Dr. Art Bettis
Research
Reconstructions of landscapes and paleoenvironments using
data gleaned from surficial deposits and soils, and landscape-scale
geoarchaeology are my primary interests. My students and I
are working on the genesis and chronology of eolian deposits
in North America, on the mechanisms and consequences of landscape
change in valleys, on the genesis and hydrogeology of Midwestern
glacial sediments, alluvial stratigraphy, on Midwestern paleoecology,
and on geoarchaeology in the prairies and plains of the Midcontinent
USA. I am also interested in applied aspects of Quaternary
geology and geologic mapping of Quaternary landscapes. Many
of our eolian studies are in cooperation with the U.S. Geological
Survey’s Climate Dynamics Program. We are currently investigating
the loess/paleosol record of the last two glacial/interglacial
cycles, with field projects in the Upper
Midwest, Idaho, and Alaska. My research on glacial deposits
is restricted to Iowa and focuses on the stratigraphy and
hydrogeology of Des Moines Lobe sediments. I have a long-term
research project focusing on the stratigraphy, chronology,
paleoecology, and isotope geochemistry of Late Wisconsin and
Holocene alluvium of the eastern Plains and prairies. This
project involves several of my students and colleagues from
the University of Iowa and several other institutions. Landscape-scale
geoarchaeology is also a long-term research interest. Several
students and I are involved in projects ranging from establishing
stratigraphic and paleoecological contexts of North American
archaeological sites and Southeast Asia hominin localitites
to digital geologic mapping for establishing geologic contexts
for cultural resource management.
More information about specific research interests and projects
can be obtained from the following links:
Research
Facilities
Recent Publications
Soil Survey and Soil-Geomorphology. V.T. Holliday, L.D. McFadden,
E.A. Bettis III, and P.W. Birkeland. Chapter 9, pp.
233-274 In: History of the National Cooperative Soil Survey,
D. Helms, A.B.W. Efflan, and P.J. Durana (editors). Iowa State
University Press. 2002.
The Effects of Temporal and Spatial
Patterns of Holocene Erosion and Alluviation on the Archaeological
Record of the Central and Eastern Great Plains. E.A.
Bettis III and R.D. Mandel. Geoarchaeology 17:
141-154. 2002.
Holocene Paleoenvironments in Southeastern
Minnesota - Chasing the Prairie-Forest Ecotone. R.G. Baker,
E.A. Bettis III, R.F. Denniston, L.A. Gonzalez, L.E.
Strickland, and J.R. Krieg. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,
Palaeoecology 177:103-122. 2002.
Impact of Climate and Parent Material
on the Chemistry of Loess-Derived Soils of the Mississippi
River Valley. D.R. Muhs, E.A. Bettis III, J. Been,
and J.P. McGeehin. Soil Science Society of America Journal
65:1761-1777. 2001.
Nomad Rover Field Experiment,
Atacama Desert, Chile 2. Identification of Paleolife Evidence
Using a Robotic Vehicle: Lessons and Recommendations for a
Mars Sample Return Mission. N.A. Cabrol and E.A. Bettis
III (co-lead authors), B. Glenister, G.G. Chong, C.Herrera
Lameli, A. Jensen Iglacia, M. Pereira Arredono, C.R. Stoker,
E.A. Grin, V.C. Gulick, R. Landheim, P. Lee, T.L. Rousch,
A.P. Zent, J.M. Dohm, R. Keaten, G.C. Dunfield, G. Thomas,
J. Golden, K. Saville, G. Ludvigson, B. Witzke, D. Wettergreen,
D. Christian, M.H. Sims, K. Schwher, M.G. Bualat, H.J. Thomas,
and E. Zbinden.. Journal of Geophysical Research.(E)
106:7807-7815. 2001.
Analysis of Science Team Activities
During the 1999 Marsokhod Rover Field Experiment: Implications
for Automated Planetary Surface Exploration. G. Thomas,
M. Reagan, E.A. Bettis III, N. Cabrol, and A. Rathe.
Journal of Geophysical Research (E) 106:7775-7783.
2001.
Geological Analysis of the Silver
Lake Marsokhod Field Test Site from Ground-Truth Sampling
and Mapping. E.A. Grin., N.A. Cabrol, C.R. Stoker, T.L.
Roush, M.K. Reagan, E.A. Bettis III, C.T. Foster Jr.,
and J.E. Moersch. Journal of Geophysical Research (E)
106:7733-7744. 2001.
Observation of the Geology and Geomorphology
of the 1999 Marsokhod Test Site. R.A. De Hon, N.G.Barlow,
M.K. Reagan, E.A. Bettis III, C.T. Foster.,Jr., V.C.
Gulick, L.S. Crumpler, J.C. Aubele, M.G. Chapman , and K.L.
Tanaka. Journal of Geophysical Research (E) 106:7665-7682.
2001.
The 1999 Marsokhod Rover Mission
Simulation at Silver Lake, California: Mission Overview,Data
Sets, and Summary of Results. C. R. Stoker, N.A. Cabrol,
T.R.Roush, J. Moersch, J. Aubele, N. Barlow, E.A. Bettis
III, J. Bishop, T. Blackmon, M. Chapman, S. Clifford,
C. Cockell, L. Crumpler, B. Craddock, R. DeHon, T. Foster,
V. Gulick, E. Grin, K. Horton, G. Hovde, J. Johnson, P. Lee,
M. Lemmon, J. Marshall, J. Moersch, H. Newsom, G. Ori, M.
Reagan, J. Rice, S. Ruff, J. Schreiner, M. Sims, P. Smith,
K. Tanaka, H. Thomas, G. Thomas, A. Yingst, A., and E. Zbinden.
Journal of Geophysical Research (E) 106:7639-7663.
2001.
Nomad Rover Field Experiment, Atacama
Desert, Chile 1. Science Results Overview. N.A. Cabrol,
G. Chong-Diaz, C.R. Stoker, V.C. Gulick, R. Landheim, P. Lee,
T.L. Roush, A.P. Zent, C. Herrera Lameli, A. Jensen Iglesia,
M. Pereira Arrerondo, J.M. Dohm, R. Keaten, D. Wettergreen,
M.H. Sims, K. Schwher, M.G. Bualat, H.J. Thomas, E. Zbinden,
D. Christian, L. Pedersen, E.A. Bettis III, G. Thomas,
and B. Witzke. Journal of Geophysical Research (E)
106:7785-7806. 2001.
Plant Remains, Alluvial Chronology,
and Cave Speleothem Isotopes Indicate Abrupt Holocene Climatic
Change at 6 ka in Midwestern USA. R.G. Baker, E.A.
Bettis III, R.F. Denniston, and L.A. Gonzalez. Global
and Planetary Change 28:285-291. 2001.
Use and Analysis of Soils by Archaeologists and Geoscientists:
A North American Perspective. R.D. Mandel and E.A. Bettis
III. Chapter 7, Pp. 173-204. In: The Earth Sciences
and Archaeology. V.T. Holliday, P. Goldberg, and R. Ferring
(editors). Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York. 2001.
A Brief History of Geoarchaeology in the Eastern Plains.
E.A. Bettis III. Chapter 5, pp. 137-165 In: Geoarchaeological
Research in the Great Plains: 50 Years of Progress, R.D.
Mandel, editor. University of Oklahoma Press. 2000.
Holocene environments of the Central
Great Plains. R.G. Baker, G.G. Frendlund, R.D. Mandel
and E.A. Bettis III. Quaternary International 67,
89-106, 2000.
Geochemical Variations in Peoria
Loess of western Iowa Indicate Last-glacial Paleowinds of
Midcontinental North America. D.R. Muhs and E.A. Bettis
III. Quaternary Research 53: 49-61. 2000.
Evidence for Increased Cool Season
Moisture During the Middle Holocene. R.F. Denniston, L.A.
Gonzalez, Y. Asmerom, R.G. Baker, M.K. Reagan, and E.A.
Bettis III. Geology 29: 815-818. 1999.
A comparison of loess-derived and climate model-derived paleowinds
for midcontinental North America during the Last Glacial Maximum.
D.R. Muhs and E.A. Bettis III. Pp. 111-114 In: Busacca,
A.J. (editor), Dust Aerosols, Loess Soils and Global Change.
Washington State University College of Agriculture and Home
Economics, Miscellaneous Publication No. MISC0190, Pullman,
WA. 1998.
Subsolum Weathering Profile Characteristics as Indicators
of the Relative Rank of Stratigraphic Breaks in Till Sequences.
E.A. Bettis III. Quaternary International 51/52:
72-73. 1998.
Comparison of multiple proxy records of Holocene environments
in the midwestern United States. R.G. Baker, L.A. Gonzalez,
M. Raymo, E.A. Bettis III, M.K. Reagan, and J.A. Dorale.
Geology 26: 1131-1134. 1998.
Complex Response of a Midwestern, USA Drainage System to
Late Wisconsinan Sedimentation. E.A, Bettis III and
W.J. Autin. Journal of Sedimentary Research 67(4):740-748.
1997.
Late Quaternary Temporal and Event Classifications, Great
Lakes Region, North America. W. H. Johnson, A.K. Hansel, E.A,
Bettis III, P.F. Karrow, G.J. Larson, T.V. Lowell, and
A.F. Schneider. Quaternary Research 47(1): 1-12. 1997.
The Main Site: Radiocarbon and Cultural Chronology. S.D.
Creasman, J.P. Kerr, E.A. Bettis, and A.M. Pecora.
Tennessee Anthropologist XXI: 156-181. 1996.
Holocene Paleoenvironments of Northeast Iowa. R.G. Baker,
E.A. Bettis III, D.P. Schwert, D.G. Horton, C.A. Chumbley,
L.A. Gonzalez, and M.K. Reagan. Ecological Monographs
66(2): 203-234. 1996.
Landscape Development and the Location of Evidence of Archaic
Cultures in the Upper Midwest. E.A. Bettis III and
E.R. Hajic. p.87-113 In Archaeological Geology of the Archaic
Period in North America, E. A. Bettis III, editor. Geological
Society of America, Special Paper 297. 1995.
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