Education:
Ph.D, Geology and Geochemistry, University of New Mexico, 1967
MS, Geology, University of New Mexico, 1964
AB, Geology, Syracuse University, 1961
Membership in Professional Societies:
Professional Experience:
| 12/75 to present: | Research Geologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Branch of Regional Geochemistry (1975-1982), Branch of Oil and Gas Resources (1982-1986), Branch of Sedimentary Processes (1986-1995; Branch Chief, 1988-1992); Earth Surface Processes Team (1995-present) |
| 6/74 to 12/75: | Associate Professor, Department of Geology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY |
| 9/68 to 6/74: | Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY |
| 9/67 to 9/68: | Postdoctoral Research Associate, Botany Department, University of Minnesota |
| 9/65 to 9/67: | NASA Predoctoral Fellow, Department of Geology, University of New Mexico |
| 9/63 to 9/65: | NSF Research Assistant, Department of Geology, University of New Mexico |
| 9/61 to 9/63: | Computer Specialist, Limbaugh Aerial Surveys, Albuquerque, New Mexico |
Research Interests:
My research interests can be summed up as paleolimnology and paleoceanography with a focus on Paleoclimatology. In paleolimnology I have mainly investigated lakes containing sedimentary endogenic carbonate, and have used proxies from isotope geochemistry, sedimentology, inorganic geochemistry, and organic geochemistry. Although most of my effort has been on late Quaternary lake sediments, I have put a fair amount of effort into study of the Eocene Green River Formation.
Paleoceanographic studies have ranged from modern and ancient evaporates, Cretaceous black shales, and Quaternary anoxic sediments deposited in continental margins of northwest Africa, southwest Africa, North America, and Peru, and in anoxic basins such as the Black Sea and Cariaco Basin. These investigations have involved the use of sedimentology, stable isotope geochemistry, inorganic geochemistry, and organic geochemistry.
A recurring theme throughout much of my paleolimnological and paleoceanographic research has been cyclic sedimentation ranging from annual varves to multi-millennial Milankovitch cycles.
Selected Publications Since 1996:
Dean, W. E., Ahlbrandt, T. S., Anderson, R. Y., and Bradbury, J. P., 1996, Regional Aridity in North America during the middle Holocene: The Holocene, v. 6, p. 145-155.
Dean, W. E., and Bradbury, J. P., 1997, Transects of organic carbon, calcium carbonate, and diatoms in surface sediments of Williams and Shingobee Lakes, in Interdisciplinary Research Initiative: Hydrological and biogeochemical research in the Shingobee River headwaters area, north-central Minnesota: U. S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigations Research 96-4215, p.
Gardner, J. V., Dean, W. E., and Dartnell, P., 1997, Biogenic sedimentation beneath the California Current system for the past 30 kyr and its paleoceanographic singificance: Paleoceanography, v. 12. p. 207-225
Sageman, B. B., Rich, J., Arthur, M. A., Birchfield, G. E., and Dean, W. E., 1997, Evidence for Milankovitch periodicities in Cenomanian-Turonian lithologic and geochemical cycles, Western Interior U.S.: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 67, p. 285-301.
Dean, W. E., 1997, Rates, timing, and cyclicity of Holocene eolian activity in north-central United States: Evidence from varved lake sediments: Geology, v. 25, p. 331-334.
Dean, W. E. , Gardner, J. V., and Piper, D. Z., 1997, Inorganic geochemical indicators of glacial-interglacial changes in productivity and anoxia on the California continental margin: Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, p. 4507-4518.
Wilkin, R. T., Arthur, M. A., and Dean, W. E., 1997, History of water-column anoxia in the Black Sea indicated by pyrite framboid size distributions: Earth and Planetary Science Letters, v. 148, p. 517-525.
Dean, W. E., and Gardner, J. V., 1997, Variations in chemical composition of Sediments on the surface of the seafloor in the Gulf of the Farallones, in Karl, H., ed., Atlas of the Gulf of the Farallones, Chapter N: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1198.
Dean, W. E., and Gardner, J. V., 1998, Pleistocene to Holocene contrasts in organic matter production and preservation on the California continental margin: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 110, p.888-899.
Dean, W. E., and Gorham, E., 1998, Magnitude and significance of carbon burial in lakes, reservoirs, and peatlands: Geology, v. 26, p. 535-538.
Dean, W. E., and Arthur, M. A. , 1998, Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway Drilling Project: An overview, in Dean, W. E., and Arthur, M. A., eds., Stratigraphy and Paleoenvironments of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway: SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Concepts in Sedimentology and Paleontology, No. 6, p. 1-10.
Dean, W. E., and Arthur, M. A., 1998, Geochemical expressions of cyclicity in Cretaceous pelagic limestone sequences: Niobrara Formation, Western Interior Seaway, in Dean, W. E., and Arthur, M. A., eds., Stratigraphy and Paleoenvironments of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway: SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Concepts in Sedimentology and Paleontology, No. 6, p. 227-255.
Leithold, E.L., and Dean, W.E., 1998, Depositional processes and caron burial on a Turonian prodelta at the margin of the Western Interior Seaway, in Dean, W. E., and Arthur, M. A., eds., Stratigraphy and Paleoenvironments of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway: SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Concepts in Sedimentology and Paleontology, No. 6, p. 189-199.
Sageman, B. B., Rich, J., Arthur, M. A., Dean, W. E., Savrda, C. E., and Bralower, T. J., 1998, Multiple Milankovitch cycles in the Bridge Creek Limestone (Cenomanian-Turonian), Western Interior Basin, in Dean, W. E., and Arthur, M. A., eds., Stratigraphy and Paleoenvironments of the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway: SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Concepts in Sedimentology and Paleontology, No. 6, p. 153-171.
Arthur, M. A., and Dean, W. E., 1998, Organic-matter production and preservation, and evolution of anoxia in the Holocene Black Sea: Paleoceanography, v. 13, p. 395-411.
Arthur, M. A., Dean, W. E., and Laarkamp, 1998, Organic carbon accumulation and preservation in surface sediments on the Peru margin: Chemical Geology, v. 152, p. 273-286
Schwalb, A. and Dean, W. E., 1998, Stable isotopes and sediments from Pickerel Lake, South Dakota, USA: Journal of Paleolimnology, v. 20, p. 15-30.
Dean, W. E., 1999, The carbon cycle and biogeochemical dynamics in lake sediments: Journal of Paleolimnology, v. 21, p.375-393.
Dean, W. E., Piper, D. Z., and Peterson, L. C, 1999, Mo accumulation in Cariaco Basin sediment over the past 20,000 years: A record of water-column anoxia and climate: Geology, v. 27, p. 507-510.
Dean, W. E., and Arthur, M. A., 1999, Sensitivity of the North Atlantic basin to cyclic climatic forcing during the Early Cretaceous: Journal of Foraminiferal Research, v. 29, p. 465-486.
Frank, T. D., Arthur, M. A., and Dean, W. E., 1999, Diagenesis of Lower Cretaceous pelagic carbonates, North Atlantic: Paleoceanographic signals obscured: Journal of Foraminiferal Research, v. 29, p. 340-351.
Dean, W. E., 1999, Magnitude and significance of carbon burial in lakes, reservoirs, and northern peatlands: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 058-99.
Dean, W. E., 1999, Evidence of climate change over the last 10,000 years from the sediments of lakes in the Upper Mississippi Basin: U.S. Geological Survey, Fact Sheet 059-99.
Dean, W. E., 2000, The sun and climate: U.S. Geological Survey, Fact Sheet 095-00
Kirkland, D. W., Denison, R. E., and Dean, W. E., 2000, Parent brine of the Castile Evaporites (Upper Permian), Texas and New Mexico: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 70, p.749-761.
Dean, W. E., and Schwalb, A., 2000, Holocene environmental and climatic change in the Northern Great Plains as recorded in the geochemistry of sediments in Pickerel Lake, South Dakota: Quaternary International, v. 67, p. 5-20.
Zheng, Y., van Geen, A., Anderson, R. F., Gardner, J. V., and Dean, W. E., 2000, Intensification of the northeast Pacific oxygen-minimum zone during the Bolling-Alerod warm period: Paleoceanography, v. 15, p. 528-536.
Fritz, S. C., Metcalf, S. E., and Dean, W. E., 2001, Holocene climate of the Americas inferred from paleolimnological records, in Markgraf, V., ed., Interhemispheric Climate Linkages (Present and past interhemispheric climate linkages in the Americas and their Societal effects): Academic Press, p. 241-264.
Grigg, L. D., Whitlock, C., and Dean, W. E., 2001, Evidence for millennial-scale climate change during marine isotope stages 2 and 3 at Little Lake, Western Oregon, USA: Quaternary Research, v. 56, p. 10-22
Schwalb, A., and Dean, W. E., 2002, Reconstruction of hydrological changes and effective moisture from North-Central USA lake sediments: Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 21, p. 1541-1554.
Dean, W. E., and Schwalb, 2002, The lacustrine carbon cycle as illuminated by the waters and sediments of two hydrologically distinct hardwater lakes in northwestern Minnesota: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 72, p. 416-431.
Dean, W. E., Forester, R. M., and Bradbury, J. P., 2002, Early Holocene change in atmospheric circulation in the Northern Great Plains: An upstream view of the 8.2 ka cold event: Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 21, p. 1763-1775.
Dean, W. E., Anderson, R. Y., Anderson, D. A., and Bradbury, J. P., 2002, A 1500-year record of climatic and environmental change in Elk Lake, Minnesota I: Varve thickness and gray-scale density: Journal of Paleolimnology, v. 27, p. 287-299.
Dean, W. E., 2002, A 1500-year record of climatic and environmental change in Elk Lake, Minnesota II: Geochemistry, mineralogy, and stable isotopes: Journal of Paleolimnology, v. 27, p. 301-319.
Dean, W., Rosenbaum, J., Haskell, B., Kelts, K., Schnurrenberger, D.,Valero-Garcés, B., Cohen, A., Davis, O., Dinter, D., and Nielson, D., 2002, Progress in Global Lake Drilling holds potential for Global Change research: EOS (Trans. American Geophysical Union), v. 83, p. 85, 90, 91.
Piper, D. Z., and Dean, W. E., 2002, Trace-element deposition in the Cariaco Basin under sulfate reducing conditions-a history of the local hydrography and global; climate, 20 ka to the Present: U. S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1670, 41 p. (http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/prof-paper/pp1670/)
Cannon, W. F., Dean, W. E., and Bullock, J. H., 2003, Effects of Holocene climate change on mercury deposition in Elk Lake, Minnesota: The importance of eolian transport in the mercury cycle: Geology, v. 31, p. 187-190.
Muhs, D.R., Ager, T.A., Been, J., Bradbury, J.P., and Dean, W.E., 2003, A late Quaternary record of eolian silt deposition in a maar lake, St. Michael Island, western Alaska: Quaternary Research, v. 60, p. 110-122.
Schuster, P.F., Reddy, M.M., LaBaugh, J.W., Parkhurst, R.S., Rosenberry, D.O., Winter, T.C., Antweiler, R.C., and Dean, W.E., 2003, Characterization of lake water and ground water movement in the littoral zone of Williams Lake, a closed-basin lake in north central Minnesota: Hydrological Processes, v. 17, p. 823-838.
Dean, W.E., Neff, B., Rosenberry, D., Winter, T.C., and Parkhurst, R., 2003, The significance of ground water to the accumulation of iron and manganese in the sediments of two hydrologically distinct lakes in north-central Minnesota: A geological perspective: Ground Water, v. 41, no. p.951-963.
van Geen, A, Bernhard, J., Cannariato, K., Carriquiry, J., Dean, W., Eakins, B., Pike, J., and Zheng, Y., 2003, On the preservation of laminations along the western margin of North America, Paleoceanography, v. 18, doi:10.1029/203PA000911 (18p).
Bradbury, J.P., Colman, S.M., and Dean, W.E., 2004, Limnologic and climatic environments at Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon during the past 45,000 years: Journal of Paleolimnoogy, v. 31, p. 167-188.
Ortiz, J.D., O'Connell, S.E., DelViscio, J., Dean, W., Carriquiry, J.D., Marchitto, T., Zheng, Y., and van Geen, A., 2004, Enhanced marine productivity off western North America during warm climate intervals of the past 52 k.y.: Geology, v. 32, p. 521-524.
Dean, W., Pride, C., and Thunnell, R., 2004, Geochemical cycles in sediments deposited on he slopes of the Guaymas and Carmen Basins of the Gulf of California over the last 180 years: Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 23, p. 1817-1833.
Barron, J., Bukry, D., and Dean, W.E., 2005, Paleoceanographic history of the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California, during the past 15,000 years, based on diatoms, silicoflagellates, and biogenic sediments: Marine Micropaleontology, v. 56, p. 81-102.
Dean, W., Rosenbaum, J., Skipp, G., Colman, S., Forester, R., Liu, A., Simmons, K., and Bischoff, J., 2006, Unusual Holocene and late Pleistocene carbonate sedimentation in Bear Lake, Utah and Idaho, U.S.A.: Sedimentary Geology, v. 185, p. 93-112.
Dean, W.E., 2006, The geochemical record of the last 17,000 years in the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California: Chemical Geology.
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