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Research

Our faculty, working closely with undergraduate and graduate students, are actively engaged in research in many aspects of geology in locations across the US and around the World.. Research is commonly conducted in close collaboration with local state agencies, the United States Geological Survey, faculty from other departements at Sacramento State and faculty from other insitutions. Recent and active research projects include:

  • Hydrogeology of salmon spawning habits in the American River
  • Slope denudation during uplift in the Himalaya
  • Subduction-related volcanism of the Mexican Volcanic Belt
  • Structural geology of the foothills fault system
  • Volcanic hazards in Baja Califonia, Mexico
  • Hydrology of mountain meadows
  • Magma mixing at Lassen Volcanic National Park
  • Modeling hydrology of complex aquifers
  • Geoscience education and teacher training
  • Geologic sourcing of stone artifacts from Teotihuacan, Mexico

Recent Externally Funded Grants (2003-present)

  • 2008-2011: California Department of Education. "Elk Grove California Mathematics and Science Partnership". $573,852
  • 2007-2009: Nature Heritage Institute and the Department of Water Resources Integrated Regional Management Plan Program. “Mountain Meadows and Water Resources”. $40,000
  • 2007-2008: California Subject Matter Projects. "Sacramento Area Science Project (SASP)". $38,540
  • 2006-2011: National Science Foundation. "Improving Science Instruction through Modeling (ISIM)". $274,861
  • 2006-2007: Bureau of Reclamation Grant to complete a gravel budget for the Lower American River. $37,804
  • 2005-2008: NSF Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences Grant: "Place-based geology courses for Hispanic Undergraduates" $99.592
  • 2005-2006: Water Forum Grant to support substrate evaluation at the Lower American River Sunrise side channel project. $15,799
  • 2005-2006: Bureau of Reclamation Grant to evaluate Lower American River Gravel Budget and Inter-gravel flow in spawning gravels. $99,864.
  • 2004-2008: California Postsecondary Education Commission. "SPREE:  Sacramento Science Project Related to Equity". $1,104,024
  • 2004-2005: Bureau of Reclamation Grant to evaluate habitat suitability of spawning gravels on the Lower American River. $97,390.
  • 2003-2004: No Child Left Behind. "SASP: California Science Teachers Initiative" $92,310

Recent Publications (2003-present)

  • Downing, B.D., Bergamaschi, B.A., Evans, D.G., and Boss, E. (in review). Quantifying DOC Flux From Sediments Into a Drinking Water Reservoir Using Optical Profiling, submitted to Lakes and Reservoir Management.
  • Evans, D.G. and Giese-Solá-Llaunch, N. (in review). Deconvolving water-table response: An analytical approach to estimating time-varying recharge, submitted to Math. Geology.
  • Kusnick, J. (2008) Teaming up for better teaching through lesson study, Science Scope, in press.
  • Saleh, D. K. , Kratzer, C. R., Green, C., and Evans, D. G., (in press). Using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to Simulate Runoff in Mustang Creek Basin, California, to appear as U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Scientific Investigations Report-20XX.
  • Plummer C.C. and Carlson D.H., 2008, Physical Geology, 12th edition, McGraw-Hill, 651 p.
  • Anderson, Jr., W.P., and Evans, D.G., (2007). On the interpretation of recharge estimates based on steady-state model calibrations, Ground Water, 45(4), 499-505
  • Carlson D.H., Plummer C.C., and McGeary, D., 2007, Earth Revealed, 7th edition, McGraw-Hill, 617 p.
  • Kusnick, J. (2007)  Challenging learners, challenging ourselves: how do we assess conceptual learning?  California Science Project Connection, 8 (2): 3.
  • Beauchamp, A. & J. Kusnick, (2006) Strategies for academic literacy in science. California Science Project Connection, 6 (3): 3.
  • Carlson D.H., Plummer C.C., and McGeary, D., 2006, Earth Revealed, 6th edition, McGraw-Hill, 580 p.
  • Hammersley, L. & DePaolo D. J., 2006, Isotopic and geophysical constraints on the structure and evolution of the Clear Lake volcanic system. Journal of Volcanological and Geothermal Research 153, 331-356
  • Plummer C.C., Carlson D.H., and McGeary, D., 2006, Physical Geology, 11th edition, McGraw-Hill, 618 p.
  • Horner, T.C., 2005, Physical and geochemical characterization of American River spawning gravels: Report to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Sacramento Office, 139 pp.
  • Plummer C.C., McGeary, D., and Carlson D.H., 2005, Physical Geology, 10th edition, McGraw-Hill, 580 p.
  • Horner, T. C., Titus, R., and Brown, M., 2004, Phase 3 Gravel Assessment on the Lower American River: Report to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Sacramento Office, 93 pp.
  • Plummer C.C., McGeary, D., Carlson D.H., Eyles, C, and Eyles, N., 2004, Physical Geology and the Environment, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill/Ryerson, 574 p.
  • Plummer C.C., McGeary, D., Carlson D.H., Eyles, C, and Eyles, N., 2004, Physical Geology and the Environment, 1st (Canadian) edition, McGraw-Hill/Ryerson, 574 p.
  • Cornwell, K., Norsby, D, and Marston, D, 2003. Drainage, sediment transport and denudation rates on the Nanga Parbat Himalaya,Pakistan. Geomorphology Vol. 55 (1-4) p. 25-43.
  • McGeary, D., Plummer C.C., and Carlson D.H., 2003, Earth Revealed, 5th edition, McGraw-Hill, 576 p.
  • Plummer C.C., McGeary, D., and Carlson D.H., 2003, Physical Geology, 9th edition, McGraw-Hill, 574 p.

Recent Presentations (2003-present)

  • Cornwell, K., Brown, K., and Monohan, C., 2007. Mountain Meadows and Water Resources in the Sierra Nevada, California. EOS Trans. 88(52), p.F642
  • Evans, D. and W.P. Anderson, Jr., 2007. Fractal interpolation and Monte Carlo simulations to address aliasing in well hydrographs, to appear in EOS Trans. AGU, Fall Meet. Suppl.
  • Stout, C.M., Hammersley, L & Clynne, M.A., 2007. Field measurements of mafic enclave population density at Chaos Crags, Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA and implications for magma mixing.
  • Blatter, D.L., Hammersley, L. & Carmichael, I.S.E., 2006. A gap in the Central Mexican volcanic belt: A result of shallow subduction of the Orozco fracture zone? GSA. Backbone of the Americas meeting.
  • Downing, B.D., Bergamaschi, B.A., Evans, D.G., Boss, E, and Fujii, R. (2006), Quantifying DOC flux from sediments into a drinking water reservoir using optical profiling, Eos Trans. AGU, 87 (52), Fall Meet. Suppl., Abstract B11C-1034.
  • Evans, D. and W.P Andersion, Jr. (2006). Stochastic anti-aliasing of water-table hydrographs to determine long-term recharge. GSA Abstracts with Programs 38(7). GSA Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Silver, M., T. Horner and D. Evans (2006). Evaluation of Heat as a tracer to quantify longitudinal water flow in the hyporheic zone. GSA Abstracts with Programs 38(7). GSA Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Anderson, Jr., W.P., and D.G. Evans (2005).On the interpretation of recharge estimates based on steady-state model calibrations. GSA Abstracts and Programs 37(7). GSA annual Meeting Salt Lake City, UT.
  • Carlson, D. H., Manley, T.N., and Vervoort, J., 2005, Cretaceous deformation along the Shoo Fly-Feather River Belt Fault – Evidence from U-Pb dating of folded dikes along the Middle Fork of the American River, California; Abst., Cordilleran Section Meeting, Geological Society of America.
  • Cornwell, K. and Burns R., 2005 Hydraulic Implications to Upper Basin Stream Systems From Changing Climatic Conditions in the Sierra Nevada. EOS Trans. 84(46), p. F375.
  • Evans, D. and J.W. Borchers (2005). Approaches to assessing groundwater resources in fractured rock. 25th Biennial Groundwater Conference and 14th Groundwater Resources Association Annual Meeting, Sacramento, CA (invited abstract and presentation).
  • Horner, T.C., and Silver, M., 2005, Meter-scale tracer tests to estimate seepage velocity and hydraulic conductivity in salmon spawning gravels of the American River, Sacramento, CA: v. 37.
  • Manley, T.N. and Carlson, D. H., 2005, Relationship between fold geometry and channel sinuosity on the Middle Fork of the American River near Horseshoe Bar, Sierra Nevada, California; Abst., Cordilleran Section Meeting, Geological Society of America.
  • Kusnick, J., Zoller , K., Bland, M. M., O'Leary, M., and Shea, M. (2004) Using qualitative evaluation to identify common elements of successful reformed courses, Presentation at STEMTEC Teacher Preparation PI conference, March 14-15, 2004, Proceedings, http://k12s.phast.umass.edu/~stemtec/piconf/Proceedings/
  • Hammersley, L. & DePaolo, D.J., 2004. Isotopic and geophysical constraints on the structure and evolution of the Clear Lake volcanic field. Abstracts with Programs, Geological Society of America. Vol 36.
  • Head, A.E., and Horner, T., 2004, abs., Steelhead redds and evolution of inter-gravel dissolved oxygen levels in the Lower American River: 3rd Biennial CALFED Bay-Delta Program Science Conference with Abstracts, Sacramento, California. October 4-6, 2004 p. 296.
  • Horner, T.C., 2004, Hyporheic flow, pore water geochemistry and bar form influence on salmonid spawning in the American River, California: Geological Society of American Abstracts with Programs, v. 36 no. 5, p. 565
  • Morita, E.T., and Horner, T., 2004, abs., Streambed topography and its influence on hyporheic flow in salmon spawning gravels, Lower American River: 3rd Biennial CALFED Bay-Delta Program Science Conference with Abstracts, Sacramento, California. October 4-6, 2004 p. 341..
  • Burns, R, Meyers, R. and Cornwell, K., 2003. Statistical development of flood frequency and magnitude equations for the Cosumnes and Mokelumne River drainage basins, Sierra Nevada, California. EOS Trans. AGU, VOl. 84, No. 46, p. F597.
  • Cornwell, K., Marston, D., Shroder, J, and Bishop, M., 2003. Differential uplift and drainage basin dynamics on Nanga Parbat, Himalaya. GSA Abstracts with Programs Vol. 35, No. 6.
  • Kusnick, J., Passmore, C., Potter, W., Beauchamp, A., and Zoller, K. (2003) Understanding earth science through scientific models. Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Prog., 35(6): 443.
  • Moran, J.E., Hudson, G.B., Leif, R., Horner, T., Evans, D., and Eaton, G, 2003, abs., Tracking river recharge in California’s Central Valley using chemical and isotopic tracers: AGU National Meeting, December, 2003.
  • Parker, T.K., Steinpress, M., Mitchell, R.N., Horner, T., and Evans, D., 2003, abs, Levee cutoff walls and groundwater recharge: National Groundwater Association Southwest Focus Conference, Water Supply and Emerging Contaminants, Phoenix, Arizona, Feb. 21, 2003.
  • Steinpress, M.G., Parker, T.K., Horner, T.C., Evans, D., and Mitchell, R., 2003. abs., Potential Effects of Levee Cutoff Walls on Groundwater Recharge: American Water Works Association 2003 Annual Conference and Exposition, June 15-19, 2003, Anaheim, California.


Last Updated: March 11, 2008