork of the Salmon River, ID – 2009/2010/2011)
Collecting tree cores and fire scars from Quercus Rubra (Hampshire College, MA - 2009)
Water Sampling for Florida Lake Watch – Sampled six lakes and two streams for 1 year (FL - 2008)
Prescribed burns in range of ecosystems including: sandhill, scrub, mixed hardwood, and upland pine forests
(FL– 2008)
Exotic species removal via hand pulling, girdling, and herbicide methods – (FL – 2008)
Vegetation transects both aquatic and terrestrial – (FL– 2008)
Sampling and identification of macro-invertebrate populations in estuaries – (Dunedin, New Zealand – 2001)